Up, Up and Away
Ascension Day Sermon for May 24, 2009
Scripture: Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24:44-53
This is the 7th and last Sunday in Easter for 2009. I had a choice of preaching on the scriptures for this Sunday or focusing on the Ascension of Jesus. This is my 6th Easter season and I have never preached on Ascension. I looked at the lectionary/sermon site of the national UCC and the only thing there are the scripture references—no sermon seeds, no stories to use, no references to articles. I then turned to another favorite site—the Center for Progressive Christianity--again no references or articles. What should I do? There are plenty of sermons from fundamentalists and evangelical churches on this topic but I doubted that these would be very helpful to me and they were not. Being only a month away from my wonderful, energizing Sabbatical, I decided to take on the challenge of sharing with you some of my thoughts about the Ascension in ways that make sense for me in the hopes that these words might be helpful in your own thinking.
Ascension Day comes 40 days after Easter. Luke, the author both of the Gospel Luke and of the Acts of the Apostles sets the scene in Bethany. He reminds the reader that after Jesus’ resurrection on the 3rd day, Jesus made many appearances to his disciples in the next 40 days. He spoke to them about the kingdom, he told them to remain in Jerusalem, waiting for the promise of God. He told them that just as John had baptized with water, they would soon be baptizing with the Holy Spirit. So when he had gathered them together in Bethany, the disciples asked if this were the time when the kingdom would be restored in Israel. Jesus responds that the timing is none of their business; it’s God’s business. He goes on to tell them that when the Holy Spirit comes to them, they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Next, while the disciples watched, Jesus, their beloved Lord, was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. Wow! What a shocker! Imagine us standing along side these men, these eleven disciples that had loved Jesus so much that they had left everything to follow him! I can imagine all or us would be standing there looking up with our mouths opened with amazed looks on our faces. Where is he? What happened? Can anyone see him? As we continue to stare with strange expressions on our faces and hearts pounding, two men in white robes (angels?) stood before us saying, “Why do you just stand there looking up at an empty sky? Snap out of it before you get a crick in your neck.1 There’s work to be done so get started.” (Now there was another part of the men’s speech: “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” I’m not about to try to explain what all that means. It may be part of the reason progressive Christians seldom preach on the Ascension. As you know I am not one that takes the Bible literally even though I believe its truths are much greater than the specific words used by scribes and translators who labored and still labor to bring us as accurate a picture as possible of something that was written down at least 25 years (in the case of Luke) after it happened.2 However, I believe it’s important not to miss the deep truths in the ascension scriptures, by getting hung up on trying to use scientific 21st century logic. For me the important part of the ascension is the spiritual part. If Jesus is no longer walking beside us here on the earth, then the Good News is that Jesus is now available to dwell within us as part of the Godhead, the Trinity. Yes he is still with us and can give us the strength to be his witnesses wherever we are or wherever we are being called.
Why do we tell this story? Pastor Wes Morgan says “the purpose of telling the story is twofold. First, to share that Jesus --our Savior -- did not simply fade away like some breath on the wind after the resurrection. Rather he is still in the world only now in the new body- a body called the church, the church that shares his mission of love and care. Second, telling the story reminds us that His form -- his substance-- his identity—are instead made one with the Father's -- and yet somehow remains unique …” I think that fits quite well with my sermon title of “Up, Up and Away Yet Still Here.”
It’s hard to have someone you love and maybe even depend on to leave you—even under the best of circumstances. We all know the pain—if not first hand—of losing loved ones by death or divorce. How many of you have said goodbye to a son or daughter as they left for college? I can remember how hard my mother cried when she and Dad drove me to the University of Maine, about 150 miles from home, probably 4 or 5 hours on the little country roads back in the 50’s. I also remember my mother’s story of how she wanted to go away to school, got accepted and was so homesick for her mother that she had to come back home, never to return. Now what does all this have to do with Ascension. Sometimes the greatest gift we can give our children is to let them go, in spite of the pain. Jesus had to leave his disciples. He had taught them well; he had loved them well; he had assured them that he would be close by, that the Holy Spirit would be their Advocate, an Advocate or Counselor that could lead them, inspire them, teach them. The Christ part of Jesus, that part that is divine, would be there for them and for us always. With the physical leadership of Jesus no longer there, the disciples would have to do it on their own—be witnesses in the world. So the important thing about the Ascension, was not Jesus’ physical absence but his spiritual nearness.
When Jesus was living amongst his followers, there were certain places where he could be found. His first sermon as recorded in Luke 4 was the Isaiah passage that says Jesus was sent to bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to let the oppressed go free. He wasn’t found in fancy palaces or with the leaders of his day; he was found amongst the oppressed, those whose lives cried out for justice and peace. And now there is no one but us to do the work that Jesus began. I love the way Annie Dillard writes about this in her book, Holy the Firm: We can stand looking up into heaven or we can believe the promise of Jesus. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses.” …
Ascension Day is not a call to look up. It is to trust that Christ’s promise is down and in and around us. We are not alone—you and I who dance and climb, who run and get knocked down, we who lie on the grass or sit watching the late night news. We are not alone. The Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus surprises us at every turn, saying, “Guess who?” Guess who is being given the power by the Holy Spirit to be Christ’s witnesses in Deering, Hillsboro, Weare, and to places far away. Guess who is being called to teach Sunday School, to read scripture, to organize potlucks, to help at the Food Pantry, to build homes for those still homeless from Hurricane Katrina? Guess who is being called to use their talents of quilting, sewing, crafts, canning and so forth to prepare for the Church/Guild Fair? Guess who is needed to use their financial expertise and their building and gardening expertise to make of this church a viable, safe and attractive building? Maybe someone here will go back to school to become a minister. And I haven’t even begun talking about the gifts we have in this church in leadership, music, outreach, and hospitality!
We are not a perfect church, nor are we perfect people. The thing we have going for us is that power of the Holy Spirit if we only let the Spirit fill us and lead us. If we strongly believe in this power Jesus was talking about, we cannot be held back. We don’t have to wait for more members, more money—all we have to do is let that power of the Spirit bring us hope, bring us vision, and do what God is calling us to do. Sure we may get discouraged some times but if we remember to call on the risen Jesus that is as close as our hearts, we can overcome. God’s grace and love can bring us individually and as a church to new beginnings and maybe even new destinations.
Oh how they tried to keep Jesus down: the authorities, the Pharisees, even at times his family and his disciples. They used trickery, betrayal, violence, even death itself. But no one can keep Jesus down. He rose right off that cross and literally or symbolically—however you believe--resurrected and ascended. There are so many things that try to keep us down: poverty, illness, anger, uncertainty, lack of education, lack of friends and community. But I’m here to tell you that with the power that Jesus promised, no one can keep us down, not even ourselves. God’s love lifts us up, and the teachings of Jesus point us in directions that may surprise us. Jesus is with us until the end of time. There is nothing that will separate us from that love of Christ. I thank God that Jesus is the head of our church and has made us partners with him. I pray that we can all let that Holy Spirit that descends on Pentecost take us to new heights of giving and receiving blessings as we reach out as witnesses to Jesus. Amen
1Anna Murdock from Midrash online
2 This is based on the estimate that Jesus was 33 years old when crucified and the book of Luke was written between 59 and 62 CE.
Scripture: Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24:44-53
This is the 7th and last Sunday in Easter for 2009. I had a choice of preaching on the scriptures for this Sunday or focusing on the Ascension of Jesus. This is my 6th Easter season and I have never preached on Ascension. I looked at the lectionary/sermon site of the national UCC and the only thing there are the scripture references—no sermon seeds, no stories to use, no references to articles. I then turned to another favorite site—the Center for Progressive Christianity--again no references or articles. What should I do? There are plenty of sermons from fundamentalists and evangelical churches on this topic but I doubted that these would be very helpful to me and they were not. Being only a month away from my wonderful, energizing Sabbatical, I decided to take on the challenge of sharing with you some of my thoughts about the Ascension in ways that make sense for me in the hopes that these words might be helpful in your own thinking.
Ascension Day comes 40 days after Easter. Luke, the author both of the Gospel Luke and of the Acts of the Apostles sets the scene in Bethany. He reminds the reader that after Jesus’ resurrection on the 3rd day, Jesus made many appearances to his disciples in the next 40 days. He spoke to them about the kingdom, he told them to remain in Jerusalem, waiting for the promise of God. He told them that just as John had baptized with water, they would soon be baptizing with the Holy Spirit. So when he had gathered them together in Bethany, the disciples asked if this were the time when the kingdom would be restored in Israel. Jesus responds that the timing is none of their business; it’s God’s business. He goes on to tell them that when the Holy Spirit comes to them, they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Next, while the disciples watched, Jesus, their beloved Lord, was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. Wow! What a shocker! Imagine us standing along side these men, these eleven disciples that had loved Jesus so much that they had left everything to follow him! I can imagine all or us would be standing there looking up with our mouths opened with amazed looks on our faces. Where is he? What happened? Can anyone see him? As we continue to stare with strange expressions on our faces and hearts pounding, two men in white robes (angels?) stood before us saying, “Why do you just stand there looking up at an empty sky? Snap out of it before you get a crick in your neck.1 There’s work to be done so get started.” (Now there was another part of the men’s speech: “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” I’m not about to try to explain what all that means. It may be part of the reason progressive Christians seldom preach on the Ascension. As you know I am not one that takes the Bible literally even though I believe its truths are much greater than the specific words used by scribes and translators who labored and still labor to bring us as accurate a picture as possible of something that was written down at least 25 years (in the case of Luke) after it happened.2 However, I believe it’s important not to miss the deep truths in the ascension scriptures, by getting hung up on trying to use scientific 21st century logic. For me the important part of the ascension is the spiritual part. If Jesus is no longer walking beside us here on the earth, then the Good News is that Jesus is now available to dwell within us as part of the Godhead, the Trinity. Yes he is still with us and can give us the strength to be his witnesses wherever we are or wherever we are being called.
Why do we tell this story? Pastor Wes Morgan says “the purpose of telling the story is twofold. First, to share that Jesus --our Savior -- did not simply fade away like some breath on the wind after the resurrection. Rather he is still in the world only now in the new body- a body called the church, the church that shares his mission of love and care. Second, telling the story reminds us that His form -- his substance-- his identity—are instead made one with the Father's -- and yet somehow remains unique …” I think that fits quite well with my sermon title of “Up, Up and Away Yet Still Here.”
It’s hard to have someone you love and maybe even depend on to leave you—even under the best of circumstances. We all know the pain—if not first hand—of losing loved ones by death or divorce. How many of you have said goodbye to a son or daughter as they left for college? I can remember how hard my mother cried when she and Dad drove me to the University of Maine, about 150 miles from home, probably 4 or 5 hours on the little country roads back in the 50’s. I also remember my mother’s story of how she wanted to go away to school, got accepted and was so homesick for her mother that she had to come back home, never to return. Now what does all this have to do with Ascension. Sometimes the greatest gift we can give our children is to let them go, in spite of the pain. Jesus had to leave his disciples. He had taught them well; he had loved them well; he had assured them that he would be close by, that the Holy Spirit would be their Advocate, an Advocate or Counselor that could lead them, inspire them, teach them. The Christ part of Jesus, that part that is divine, would be there for them and for us always. With the physical leadership of Jesus no longer there, the disciples would have to do it on their own—be witnesses in the world. So the important thing about the Ascension, was not Jesus’ physical absence but his spiritual nearness.
When Jesus was living amongst his followers, there were certain places where he could be found. His first sermon as recorded in Luke 4 was the Isaiah passage that says Jesus was sent to bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to let the oppressed go free. He wasn’t found in fancy palaces or with the leaders of his day; he was found amongst the oppressed, those whose lives cried out for justice and peace. And now there is no one but us to do the work that Jesus began. I love the way Annie Dillard writes about this in her book, Holy the Firm: We can stand looking up into heaven or we can believe the promise of Jesus. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses.” …
Ascension Day is not a call to look up. It is to trust that Christ’s promise is down and in and around us. We are not alone—you and I who dance and climb, who run and get knocked down, we who lie on the grass or sit watching the late night news. We are not alone. The Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus surprises us at every turn, saying, “Guess who?” Guess who is being given the power by the Holy Spirit to be Christ’s witnesses in Deering, Hillsboro, Weare, and to places far away. Guess who is being called to teach Sunday School, to read scripture, to organize potlucks, to help at the Food Pantry, to build homes for those still homeless from Hurricane Katrina? Guess who is being called to use their talents of quilting, sewing, crafts, canning and so forth to prepare for the Church/Guild Fair? Guess who is needed to use their financial expertise and their building and gardening expertise to make of this church a viable, safe and attractive building? Maybe someone here will go back to school to become a minister. And I haven’t even begun talking about the gifts we have in this church in leadership, music, outreach, and hospitality!
We are not a perfect church, nor are we perfect people. The thing we have going for us is that power of the Holy Spirit if we only let the Spirit fill us and lead us. If we strongly believe in this power Jesus was talking about, we cannot be held back. We don’t have to wait for more members, more money—all we have to do is let that power of the Spirit bring us hope, bring us vision, and do what God is calling us to do. Sure we may get discouraged some times but if we remember to call on the risen Jesus that is as close as our hearts, we can overcome. God’s grace and love can bring us individually and as a church to new beginnings and maybe even new destinations.
Oh how they tried to keep Jesus down: the authorities, the Pharisees, even at times his family and his disciples. They used trickery, betrayal, violence, even death itself. But no one can keep Jesus down. He rose right off that cross and literally or symbolically—however you believe--resurrected and ascended. There are so many things that try to keep us down: poverty, illness, anger, uncertainty, lack of education, lack of friends and community. But I’m here to tell you that with the power that Jesus promised, no one can keep us down, not even ourselves. God’s love lifts us up, and the teachings of Jesus point us in directions that may surprise us. Jesus is with us until the end of time. There is nothing that will separate us from that love of Christ. I thank God that Jesus is the head of our church and has made us partners with him. I pray that we can all let that Holy Spirit that descends on Pentecost take us to new heights of giving and receiving blessings as we reach out as witnesses to Jesus. Amen
1Anna Murdock from Midrash online
2 This is based on the estimate that Jesus was 33 years old when crucified and the book of Luke was written between 59 and 62 CE.
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 6:30 PM
