Ascension

Jesus is gone – again.

May 24, 2009

Year B

Gone. Jesus is gone – again. Disappeared up into the clouds as = He ascended into heaven.

What must his disciples be thinking? Almost six weeks before they had to face his crucifixion; they were so devastated at his death and at a total loss as to= how to proceed. Then three days l= ater, Jesus is resurrected from the grave. They were so happy to see him again, to touch him again, to eat with= him again.

But Jesus was a bit different this time and he didn’t stay with them on a full time basis like he did before and ….He literally popped in and popped out of their lives. Scripture gives us just a few stories of his resurrection appearances that show us how different He was from before:

· = His friends and disciples did not always recognize him at first especially at t= he tomb.

· = When he appeared that first night to the disciples, he appeared in the room alth= ough the door was locked.

· = He popped in again a week later when he came back to show Thomas his scars.

· = Then there is the account on the road to Emmaus when Jesus ran into two of the disciples and opened the scriptures to them so they could see that all of t= hese events had been foretold. The= n at supper with them, he broke bread and blessed it, and their eyes were open a= nd they finally recognized Jesus. Then….he just disappeared.

· = The last story puts Jesus way up north by the Sea of Galilee, near many of the disciples’ homes. In fa= ct, they were back to business as usual – fishing; and Jesus appeared and told them to fish on the other side of the boat. They then feasted that morning on = their miraculous catch. During that= meal Jesus reassured Peter of his love and told him to take care of His sheep.

Right after that Jesus told them he had to ascend to his Father in heaven –= he was leaving again. I imagine = after those 40 days of popping in and out they might be getting used to that by n= ow, which maybe was Jesus’ plan all along.

The disciples must have been confused when Jesus told them he could not stay wi= th them. What did that mean? Why did he have to leave? But think about it…what woul= d it have been like if Jesus had stayed? &= nbsp;

Actually, I hear many people say – if only Jesus was here to tell us what to do…. There are too many Christians who are still standing, staring up into heaven, or worse yet, do= ing little themselves, waiting for something to happen, waiting for Jesus to do something about the church, the world, and our own lives. But it really could not have turne= d out that way, He could not stay. =

If Jesus remained everyone would have looked only to him, relied on him to get= the work done, and forced him to be the leader.

But Jesus did not come in the flesh to be a leader, to raise up an army to conq= uer the Roman empire and put the corrupt Jewish leaders in their place. He came to reconcile us back to God. And this reconciliation = does not require territory or land; = it does not require a temple; it does not require the hundreds of commandments found in the scriptures. It only requires people. It requires us. In the reading today from the first letter of John, he reminded us that “Tho= se who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts.” We have that testimony. It requires us to share it. And that is why he had to ascend u= p into heaven.

Jesus handed the torch, the vision, the responsibility to us. What do we do with it?=

There are some who want to take our testimony of Jesus Christ, this Good News, and form a safe community away from the rest of the world. When Rod & I belonged to Calva= ry Chapel in Oregon – they were like that. They were openly critical of the w= orld and all that was in it. Most = of the children at Calvary were home schooled or in Private Christian schools beca= use they wanted to keep them safe from the corrupt world. This did not feel right to us. Indeed today’s Gospel tells = us that we are sent into the world, but we don’t belong to the world. I carried on a year-long email discussion with a lady from the church on this very issue. I could not get her to understand = that being in the world as a Christian can actually strengthen our faith as we a= re forced to rely on Jesus. The Apostle Paul tells us that nothing<= /i> the world throws at us can separate us from the love of God. To withdraw from the world is actu= ally saying God is not the Almighty One. Ascension warns that if our spirituality is not rooted in the world, every day, it won’t work. It will be just another burden in an over committed schedule. Ascension calls us into the real w= orld.

Just because Jesus is now in heaven, it does not mean we are alone. He promised help from the Holy Spi= rit – and that’s next week’s sermon. But Jesus’ Ascension also he= lps us. As he begins his heavenly ministry, He sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us. He is there testifying on our beha= lf having experienced all that we have experienced; all the pain, sorrow, grief and joy we are subject to on earth. The marks on his hands, feet and side from His crucifixion are the evidence now on display in heaven.

But Jesus has left the world in our hands and while we are in the world, we are= not of the world. At our Baptism = we are marked as Christ’s own forever. We base our identity on Jesus. This has changed my life from thinking only of myself to putting oth= ers first. Have the stories of th= e things Jesus said and did made your life better?&= nbsp; If you say yes – then you are His witnesses. If you don’t tell anyone, th= en how will they know? If you don= 217;t tell anyone, then how will the story be passed on? It has been said that the church i= s only one generation away from oblivion. If any one generation fails to pass on the Good News, the church will cease to exist? Do we want to= be that generation? Jesus told u= s to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Fat= her and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.&nbs= p;

So how do we pass on the Good News? By loving God and loving each other. We have been hearing a lot about love in the sermons since Easter. Did we not sing “They Will K= now we are Christians by our Love,” a couple of Sunday’s ago. Last week Fr. Ken talked about God’s unconditional love. We have been created to love and be loved.&nb= sp; For a Christian, Love is a verb, it is serving one another, putting others first.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension – Jesus has gone up to heaven= to be with the Father – he has left the work to us. He has left us to love one another= .

I have a homework assignment for you. This week I would like you to think about how you live in the world loving others. It may also be possible that you are looking for new ways to love one another by serving?<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Think on these things = during this coming week. Listen for = new ways that God would have you love and serve Him. Then come to church next Sun= day – it is the Feast of Pentecost – of the birth of the church, and our empowerment by the Holy Spirit. &= nbsp; Come back next week and be renewed and empowered by God to love and = live in the world as ones who have the testimony of Jesus Christ in our hearts.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> AMEN.