Easter 7

This was all thought before we had the opportunity to send spacecraft and satellites into space to reveal a huge universe bigger than any of us can fully appreciate. We now know that if Jesus embarked upon a physical journey through the clouds to place called heaven, then it would have been a very long journey indeed. Today some might prefer to think of the Ascension as a metaphor. Nowadays we do not regard heaven as place beyond the sky, we think of heaven as somewhere where God is where we will be forever. Jesus need not have floated up like Mary Poppins but could have been taken from the disciples in a much more ordinary way. Jesus going on up the mountain into the cloud is perhaps the most natural way for him to leave the disciples. However, if Jesus wanted to reassure his disciples that he was returning to glory with God, then the Ascension would need to make it clear that he was ‘going up.’ In the Old Testament when God met with people, a cloud often represented his presence and glory. The cloud may or may not have been supernatural, nevertheless is was most surely a cloud with deep symbolic significance.

For the disciples and for us the meaning is clear, Jesus has gone before us. He has left this world and is exalted to the place from which his reign will be acknowledged as he is Lord of all. This separation of Christ from his followers was the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to be given to the disciples to enable them to have God’s presence with them intimately, wherever they might be. The disciples lost the physical presence of Jesus, but they gained the spiritual presence of Jesus in a very real way. This we celebrate next week at Pentecost. 

Opening Verse of Scripture  Acts 1

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Collect Prayer for the Day—Before we read we pray

O God the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: we beseech you, leave us not comfortless, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Risen, ascended Lord, as we rejoice at your triumph, fill your Church on earth with power and compassion, that all who are estranged by sin may find forgiveness and know your peace, to the glory of God the Father.

First Bible Reading Acts 1.6–14

So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Second Reading  1 Peter 4.12–14; 5.6–11

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. to him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading  John 17.1–11

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

Post Communion Prayer

Eternal God, giver of love and power, your Son Jesus Christ has sent us into all the world to preach the gospel of his kingdom: confirm us in this mission, and help us to live the good news we proclaim; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Commentary

Our hymns have a strong Ascension theme this morning as we meet on this Sunday after Ascension Day. Jesus is not only the risen Jesus of Easter he is now the Ascended Lord of Heaven, our King of Kings. So the hymn writers describe a kingly enthronement of Jesus - they remind me of the coronation of King Charles III We sing

 · Hail the day that sees him rise

· Crown his with many crowns

· Crown him Lord of all 

 These are three powerful hymns and I enjoy singing them but I do so mindful of the fact that they come with a lot of baggage. Over the centuries our hymns, art and theology have presented the Ascension of a Jesus who floats through the clouds into the world above and frankly this makes us look naïve.

In his book The Big Questions in Science and Religion (2008), the Oxford theologian and ordained Anglican priest Keith Ward captures the clash of ancient and modern cosmologies that we experience with the ascension story. He writes:

"We now know that, if Jesus began ascending two thousand years ago, he would not yet have left the Milky Way (unless he attained warp speed)." 

Those who do see this as a literal levitation, Jesus the first astronaut, consider that this kind of disappearance by Jesus would have been essential to impress upon his followers that he was moving to a different heavenly existence. A rather conservative evangelical commentary on Luke by James Ward describes it as follows.

It is hard to imagine that the disciples would have believed or grasped the finality of his departure even if he had instructed them accordingly had he not performed an empirical object lesson such as the ascension. James R Edwards ‘The Gospel according to Luke 2015

In other words Jesus did this very visual literal miracle because it helped them come to terms with the fact that he was going away. He wasn’t really going up to a castle in the sky but he had to pretend, because it was playing to the mindset of what folks believed at the time.

We know that the ascension of humans or beings lifted into the heavens was a common theme among many mythologies and religions all over the world. This is what happened to important people. In the Old Testament it was Elijah, in the Hellenistic world it was kings, prophet, or Hercules. So the disappearance of Jesus was told in a way that people at that time thought normal for one believed to be the Son of God.

Sadly there has come about thousands of paintings which embellish the episode and show a floating Jesus, defying gravity and rising out of sight through clouds.  Our hymns reflect the same notion   

Hail the day that sees him rise, alleluia,

to his throne above the skies; alleluia,

It makes sense that with a flat earth Jesus is taken up to a heaven through the clouds and in this area above there was a physical throne upon which Jesus would sit. From that it follows that those who faithfully follow Jesus will eventually also rise up through the clouds to see Jesus on his throne and become like royal courtiers, dressed up in finery befitting those who serve the king.

In our Wednesday service I have selected a beautiful modern hymn called ‘King of Kings’ and it is a great post Ascension hymn with a melody which threatens to sit inside your head until the following day. It has the lines

Your majesty, I can but bow, I lay my all before you now.

In royal robes I don't deserve  I live to serve your majesty,

As I say it is a lovely hymn but there we are back into the idea of a heaven above where we are all dressed up in costumes, spending our eternal lives in something resembling an everlasting coronation service. I can’t think of many things more ridiculous than dressing up in a regal outfit to sing never ending hymns and didn’t Jesus reserve some of his fiercest criticism for those who liked dressing up in robes? (Luke 20)

A part of me wonders whether this sounds more like the opposite of ascending and more like the other place below.

Is it any wonder people reject such ideas?

Recent research by King’s College, London concluded that people in the UK are less likely to believe in God than any other country in the world. I wonder whether this is partly due to the fact that they reject the God of the ridiculous, rather than the real and living God. Given the fact that perhaps at best this was an empirical object lesson, should we now not attempt some more helpful ideas and language to express the Ascension?  Pythagoras determined that the world was round six centuries before Jesus. The church has been tardy in moving its message to engage with those who wish faith and reason to be companions.

Summary 

So leaving behind ideas of the feet of Jesus disappearing into clouds, a kingly palace in the sky etc. What is the meaning of the Ascension ?

1. It reminds us that Jesus did not grow old with his disciples. He left and gave them a task. in Matthew’s Gospel there is no disappearing act by Jesus he simply goes with them to a mountain in Galilee and tells them that they must make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them all of his commandments and rather than focussing on his absence there is a promise ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Mark tells us that Jesus said

 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15

These are important words and they make sense to our times. There is an article in the Church Times this week commenting on the fact that the churches in England have been growing progressively older. People over 70 make up a considerably larger proportion of the church than they should because of a lack of young people.

Young people may find images of Jesus disappearing through the clouds ridiculous but the words of Jesus perhaps not so. When I speak with young people I am aware that they are different from older generations in some interesting ways. They are generally more inclusive, they do not have the same levels of prejudice as people in the churches. They welcome a more diverse society. Most of us have grown up in a church which harboured and cultivated prejudice against people, it could be because of their colour, or gender, marital status or sexuality etc etc.

The clear message of Jesus in his final words to his disciples is that the Gospel is for all the people of the world. The parable of the Good Samaritan made clear that neighbours are everyone in need, not just those we like and Jesus drew special attention to the poor, the sick, outcasts, the foreigners, the marginalized, and even the most hated enemies.

2. The second thing about the Ascension which I will mention is this. Young people care about the environment, they are upset that it has been pillaged and despoiled. I therefore think that the Ascension message of Jesus is important because Jesus tells his disciples to preach not just to all people. He says

 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Indeed not just the young but increasingly more people recognise the importance of the good news for creation. At a time when people are concerned about things like climate change and untreated sewage in our rivers perhaps it is time to listen afresh to the teaching of Jesus and for us to be unashamed in proclaim them. The Greek philosophy of Plato strongly influenced early thought with the idea that immortal human souls escaped this world and ascended to the heavens. We need to recapture the authentic Christian teaching of a bodily resurrection and a creation which itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Good News indeed for us and also a fitting reminder that at his ascension that Jesus is Lord of all creation.    Charles Royden

Meditation

Jesus tells the disciples that they must not leave Jerusalem. They must wait for the transforming gift of the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit the church must stay at home and wait, because it is just not worthwhile bothering. With the Holy Spirit things will be remarkable, a total change. Our Church today is called to proclaim the good news of forgiveness and reconciliation, and the hope of newness that is given voice in the resurrection itself. It is a grand vision of being God's people, God's agents of transformation in the world. The mission of the church here is nothing less than to go into the world as God's people, and proclaim a subversive, transforming message about a suffering God who calls anyone without discrimination to respond. 

There is a clear realisation from the very beginning of Luke's Gospel, that we simply cannot do what God has called us to do on any level without God's help. That enabling power for which they are waiting is not something they can generate or make happen by their own efforts. It is a gift of God, in his own time and in his own way. Perhaps this Ascension Sunday, as we observe the return of Jesus to the Father we can remember Luke tells us that the church cannot be the church without the power of the Holy Spirit enabling Jesus' followers to carry out their task as witnesses. Luke is clear that the church is the church only when it has waited until it has been clothed with power from on high. 

Hymns

• Hail the day that sees him rise (Tune Llanfair)
• Come on and celebrate
• Christ triumphant, ever reigning (Tune Christ triumphant)
• Jesus our hope, our heart’s desire (Tune Metzler) 
• We sing the praise of Jesus, of our ascending Lord (Morning Light) 
• Rejoice the Lord is King (Tune Gopsal) 
• Praise Him
• The Saviour when to heaven (Tune Gonfalon Royal)
• Hail the day that sees him rise (Tune Gwalchmai)
• Mine eyes have seen (Tune Battle Hymn) 

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Risen, ascended and glorified Lord, we kneel before you in humble adoration and awe. Rule in our hearts and be at the centre of our lives and your church.  May your people be your hands and feet, your ears and eyes and occasionally your voice to speak your words to our troubled world. 

We pray for forgiveness for our unwillingness to take to heart your prayer that we should be one people, united in love and witness to your world. Especially we are mindful of the failure of the Anglican Methodist Covenant and we pray that the logjam which prevents our churches from drawing closer together in organic unity would be removed. 

We pray for Christians who are persecuted for their faith. Lord Jesus your own parents were persecuted and forced to flee to safety. So we pray for all those who suffer for their faith and we pray that Christian people will never be tempted to join those who persecute others. Give us respect for all people of whatever faith and a willingness to stand up for human rights and the dignity of all those created in the image of our Father God. 

Lord Jesus, name above all names, Lord of hope and consolation, look with compassion on the anguish of your troubled world. Be our strength and comfort in times of adversity, bless us and help us to behold your glory in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves. Be present with all who suffer pain in body, anguish of mind or fear of the future. In their trouble, move us to care and be your compassion in the world. 

Risen and ascended Lord, we lay our lives before you in trust and obedience. Raise us we pray with all of your children who have died and bring us to sing your praises. May your people be one in seeking to bring about your kingdom here on earth, to your praise and glory. Amen 

O Almighty God, who by thy holy apostle hast taught us to set our affection on things above: grant us so to labour in this life as ever to be mindful of our citizenship in those heavenly places whither our saviour Christ is gone before. Book of Common Prayer South Africa

You are not only risen and alive, you are Lord.

This is your ascension, your ascendancy over the whole universe.

You stand over and above all that is best in life as its source.

You stand above all that is worst as ultimate victor.

You stand above all powers and authorities as judge.

You stand above all failure and weakness and sin as forgiveness and love.

You alone are worthy of total allegiance, total commitment.

You are Lord ‘My Lord and my God’ Rex Chapman

Lord of Hosts, purify our hearts that the King of Glory may come in, even your Son, Jesus our Redeemer; for he is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Additional Material

Commentary

In our Gospel reading Jesus looks towards heaven and speaks to the Father, summing up what’s about to happen and praying for His disciples and for all believers. In verses 1 - 5 Jesus reports that he has completed the task of making the Father known and asks to return to the Father’s glory. In verses 6 - 8 He amplifies His report. He has passed on to the believers that which he received from the Father. But the focus is not about communicating information but about the establishment and confirmation of a special relationship with God. In this relationship is life itself, here on earth and for eternity, in the world and beyond the world. And for all those who have entered into this relationship, they too are special. Special because they belong to the Father through this new relationship, and because of this they are invited to share in the task which the Father gave the Son. As we are called to carry on this task today, we, like them will face many challenges, the same challenges that Jesus highlights in His report back to the Father. The challenge of a hostile world, the challenge of temptation to give up when the going gets tough, and the challenge of disunity among believers. How could they, or we, ever succeed?

This passage from John is Jesus’ prayer for what the Father will do for the world, through his risen Son, through the church. It is not a declaration of what is, but a heartfelt prayer for what shall be. It is not a blueprint for how unity will take form or mission take place, but a plea for the Father’s strong name to protect those who are in the world who are called and open to the task of doing mission with joy and hope. A passionate appeal from Jesus to His Father that the believers may withstand the challenges which will lie ahead. 

As Jesus ascended into heaven and left the earth in bodily form, the believers must have wondered what the future held. In an uncertain, sceptical and hostile world they must have felt alone and overwhelmed by the task to which Jesus had charged them. Paul, in his pastoral letter to Peter gives an indication of just how hard the task might be. It’s not for the fainthearted. The enemy is prowling round like a lion, ready to devour anyone it can get its teeth into. For early Christians with memories of their friends and families being thrown to the lions by the Romans this can’t have been a comforting image. Fortunately Paul goes on to say how these Christians can resist. They need to stand firm in their faith, confident in the hope that lies before them as God restores and strengthens them for the task in hand. It was a two way street. God would strengthen and restore them if they stood firm in their faith. Presumably the weaker their convictions, the more difficult it would be for them to stand firm. A challenge for them to be deeply rooted in their embryonic faith. Strength coming not from years of experience or tradition, but strength in believing that the God who came to earth in Jesus would do what He said and transform their lives and the lives of others by His gentle, yet all powerful touch.

As they stepped out in this fledgling belief, would they be ignored as irrelevant, ridiculed for trying to speak out about their faith, brushed aside as they tried to show God’s love? Would they be paralysed by fear and uncertainty? Would the pressure to conform to the prevailing lax attitudes overwhelm them? Would they be split by arguments and dissention? Time would tell. It did. History shows that through the power of the Holy Spirit who did indeed strengthen them they, and countless others through the ages, were more than ready and able for the task. The question is, are we? Sam Cappleman

Commentary

After years of telling my children to avoid computer games, I have just discovered why they are so compulsive. I have not changed my mind on some points, they can consume far too much time and many of them are completely mindless. But Star Wars Rogue Squadron is amazing! You can fly a fighter jet just like Luke Skywalker and destroy hundreds of ‘drones’ and other evil enemies. I achieved a gold medal in one game but alas I am still only a cadet pilot. Max on the other hand is a Colonel. I was impressed by his obvious skill until I discovered that he has learned a very naughty trick. Apparently these games have ‘cheats’ built into them and Max had learned how to tell the computer that he could not be killed. By typing ‘I am Dolly’ you are apparently immortal. So he flies anywhere and he never gets shot down in flames, he has escaped the power of death. After Easter the disciples must have felt as though Jesus had discovered such a ‘cheat’ in the game of life. They were now following a leader who could not be killed. After suffering such a terrible feeling of loss at his death, hope was alive again at his resurrection. Perhaps this was now the opportunity for Jesus to conquer the world. Listen to the words from Acts which the disciples used to question Jesus 

‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 

BUT! Today is the Sunday after the Ascension and we remember that Jesus did not use his power to keep on cheating death. Instead of leading them on, he was leaving them on their own. How must they have felt as they watched him go away with these words ringing in their ears, 

‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ 

The disciples were reminded that Jesus had not gone forever. He had gone before them and he had left them a task to complete. This task would not be accomplished by them on their own. The Ascension was not an end to Jesus’ ministry, it was the beginning of a new kind of relationship with his disciples. Jesus had said that he would send the Holy Spirit. As they waited and prayed after the Ascension, they too found the power of God and discovered that Jesus had not deserted them, he was with them still and would continue to be with them at all times even to the end of the earth. The secret of success for all of us is to remember that we are not alone. God promises us his Holy Spirit too. All that we have to do is like the disciples wait for that power from on high. Success is not achieved through our greater effort, but through our greater dependence. For in the words of Isaiah ‘it is those who wait on the Lord who shall renew their strength.’ Charles Royden

Meditation

Jesus tells the disciples that they must not leave Jerusalem. They must wait for the transforming gift of the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit the church must stay at home and wait, because it is just not worthwhile bothering. With the Holy Spirit things will be remarkable, a total change. Our Church today is called to proclaim the good news of forgiveness and reconciliation, and the hope of newness that is given voice in the resurrection itself. It is a grand vision of being God's people, God's agents of transformation in the world. The mission of the church here is nothing less than to go into the world as God's people, and proclaim a subversive, transforming message about a suffering God who calls anyone without discrimination to respond. 

There is a clear realisation from the very beginning of Luke's Gospel, that we simply cannot do what God has called us to do on any level without God's help. That enabling power for which they are waiting is not something they can generate or make happen by their own efforts. It is a gift of God, in his own time and in his own way. Perhaps this Ascension Sunday, as we observe the return of Jesus to the Father we can remember Luke tells us that the church cannot be the church without the power of the Holy Spirit enabling Jesus' followers to carry out their task as witnesses. Luke is clear that the church is the church only when it has waited until it has been clothed with power from on high. 

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Saviour Christ, of ourselves we cannot love you, cannot follow you, cannot cleave to you; but you came down that we might love you; ascended that we might follow you, bound us round you as your girdle that we might be held fast to you. You loved us, so make us love you; you sought us, so make us seek you; you found us when we were lost, so be yourself the way, that we may find you and be found in you, our only hope and everlasting joy. Amen

Heavenly Father, You gave your Son, Jesus Christ to show us the Way of justice, truth and peace. Help us hold his example before our eyes, in the way that leads to a better world on earth and eternal life in the Heaven. Amen 

We have a great high priest who has passed into the Heavens, Jesus the Son of God. Amen

Blessed are you, Lord God almighty, who gave your Son, Jesus Christ, to be our redeemer and the author of everlasting life; and exalted Him above all for ever; that at all times and in all places we might be partakers of His power and His glory. Amen 

Almighty and ever-living God, give us new strength from the courage of Christ our shepherd, and lead us to join the saints in heaven, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen 

The God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, establish, strengthen and settle you in the faith; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always. Amen