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For Ascension &
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Scripture Readings for Ascension
The
following are the readings for Ascension Day according to the Revised Common
(RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), New Zealand (NZ), Roman Catholic, Church of England, Church
of Ireland, Welsh, and South African / Canadian BAS Lectionaries. All readings
are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible. Unless
noted otherwise, the lectionaries of New Zealand, Canada (BAS), South Africa,
England, Wales, and Ireland (CofI) are identical to the RCL this Sunday.
For the
ECUSA, C of I, and C of E, the passage from Acts may be used for the second
reading, if the alternative from the Old Testament was used as first reading.
FIRST
READING: Acts 1: 1 - 11 (all but Wales)
Acts 1:1
(NRSV) In the first book, Theoph'ilus, I wrote about all that Jesus
did and
taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to
heaven,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles
whom he had chosen.
3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them
by many
convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking
about the
kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to
leave
Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This,"
he
said,
"is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but
you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
6 So when
they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time
when you
will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He replied, "It is not for
you to know
the times or periods that the Father has set by his own
authority. 8
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." 9 When he had said this, as they were
watching, he
was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10
While he was
going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men
in white
robes stood by them. 11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you
stand
looking up toward 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."
Ephesians 1:
15 - 23 (Wales)
See Second
Reading, below
2 Kings 2: 1
- 15 (alt. for ECUSA)
2Kin 2:1
(NRSV) Now when the LORD was about to take Eli'jah up to heaven by
a whirlwind,
Eli'jah and Eli'sha were on their way from Gil'gal. 2 Eli'jah
said to
Eli'sha, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Beth'el."
But Eli'sha
said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not
leave
you." So they went down to Beth'el. 3 The company of prophets {Heb
[sons of the
prophets]} who were in Beth'el came out to Eli'sha, and said to
him,
"Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from
you?"
And he said,
"Yes, I know; keep silent."
4 Eli'jah
said to him, "Eli'sha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to
Jericho."
But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will
not leave
you." So they came to Jericho. 5 The company of prophets {Heb
[sons
of the
prophets]} who were at Jericho drew near to Eli'sha, and said to him,
"Do you
know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And
he answered,
"Yes, I know; be silent."
6 Then
Eli'jah said to him, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the
Jordan."
But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will
not leave
you." So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the company of
prophets
{Heb [sons of the prophets]} also went, and stood at some distance
from them,
as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Eli'jah took his
mantle and
rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the
one side and
to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
9 When they
had crossed, Eli'jah said to Eli'sha, "Tell me what I may do for
you, before
I am taken from you." Eli'sha said, "Please let me inherit a
double share
of your spirit." 10 He responded, "You have asked a hard thing;
yet, if you
see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if
not, it will
not." 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of
fire and
horses of fire separated the two of them, and Eli'jah ascended in a
whirlwind
into heaven. 12 Eli'sha kept watching and crying out, "Father,
father! The
chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no
longer see
him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
13 He picked
up the mantle of Eli'jah that had fallen from him, and went
back and
stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle of Eli'jah
that had
fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, "Where is the LORD,
the God of
Eli'jah?" When he had struck the water, the water was parted to
the one side
and to the other, and Eli'sha went over.
15 When the
company of prophets {Heb [sons of the prophets]} who were at
Jericho saw
him at a distance, they declared, "The spirit of Eli'jah rests
on
Eli'sha." They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
Daniel 7: 9
- 14 (alt. for British Isles)
Dani 7:9
(NRSV) As I watched,
thrones were
set in place,
and an
Ancient One Aram {[an Ancient of Days]} took his throne,
his clothing
was white as snow,
and the hair
of his head like pure wool;
his throne
was fiery flames,
and its
wheels were burning fire.
10 A stream
of fire issued
and flowed
out from his presence.
A thousand
thousands served him,
and ten
thousand times ten thousand stood attending him.
The court sat
in judgment,
and the
books were opened.
11 I watched
then because of the noise of the arrogant words that the horn
was
speaking. And as I watched, the beast was put to death, and its body
destroyed
and given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the
beasts,
their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a
season and a
time. 13 As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one
like a human being Aram {[one like a son of man]}
coming with
the clouds of heaven.
And he came to
the Ancient One Aram {[the Ancient of Days]}
and was
presented before him.
14 To him
was given dominion
and glory
and kingship,
that all
peoples, nations, and languages
should serve
him.
His dominion
is an everlasting dominion
that shall
not pass away,
and his
kingship is one
that shall
never be destroyed.
PSALM 47
Psal 47:1
(NRSV) Clap your hands, all you peoples;
shout to God
with loud songs of joy.
2 For the
LORD, the Most High, is awesome,
a great king
over all the earth.
3 He subdued
peoples under us,
and nations
under our feet.
4 He chose
our heritage for us,
the pride of
Jacob whom he loves. [Se'lah]
5 God has
gone up with a shout,
the LORD
with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing
praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises
to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is
the king of all the earth;
sing praises
with a psalm.
8 God is
king over the nations;
God sits on
his holy throne.
9 The
princes of the peoples gather
as the
people of the God of Abraham.
For the
shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly
exalted.
Psalm
93 (alt. for RCL)
Psal 93:1
(NRSV) The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is
robed, he is girded with strength.
He has
established the world; it shall never be moved;
2 your
throne is established from of old;
you are from
everlasting.
3 The floods
have lifted up, O LORD,
the floods
have lifted up their voice;
the floods
lift up their roaring.
4 More
majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
more
majestic than the waves of the sea,
majestic on
high is the LORD!
5 Your decrees
are very sure;
holiness
befits your house,
O LORD,
forevermore.
110 Dixit Dominus (alt. for ECUSA; BCP)
1 The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my
right hand, *
until I make
your enemies your footstool."
2 The Lord will send the scepter of your
power out of Zion, *
saying,
"Rule over your enemies round about you.
3 Princely state has been yours from the day
of your birth; *
in the
beauty of holiness have I begotten you,
like dew
from the womb of the morning."
4 The Lord has sworn and he will not recant:
*
"You
are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."
5 The Lord who is at your right hand
will smite
kings in the day of his wrath; *
he will rule
over the nations.
SECOND
READING: Ephesians 1: 15 - 23 (all but Wales)
Ephe 1:15
(NRSV) I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love
toward all
the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks
for you as I
remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord
Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and
revelation
as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart
enlightened,
you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what
are the
riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is
the
immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the
working of
his great power. 20 God put this power to work in Christ when he
raised him from
the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly
places, 21
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and
above every
name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to
come. 22 And
he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head
over all
things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him
who fills
all in all.
Note: The
Roman Catholic lectionary omits vs. 15 & 16.
Acts 1: 1 -
11 (Wales)
See above
for text
GOSPEL: Luke 24: 44 - 53 (all)
Luke 24:44
(NRSV) Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to
you while I
was still with you--that everything written about me in the law
of Moses,
the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then he opened
their minds
to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, "Thus it
is written,
that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the
third day,
47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be
proclaimed
in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are
witnesses of
these things. 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father
promised; so
stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power
from on
high."
50 Then he led
them out as far as Beth'any, and, lifting up his hands, he
blessed
them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was
carried up
into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem
with great
joy; 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
Note: the
Roman Catholic lectionary omits vs. 44 & 45.
Mark 16: 9 -
15, 19 - 20 (alt. for ECUSA)
Mark 16: 9 -
16, 19 - 20 (alt. for Can. BAS)
Mark 16:9
(NRSV) Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he
appeared
first to Mary Mag'dalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
10 She went
out and told those who had been with him, while they were
mourning and
weeping. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been
seen by her,
they would not believe it.
12 After
this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were
walking into
the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they
did not
believe them.
14 Later he
appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the
table; and
he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness,
because they
had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And
he said to
them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the
whole
creation. 16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but
the one who
does not believe will be condemned.
19 So then
the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into
heaven and
sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and
proclaimed
the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and
confirmed
the message by the signs that accompanied it.
Ascension Links
http://www.cygnus.uwa.edu.au/~jgrapsas/pages/Ascent.htm
This site has a nice picture of the Ascension and some good commentary.
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-12/Npnf2-12-210.htm#LOC_P3932_1000315
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-12/Npnf2-12-209.htm#LOC_P3913_994435
Sermons from the Church fathers on Ascension
http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/calcom/calcom-III.html
John Calvin on the Ascension
http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/TP/TP057.html#TPQ57OUTP1
Thomas Aquinas on the Ascension
http://www.textweek.com/yearb/ascensiob.htm
Lot more links for Ascension
Background on
Ascension
The fortieth day after Easter Sunday,
commemorates the Ascension of Christ into heaven, according to Mark:16:19,
Luke:23:51, and Acts:I:2. In the Eastern Church this feast was known as analepsis
(the taking up) and as the episozomene (the salvation). The terms used in the
West, ascensio and ascensa, signify that Christ was raised up by His own
powers. Mount Olivet, near Bethany, is designated as the place where Christ
left the earth. The feast falls on Thursday, and it is one of the most solemn
in the calendar, ranking with the feasts of the Passion, Easter and Pentecost.
Although no documentation of it exists prior to
the beginning of the fifth century, St. Augustine says that it originated with
the Apostles, and that it was observed by the Church long before his time. The
Ascension is frequently mentioned in the writings of St. John Chrysostom, St.
Gregory of Nyssa, and in the Constitution of the Apostles. Perhaps, prior to
the fifth century it was commemorated in conjunction with the feasts of Easter or Pentecost.
Connected with this feast were the customs of:
the blessing of beans and grapes (after the Commemoration of the Dead in the
Canon of the Mass), the blessing of first fruits, (afterwards done on Rogation
Days), the blessing of a candle, the wearing of mitres by deacon and subdeacon,
the extinguishment of the paschal candle, and processions with torches and
banners outside the churches to commemorate the entry of Christ into heaven. In some churches, the Ascension was depicted
by elevating the figure of Christ above the altar, through an opening in the
roof. In others, the figure of Christ was made to ascend and that of the devil
was made to descend.
The day celebrates the completion of the Lord's
work for our salvation, the pledge of our glorification with Christ, and His
entry into heaven with our human nature glorified.
Children's
Messages
Children’s Messages
Ascension Sunday
June 4, 2000
#1
Topic: Endings and Beginnings
Texts: Acts 1:1-11
Good morning, boys and girls.
I know you all are excited for what's about to come to an end? (Let them
answer)
That's right. School. How many of you are already out for the summer?
(Let them answer)
What's the most exciting thing that happened to you in school this year?
(Let them respond)
What are you most looking forward to doing this summer? (Let them reply)
So the school year ends and new things begin.
In a way, that's what today's scripture lessons are about. Lots of
exciting things had happened. It began many months ago during Advent when we
began to prepare for the birth of Jesus. Then Christmas came. Then Epiphany -
when the wise men brought gifts to Jesus. Then we saw how Jesus was baptized in
the Jordan River and began his work. We saw and heard all the wonderful things
he did and said. Then, in Lent, walked with Jesus the final weeks of his life -
through palm Sunday and then to Good Friday. But what happened on Easter?
Right. Jesus had risen from the dead! Jesus had been with his disciples -
teaching and helping them for forty days. But now that time was over. It was an
ending. Jesus was going back to be with God, where he could watch over the
disciples, you and me, too, and be there for us wherever we are.
It was an ending and a beginning, for he told them and tells us to now be
his witnesses, to share his love with others. One day he promises to return and
to finish everything he started, so that we have a whole new beginning like
never before.
Lots of exciting things behind us. Lots of exciting things ahead of us as
we seek to serve Christ and share his love.
Prayer:
Loving God,
Thank you
For times
Of endings
And beginnings.
We need
Fresh starts.
We need
The summer.
We need
Times of learning.
Thank you
For sending Christ
To be with us,
To help show us
What's really important.
Thank you
That he
Returned to you
And lives now
With you,
Watching over us
Every day and
Every night.
Amen.
#2
Topic: Ascension Balloons
One Ascension Sunday I simply told the story of the Ascension of Jesus.
Then I had several helium balloons under a sheet. I let the children help me
release them inside the sanctuary (the white sheet represented clouds - of you
had a good imagination). The kids loved it. I had an extra helium balloon for
each of them, asking them to take them home and let them be a reminder that
Christ also arose and sits with God to let God know what we need.
#3
Topic: Passing the Baton
In the sermon starters I have a starter that uses the image of a relay
race to explain the Ascension. Get a baton, talk about a relay race,
demonstrate the passing of the baton, passing it along to one, then another.
(If you have a college or high school student on the track team who does this,
get them to help). Use this to talk about Jesus passing along the task to be
his witnesses.
Exegesis
of Ascension Lectionary Passages
RCL Readings:
Acts 1:1-11
Ps 47
Ephesians 1:15-23
Luke 24:44-53
Acts 1:1-11
It's obvious that the Book of Acts and the gospel of Luke are from the hand of the same writer. They begin in much the same way. Both are addressed to someone named "Theophilus" (a name meaning "friend of God" or "lover of God.") Was this an actual person to whom Luke is writing? Some think so. Others suggest Luke is writing to anyone who is seeking to be friends with God or to love God, that is, any seekers of God. It can be said that many who have read this wonderful story Luke tells so well certainly has come to find in the main character a friend, one who reveals God, who shares God's love as no other.
All of us are seeking something greater than ourselves, some meaning, some ultimate purpose to it all. There is within each of us this longer for that which is eternal. It is a longing for God. Luke tells us where we might find God - in the one in whom God came seeking us!
Theophilus may have been a lawyer or teacher. He was a cultured Greek man. Greeks loved wisdom, knowledge, philosophy, seeking new truths. They were seekers.
No matter how educated or materialistically wealthy we become, there is still this deep need for seeking, for God. I think sometimes we wonder what we have to offer those who seem to have everything (I believe William Willimon once wrote a book on this very topic). But the truth is that they do not have everything. They may think they do, but in their quiet, honest moments, they look deep inside and know something is missing. There is an incompleteness, an emptiness, a hole in their soul which nothing - fame, fortune, wealth - nothing is able to fill.
I see this everywhere - this spiritual hunger. I see it in the plethora of new age religions that seem to spring up overnight. Check out the internet sometime and see some of these. One such movement is itself called "Ascension," the seeking of the exaltation of the self through physical spiritual energy or something like that. People are hungry for God and are seeking God.
The whole background theme for this passage is that we must not be shy or reluctant to share or give witness to our faith. Luke does so through his writing. In his words here we see the Risen Lord specifically telling his disciples (you and me included) to await the filling of the Spirit so that we can be his witnesses everywhere.
A witness is not someone who imposes his or her faith or beliefs on others, but one who has been a seeker of God and has been found by God in Christ. A witness is someone with fresh experiences of God and who shares that with others whenever the opportunity arises.
Don't Worry. Wait and Witness (vss 6-8). The disciples still did not get it. They though the kingdom was coming fully right then and there. That way they would miss out on all that daily discipleship stuff - you know - the actually living and serving and dying parts. Who can blame them? "When will you bring in the kingdom?" they ask Jesus. They may still well be in that "who's the greatest among us?" mode, thinking of themselves reigning and ruling with Christ on his cabinet in the new administration.
Jesus pretty much ignores this question and tells them not to worry about it. That 's not for them to know. That knowledge is reserved only for God - for God's eyes only! God knows the days and seasons. Let God worry about the future. The only thing you need to concern yourselves with is seeking the empowerment of the Spirit so that you can be my witnesses.
Jesus has already told them he was going away and that this was best for them (see John's Gospel). Why? Because then the Advocate or Comforter - the Holy Spirit would come. Jesus, in the flesh, could not be with them always. But through the Spirit, he could dwell within them, empowering them for the task ahead. He was going away and yet he would still come to be with them.
My father died about six years ago. I have never known a finer man. I loved him dearly. You know what? I still feel him with me. In fact, I feel him with me in a way like I never did before. In some ways I feel even closer to him. Do I need counseling? I don't think so. For at critical times in my life and even at other times I have felt his presence, almost heard his words to me. From him I continue to draw great comfort, encouragement, and strength.
If this is true with a mere human being, and I suspect it's true for someone like my father for each of you, then how much more so can Christ, through the Spirit, be present with us always! The Spirit is as near to us as the air we breath. Like air, the Spirit fills us, enables us to serve, to witness, to live as disciples of Christ.
The Spirit is there each day to teach us, to give us new insights, to nurture us in the faith. The Spirit also every day gives us opportunities to share our story with others - which we see happening throughout much of the rest of the Book of Acts. The Spirit is our intimate connection to the ascended Lord and also seeks to connect us to one another in the body of Christ and to others, like Theophilus, who are seeking God. We have the Spirit. We already have everything we need to serve God, to be witnesses for Christ.
Up, Up and Away (vss 9-11). This is Luke's second account of the Ascension (the first one we see in today's Gospel reading). In many ways this story reminds me of the Transfiguration. Both involve a mountain. Both involve clouds. Both show witnesses to something marvelous. That marvelous something is who Jesus really is. The Transfiguration reveals for the first time who Jesus is or will be - the glorified, risen, exalted Lord. Now, in the Ascension, we see this coming about. It is fulfilled.
To me, this story has at least four essential things to teach us.
First, Christ now rightly assumes his place of honor at the right hand of God. It's very much a coronation. Jesus ascends the throne. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is King of kings. All the earth now is literally beneath his feet or under his authority (as Paul says in the epistle reading).
Second, Jesus does not leave us through his ascension. He
comes back to us through the Holy Spirit of Pentecost. But even more than this,
he sits at the right hand of God, the place of power, the place where he can
watch over us, provide us his presence, guidance, strength, encouragement. He
also sits there as our mediator or intercessor with God. "Consequently he is able to save for all
time those who approach God through him (Jesus), since he always lives to make
intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus has the ear of God. Jesus
fills the ear of God with our names, with requests for that which we need. Nice
to have such a friend in such a high place.
Third, the Ascension
means that now we are called to continue the mission of Christ. As we have seen
already, the underlying theme of these passages is that we are now to be the
empowered witnesses for Christ to all the world. We have work to do. We are now
the body of Christ in the world. We are his hands, voice, feet, heart, eyes.
Through the Spirit, he lives within us, empowering us to continue his saving
work in the world.
Fourth, he's coming back to finish what he started (see vs 11). We do not know when, where, or even how really. So we cannot stand around with our heads in the clouds. In stead, we wait for the Spirit and when the Spirit moves, we work, we witness, we serve Christ each and every day and in every way we can. That is the best way to be ready for when he returns.
Ps 47 God Rules!
I love that little praise song: Awesome God…
Our God is an awesome God,
God reigns from heaven above,
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God.
Tragically, the writer of that song died a couple of years ago in a car accident. But his song of praise lives on. Perhaps it was inspired by this psalm.
Awesome God! That's pretty much the theme of this psalm and why it is such a fit response to the Acts reading. It sings of the greatness, majesty, and glory of god. It speaks of God as King above all - a theme that goes well with Ascension. Note how even Ascension image are used - "God has GONE UP…" (vs 5a) and God "is highly exalted" (vs 9b).
This also reminds me of the classic book by J.B. Phillips, YOUR GOD IS TOO SMALL. We tend to put God into boxes. God is our God. Yes, but also the God of all the earth. God loves us, our country. Yes, but God loves all people, all nations. We belong to God. Yes, as does all the earth (vs 9). God owns us more than we own God. God is larger than our minds can understand. God's love is deeper than we can know. God's grace is wider than the universe. Yet, God also loves each and everyone of us. God knows and cares about us as individuals.
This song challenges and encourages everyone to acknowledge the kingship and sovereignty of God. All nations are called upon to praise God with joyous music and clapping. It sounds like a party, a celebration!
Because this speaks so much about the kingship of god, some scholars believe it was a song sung while the ark of the covenant was being honored or at least used in a procession, perhaps for the New Year festival. The ark was thought to be the portable throne for God's invisible presence. Whatever the occasion, the theme is clear - God is king over all the earth! God rules!
Because God rules all the earth, then all peoples are invited to praise and honor God (vss 1-2). Vss 3-4 give the reasons for praising God, along with vss 8-9. This, as noted above, is to be loud and joyous worship. It's to be unrestrained joy. After all, God rules! We are God's people! The King of the universe deserves no less than heartfelt and joyous praise.
One wonders if a person coming off the street into our worship services would know that we truly believe God rules? Is our worship joyous? What does that mean? What does that look like and sound like? Is loud better, more joyous?
Ephesians 1:15-23
This marvelous passage is a really a prayer or even song of thanksgiving to God for all the blessings God has given in Christ, which the Ephesians were fully accepting in their lives. It's also a prayer that God might continue to do bless them, that they might continue to grow as Christians. The major theme here is that they might grow in their "knowledge" of God, be "enlightened." Paul is praying for nothing less than they grow ever closer to God, daily knowing and experiencing the depths of God's power and grace in Christ. God is not remote and unknown. God has come to be revealed and to know us in a person - Christ. And we find that the closer we grow to Christ, the closer we are to God.
What greater prayer could anyone pray for us than this? What great prayer could we pray for others than this - to be ever growing closer to God? Surely that is what God desires.
Do you pray for your church? For other churches? For God's people all over the world? Here we find a model for such prayers.
I know a church that every Sunday prays by name for another church in that community and in another country. The minister is mentioned by name and always the laity. Just that act alone has broadened the compassion of the people of that church and made them aware of the global nature of the church. Surely one of the clearest signs that we are growing is that we love more and more each other and all people.
Paul is also saying that being a Christian is not something that happens to us or happened to us one day. It's not a standstill life. It is one of ever growing, of being nurtured in the knowledge and grace of God. We are becomers, ever growing in our walk with God through Christ; in our understanding of what it means to be the people of God; in our power to live out the mission God has given us in Christ.
Paul prays for all of this for the Ephesians, though he seems to have never known or met them. He had "heard of" their faith. He knows them by repetition. They are a body of believers who truly loved God and one another.
One of the things that stands out here is that they also love other Christians outside their own circle "love toward all the saints." There is a tendency in the church sometimes to think that charity begins and ends at home. I see this sometimes around budget time when there is a strong feeling that we should keep our money "here at home." Our Lord is exalted - the king of all the earth. Our Lord loves the whole world and so should we. When any church turns in completely on itself, neglecting to give, to love beyond its own community, it begins to die. I have seen it too many times. But even a church that is poor in terms of materials things becomes wealthy spiritually when its heart is open to the needs of others beyond their own four walls.
Paul then talks about the power of God. This is no where seen more clearly than in the resurrection and exaltation of Christ (vs 20). Just as God raised Christ from the dead, so God raised Christ now to sit over all the earth as Lord and king, with all peoples and all spiritual forces under his feet, that is, under his command and authority. It is an echo of the some of the last words of Christ in Matthew: "All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth" (28:18).
But Christ is also head of the Church, Paul reminds them. The church is his body and he serves as the head. The head directs and controls the body. Christ and the church are united, just as we saw Jesus speaking of being the vine and we the branches. The love and power of God flow through us, so that we experience the "fullness" of Christ. The church has the awesome privilege and responsibility of being filled with Christ. This is what empowers us, what gives us our purpose, our reason for being. We do not offer doctrines or creeds to the world but the Christ. Through the church, the body of Christ, he continues to live and work in the world, bringing wholeness and salvation.
Luke 24:44-53
This is the third appearance of the Risen Lord in Luke. In many respects it is very much like the story in John 20:19ff. But for today's reading, we concentrate on how the Jesus' death and resurrection were in fact in accordance with God's plans as revealed in the Scriptures (vss 44-47); how they are commissioned, as witnesses, to preach forgiveness in his name to all nations in vss 48-49 (Luke's version of the Great Commission); and finally the mini-version of the Ascension (vss. 50--53)
The eleven and others are apparently in the upper room again, perhaps to try to take in all the recent events. Who exactly was there beyond the eleven we do not know, although those who had walked on the way to Emmaus may well have been in the number, as well as the Mary's who had been the first witnesses of the resurrection.
While they are no doubt discussing things among themselves, suddenly Jesus appears or is made visible (John' account has them behind locked doors for fear of those who had crucified Jesus). It was as if Jesus had been with them anyway but chooses now to let them see him. After assuring them is is alive and well, even eating some fish, he assures them that the cross and the resurrection were not just happenstance. What had happened was in accord with the saving purpose of God all along as demonstrated in the Scriptures.
Indeed, the Scriptures are understood as teaching about these things, about Christ, how he was to suffer, die, and even arise. Notice that throughout Luke's Gospel (and the others as well) he makes regular contact with the Old Testament teachings. From the very beginning, Joseph and Mary follow the teachings of the Law 2:21-40) and Jesus sees himself as fulfilling the Law, completing it, bring redemption, salvation which is why the Law was given but was unable to do on it's own. Early Christian preachers drew heavily upon the teachings of Scripture in their preaching (as we see in the sermons in Acts). In other words, what God had done now in Christ was in accord with all that God had been doing and planning. It is new and wondrous in many ways but a fulfillment of ancient promises. They did not understand this at this point so he "opened" their minds to the Scriptures, helped them understand, see how all that had happened was the culmination of God's saving work as seen time and time again in the Scriptures. Surely, the one great thread running throughout the Bible is this steadfast love of God, a love that refuses to let us go. A love even willing to die if it will bring us to our senses, bring us back to God.
Vss 48-49 sound very much like what Luke will say again in Acts 1. They are given this commission but lack yet the power to carry it out. That will soon change. The Power is coming. They must wait. They are waiting for Pentecost which is next Sunday.
Sometimes I find myself and our church ahead of God, you know, making all kinds of plans and striking out on our own without even consulting God. This passage reminds me that most often it is best to wait, to pray, to seek God's direction and empowerment before striking out. It's no wonder that so many of those plans then do not seem to be fruitful. "God, here's what we want to do. Bless it." That's how we often go about things. Better to begin, "Lord, we kneel before you. Show us who we are. Show us what you desire, what you plan. Then we will await your empowerment."
One of the wonderful assurances we can count on is that whenever God calls, God empowers. When God asks something of us, God always provides all we need to do it - all but our faith and courage to believe that (though God even provides those if we ask). Look throughout the Bible, what stands out is God calling ordinary people and then empowering then to do extraordinary things. I think this is at the heart of the Ascension - Christ is at the right hand of God, the side of power, in order to provide for us what we need to continue his work in the world.
Our proper response then to all this? The same as the disciples - joy, worship, humility before Christ, and waiting for the empowerment (vs 52-53).
Discussion Questions
A. Acts 1:1-11. Who would you like to write your biography and why?
B. I wonder if most Christians every really share their story, their faith with someone else? Have you?
C. You know someone like Theophilus, someone who is seeking God. How could you best share the Good News with that person? If you were to write a Gospel or something like Luke does, how might you begin it? What would you wish to make sure to include or get across?
D. Do you think everyone is seeking God, even if they do not know it?
E. Where do you see a spiritual hunger in the world today?
F. How do we share the Gospel with people who already seem to have everything?
G. For what do you find yourself waiting in Jerusalem for right now from God?
H. What does the Ascension mean to you? What thoughts and feelings does it create in you?
I. Where's your Jerusalem, that place close to you to which you feel called to "bear witness"?
J. Ps 47. You may wish to sing the praise chorus, "Awesome God."
K. How have you sensed lately the awesomeness of God?
L. How often in your worship services and in your own daily life do you get a sense of awe?
M. How do you feel about worship that's loud and joyous? What would happen in your church if your whole found themselves clapping and singing with joy in the next worship service?
N. This psalm proclaims that God rules. Where do you see evidence of that? Where or how does it seem that God's rule isn't complete in the world today?
O. Ephesians 1:15-23. How does it make you feel when you hear someone praying for you?
P. If others were to pray for you, what would you hope they would most pray for right now?
Q. Compose your own prayer for your groups/church. What would you most wish God to do in and through them right now? What did Paul wish most to see for those he prayed?
R. When you think about your church, what are five things for which you are most thankful for in regard to it?
S. If the church is the body of Christ, what does this imply for us?
T. If your group/church really prayed and meant vss 17-19 each week, how might it change you?
U. How have you been growing lately in your spiritual life?
V. Where most do you need more growth?
W. If the test for true spiritual growth is seen in our love for others, not just within our own community, how much are we growing?
X. How does your church feel about supporting ministries outside your own community?
Y. Does your church have a repetition? What is it? What would it be? Do other churches in your area have a repetition? What repetition would Paul like to hear about your church?
Z. What might happen in your life and in your church if you really believed all of this - that Christ is alive and is exalted as Lord of all?
AA. Luke 24:44-53. What's the most memorable good by you have ever witnessed or experienced?
BB. Why do you think it was necessary for Jesus to die? Or was it?
CC. How has God opened your mind recently to some Bible passage or some truth you really needed?
DD. What task does Jesus give his disciples?
EE. How does that task relate to us today?
FF. How well are you and your church fulfilling that task?
GG. You may wish to close with the song "Awesome God" or "Crown Him With Many Crowns," or "Jesus Shall Reign."
What
Happened Here?
Sermon
for Ascension
Acts 1:1-11
(Note;
a friend shared this Ascension Day sermon with me some years ago. I thought it
took a very interesting and insightful perspective on the Ascension. Perhaps
you will find it as meaningful as I have).
This
is a strange and almost unbelievable story for us to hear; Jesus leaves the disciples in the lurch on Mt.
Olivet. He is whisked up into the heavens, but what other direction could he go
but up. We always think about the Heavenly Kingdom as "up," that
seems to be central to our faith.
The
Ascension is 40 days after Easter and really occurred on Thursday of this week,
and since the resurrection he met, talked, and was recognized in the breaking
of the bread with the disciples. I imagine that they were just getting
accustomed to the idea of his resurrection, his occasional guest appearances,
his accessibility to them even though they must has suspected it couldn't last
forever. They liked the idea that he was nearby - somewhere able to come to them
and be seen by him and even to be blessed by him. But on this Ascension Day he bids them farewell for
the last time, tells them that they will soon receive the Holy Spirit and he
challenged them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to
the end of the earth.
That
last part must have really come as a shock -- about going to Samaria; they had hated these people for
centuries. And what was that about the end of the earth -- that is where the
pagans live; they are unclean and unwashed.
From
all appearance, Jesus leaves them feeling abandoned and confused according to
St. Luke's Gospel and His Book of Acts. Maybe that is why God had to send two
angels in white to get them moving.
Like
those disciples, most of us are left at the gate wondering what in the world to
make of this strange experience of the Ascension. What does it mean? Moreover,
we are probably likely to focus on the wrong aspect of it. We may try to figure
out in our logical scientific 21st century minds how all of that happens,
instead of just believing in faith.
It
seems that Jesus had to leave his disciples if they were to get on with the
tasks of teaching, preaching and establishing the church. I am sure that they
felt unprepared when he died on the cross. They didn't know what to do when
they heard of his resurrection. They barely knew what to do when they saw him
risen. And at the ascension they felt inadequate to the task of getting on with
their lives, doing what he had charged them to do. How could they live without
him? They needed him, his presence, comfort, strength and Divine Words. In
Luke's Gospel there is no promise to remain with them like there is in St.
Matthew's Gospel. There is only a farewell. They were left with the memory of
his teachings, healing, The Lord's Supper and baptism, but Jesus was not there.
For us
today, we have prayer, the sacraments, worship and preaching and artists
conceptions of his looks; we may have moments of inspiration, but most of the
time Jesus seems far removed. What the early disciples discovered was that on
that Ascension Day and on every day forward, Christ for them, was there to be
found in themselves and in the world. They were now the Body of Christ, and
they would find him and know him present again within their experiences as they
pushed out, left home, and went to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. That's
where they would see him.
I
remember when our daughter went off to college in Richmond, and she said to us
as she departed with her suitcases, books, stereo and a pick - up truck of
household belongs, " So long folks." Even though Richmond is only an
hour away, we had kissed her good bye from being an integral part of our home
and life. Home for her would be where she found it in her own life and in the
world. I am not saying that she is not part of our life nor that she doesn't
come back to our home place for visits, but she was set free to find her life
and home when she left for school. What must have dawned on those disciples on
the Day of Ascension was that Jesus was pushing them out and on their way. And
in ten days' time they would receive the Holy spirit at Pentecost, be on their
way, and begin the trek that would lead them to the far reaches of their known
world. And so Christianity would come to be, and so they would discover his
presence again and again.
It was
in this leaving that occasioned their real growth in Christ. It was only as he
turned them loose with what ever he had given them up to that point, that they
would come to know what he had given them and who they were.
From
that Ascension Day forward, the disciples would discover Christ within
themselves and within the world they served.
My
hunch is that we all have a haunting disconcerting realization that at the core
of our lives we are alone. There is a deafeningly quiet silence that rings in
our ears, that says we are alone, except for whatever of God we know to be with
us. I am speaking about something that is more than our marital status,
something which has to do with our own intimate and personal awareness of our
mortality and identify -- whether we are single or married, divorced or
widowed, young or old, whatever. It is an interior awareness, of being alone
that has nothing to do with the relational connections of our exterior lives.
The Disciples felt alone. Why have we been abandoned? Have you ever asked the
question, "God where are you, why have you forsaken me?"
Can
you remember the old camp song, "Jesus walked this lonesome valley, he had
to walk it by himself, and then the haunting ending phrase, "You must walk
this lonesome valley, you must walk it by yourself. Oh, nobody also can walk it
for you, you have to walk it by yourself."? There are times when we are
clearly aware of our aloneness. I
remember arriving in Tokyo, Japan, in the early hour of the morning
and standing in a long line for customs
and immigration and finally being asked in broken English, "Are you
Japanese?" If you are not a Japanese citizen you are in the wrong line.
Maybe, for some of you, the acute aloneness was when the divorce papers arrived
or the night before the chemotherapy treatments.
You
are on your own, and the world is harsh. The question comes to us, "Can I
make it?"
It
would be nice if we could climb back into our mother's arms, and have her tell us
that it is going to be all right. But that will not happen; we are alone. Just
as surely as the disciples felt alone on that Ascension Day. They looked up
toward the heaven with their heart in their throat and their hands at their
sides for a sign of comfort.
Now,
loneliness is a paralyzing emotion. All of us feel lonely sometimes. But a
sense of aloneness is different from loneliness. When we are alone with only
ourselves, we are stripped back to the essential person we are. It is there
that all our strength and stamina and fortitude lies.
When
forced to look inward, scary as that may be, we can often find more strength
than we ever imagined possible for ourselves, because there we come in touch
with the self which bears God's image, the inner being shaped by God's hand.
Sometimes
that insight only comes when the wind is knocked out of us, and we are left
alone, without wishing to be so. That is the way it was for the disciples.
Their source of life left them --their teacher, comforter, their
"home" was gone. We all, can relate to the feeling of being left
alone, and where do we go from here?
Those
first disciples had to let go of Jesus at his ascension. They felt adrift. They
didn't know what to do next, but nevertheless, they would soon discover in his
leaving, in being left alone, they found his presence more obvious in his
absence. Then they were emboldened to go forth and be his witnesses to the end
of the earth.
It is
a strange way with God that this is so. But in our partings and in our endings
it is often the case that God's tender care for us and His presence with us is
better seen, perhaps because we are more ready to see it, because there we have
no other place to turn. I believe all of the time that God is here with us in
ourselves and in our world, ready to do more with our lives than we ever
thought possible.
And
painful though the losses and endings may be, perhaps they are the birth pangs
of new possibilities being born, the occasions for God's breaking into our
lives in new ways.
The
question comes to us today, as it came to the disciples 2,000 years ago,
"Friends, why do you stand looking into the sky -- looking up into heaven.
This Jesus, who was taken from you will come in the same way as you saw him
go." "So why are you aggrieving? Be up and on your way. For soon the
Holy Spirit will come to you in power, and you will be his witnesses in
Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth." For
those who see such things in themselves and are Christs' disciples in the world,
he is not only here, but he is everywhere in the world with us.
Ascension/Graduation Sunday
Texts: Luke 24:44-53 &
Ephesians 1:15-23
The 200-year-old church was
being readied for an anniversary celebration when calamity struck: the bell
ringer was called out of town. The priest immediately advertised for another.
When the replacement arrived,
the priest took him to the steps leading to the bell tower, some 150 feet above
them. Round and round they went, huffing and puffing all the way. Just as they
reached the landing, the bell ringer tripped and fell face-first into the
biggest bell of all. Bo-o-o-o-ong!
Dazed by the blow, the bell
ringer stumbled backward onto the landing. The railing broke loose and he fell
to the ground. Miraculously, he was unhurt—only stunned—but the priest thought
it best to call an ambulance.
“Who are you?” the doctor asked
the man.
“I don’t know,” the man repiled.