Ascension - what is that about?
Can be listened to here
Gate Pa - Ascension
Sunday and Easter 7 Year A
Readings:
Palm
Psalm:
68:1-10, 32-35
First Reading: Acts
1:6-14
Second Reading: 1
Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
Gospel: John
17:1-11
What I want to say:
I
want to explore what the ascension of Jesus might offer us beyond Jesus goes to
heaven.
What I want to happen:
How does our abiding in the Godhead
affects how we see the world and how we live our lives.
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Today is 7th Sunday of Easter or the
Sunday after Ascension
means last week some time was Ascension Day
ask – when
-
how that day got
to be called ascension day
long time I really didn’t get what the
ascension was about
think created more problems than it was worth
wondered why Luke made so much of it.
some ways undoes some of what some gospel
writers seem to be suggesting
e.g Mark – gospel as written by Mark ends at chapter
16 verse 8
very possible his ending got lost
two possible
ending based on Matthew have been provided
– not Mark
also very possible that that is where Mark
intended to stop
instead telling story resurrection appearances
in Jerusalem
inviting his hearers tell own stories
I really like that idea
what does idea of Jesus ascending into heaven
do to that?
kind of says there are no such appearances
Likewise other gospel writers understanding of
Ascension very different from Luke’s in Acts
Matthew likewise has no Ascension
ends
with Jesus saying “surely I will be with you always to the end of the age”
For John and Luke – ascension happens with
resurrection
In John Jesus says to women at tomb – do not
cling to me I have not ascended to my father
but
later is all good with people touching him
impression is that he rose and ascended and
then appeared as risen and ascended one
interacts with disciples in Jerusalem and back
in Galilee
Luke – writer of book of Acts
ascension
happens on Easter Sunday – how he finishes his gospel
By the time he came to write Book of Acts
Luke
added 40 days to story
rather than ascending on Easter Sunday
Jesus
hangs around 40 days
then
ascends from Mount Olives
not
from locked room in Jerusalem.
our churches calendar has chosen to use the
timeline set out by Luke in Acts
not gospel writers
story is little confused
2. Problematic
idea of the ascension I think raises some
problems
as I have said before
gospel writer offering radically different way
understanding God
we meet God in Jesus
in his life and death
we come know the very nature of God
they
invite us to understand God through Jesus
he
is to be our primary image of God,
that is what today reading from John is all
about
want to know who God is – look at Jesus
not other way around
Central to this is idea of incarnation
Jesus is God coming amongst us
As
John says – The word in whom and through whom and for whom all things were made
made known to us in this person
who
was generous, merciful,
who brought healing, justice, peace, and
goodness, life
In this person, in his teaching, in his
actions, in his death - we meet God
resurrection rather than fixing crucifixion
is
God the Father’s big tick of approval
Yes,
I am met in this story
trouble with the Ascension can be
kind of says that – Jesus gone back heaven
so temptation is to stop seeing Jesus as our
way of understanding God
Jesus gone back to God head
led a lot of Christians to almost discount
Jesus earthly life
sure
– good teaching in there
for
some miracles are great – prove supernaturally cool he was
dying
and rising is important for getting into heaven and such
don’t see Jesus compassion, generosity, mercy,
justice, peace, goodness
ð Jesus ceases to be starting point how we
understand God.
temptation is to revert back to old images God
like ruler and judge of all creation
sits at right hand
God all powerful
not a hint of compassion, generosity, justice,
mercy, goodness.
lot of conservative Christian leaders I
suggest fallen into this trap
Their god is not god I recognise in Jesus
so we end up tons images like our resurrection
window
glorious
all powerful Jesus
bears no resemblance to Jesus described in
Gospels
end up with a God who is watching us from a
distance –
judging us from a distance
complete absent from Gospels
finally we have idea because Jesus has
ascended to heaven
incarnation is over
Jesus has left the house
all up to us to carry on mission
if don’t nothing happen
so mission becomes something we do
rather
than something God does
I grew up thinking that
heavy
heavy responsibility
pretty clear in Anglican theology anyway
mission is God’s work
we join in that work
remember when I first read that mission is
God’s work
huge weight came off me
and I thought – I can do that
I blame Ascension for all this
it has confused us
left us with bad theology
frozen under weight of our responsibilities
leaves me wondering – why have it?
I have not really understood the need for it
One gifts of coming here and preaching from
our lectionary is
I can’t just ignore it
have to at least ask what it might offer us.
here are some thoughts?
3. Incarnation
Think Ascension offers us two things (at
least)
Firstly can be seen as the other side of the
Incarnation
which as I said is idea
God the Eternal Word coming among us
as one of us
in person Jesus
fully human
fully divine
In incarnation
divinity fully divine Jesus
mingles with our humanity
with all its earthiness and messiness
to remind us that we are made in image of
divine love
to show us what that divine love looks like
remind us that in our creation
divinity
had already mingled with our humanity
should blow our minds
that God values us
each
one of us
all
humanity
so
much
that God eternal Word came among us
as
one of us
in
all our humanness
frailty
and
powerlessness
sign how much God values us
esteems
us
loves
us
that is how important we are to God
4. Ascension
what then is the ascension?
in ascension
this fully divine and fully human Jesus
ascends into the Godhead
no matter what we think of resurrection as
historical event
from theological point of view
gospel writers make it very clear
resurrected Jesus does not stop being human
touch
him
he
eats fish
certainly different from us
still fundamentally human
So the Ascension is when Christ’s humanity
mingles with God who is three in One
our humanity mingles with the Trinity
like a welcome mat is put out for us
invited come and join in God’s ongoing party
drawn into life of God
right into the heart of that life.
Human Jesus is drawn back into the life of the
Trinity
not separate from it
into the heart of Trinity
we are drawn with him
we join in that life
God in us
us in God
as we approach Pentecost
invite you spend next week saying these words
God in us
us in God
God in me
me in God
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