Making God’s Presence Known?
You can listen to this sermon here
Gate Pa - Ascension Sunday and Easter 7 Year A, 2023
Readings -
Palm Psalm: 68:1-10, 32-35
First
Reading - Acts 1:1-14
Second
Reading - Eph 1: 15-23
Gospel
- John 17:1-11
What I want to say:
As we reflect on the
Ascension and Jesus final prayer to take time to reflect on the invitation to make
visible the presence of God particularly in love, just as Jesus did.
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:
On
Thursday we commemorated the Ascension.
which
means we once again we find ourselves near the end of the season of Easter,
Next
Sunday is Pentecost Sunday which marks the 50th and final day of
Easter.
-
and nearly halfway through the liturgical
year.
Because
it was the Ascension on Thursday
-
We heard that story from Acts 1
Just
to note that the timing of our liturgical celebration is entirely based on Acts
-
Matthew and Mark don’t mention it.
-
John links the ascension with the
resurrection,
-
as does the writer of Luke - Acts in
the Gospel of Luke.
-
Only in Acts is it separated from the
resurrection and happen 40 days later.
I
wonder what the ascension offers you?
how
does it help you live your faith?
è have
conversation!
2. Incarnation
One
way to think about the ascension is that it affirms the incarnation
In
the incarnation the Eternal Word – the Son
-
abides or dwells among us in the person
of Jesus
o
both fully human and fully divine
-
who lives God’s deep and eternal
commitment to this world,
o
God’s creation, and all who live here
-
reminding us that God is compassion, generosity,
justice, mercy, aroha - love.
-
and reminding us that we are created
in the image of this divine love.
One
way to understand the ascension is that in that moment all that Jesus lived and
taught about God is affirmed by God.
To
take that further
We
can also think about the ascension as bringing the incarnation full circle
In
the incarnation the divine dwells with the human
In
the Ascension the crucified and resurrected Christ who is still both fully
human and fully divine returns to the Godhead
-
and the human is enfolded into the
divine.
In
the incarnation the divine dwells with the human
in
the ascension the human is folded into the divine
We
are folded into the divine.
Full
circle
God
is not out there – far away sitting in judgement,
-
even when it feels like it
but
is as close as our breath
-
inviting us into God’s compassion,
generosity, justice, mercy.
We
are not separated from God
-
We are held in the being of God.
Which
I find challenging and extremely comforting
what
about you
-
what difference might that make for
you?
3. Cosmic Christ?
The
ascension also is the means by which the crucified and resurrected Jesus
-
who is of the particular time and
place of first century Judea and Galilee
becomes
the Ascended Christ of all time and all places.
So
rather than becoming absent from this world,
-
in the ascension the crucified, risen,
and ascended Christ is more present,
o
and more active
o
inviting us to live God’s love,
-
so that as the prayer Jesus teaches
says,
o
God’s will is done on earth as in
heaven.
-
what difference might that make for
you?
4. John
This
theme of God’s presence in and abiding compassion and commitment to this world
is what John’s gospel is all about.
In
fact, John’s gospel from the prologue to the end is about Jesus being the means
by which God breaks down the division between this world and the Divine.
We
can see that very clearly in the passage we heard from John 17
-
the beginning of what is called by
some as Jesus’ great high priestly prayer.
This
prayer was prayed for his followers and disciples who faced the dark night of
Jesus arrest and execution.
-
The future was bleak.
And
in that moment of despair
Jesus
offers a deeply passionate and compassionate prayer for what they needed to
survive in all that was unfolding around them.
They
were invited into the love between God the Father and Jesus,
-
They were invited into the love that
eternally exists between the Father, Source of all Being and the Son - Eternal
Word.
They
were invited to abide or live in that love,
-
to allow that love to shape them
-
and to shape their relationships with
each other.
They
were invited to live that love in the same way Jesus lived that love;
-
to be icons of that love.
5. Glory, glory!
Jesus
begins this prayer with “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that
the Son can glorify you.”
what
does it mean for Jesus to glorify this Father?
The
essence of what glorify means in the gospel of John is to make visible presence
of God
Jesus has made and will make that presence visible in
all that he said and did
-
including his
crucifixion
His prayer is for those remaining
-
his followers/disciples
-
us
he calls to join in this work of glorifying God,
-
calls to make
visible the presence of God particularly in love.
As Jesus makes clear in his prayer
as the ascension confirms
as Pentecost will declare
-
we don't do that
on our own.
We do that because of the promise of the Spirit.
We do that because we are held in God’s love
We do that because the Spirit of the crucified, resurrected,
and ascended Christ is always with us wherever we are.
6. Conclusion
For
the last couple of weeks I have used Angela Parkers quote that
“We
must be people of the way, being the dream and hope of God, as we participate
in abundant life while here on earth together” (https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fifth-sunday-of-easter/commentary-on-john-141-14-6)
Last
week I used the vestry’s plan for the parish as one way we might be part of the
dream and hope of God
I
could equally say that that plan is how we as vestry think we might make the
presence of God visible in Tauranga
I
wonder then what does it mean for you to make the presence of God visible in Tauranga?
And
how does the Ascension help or hinder that?
talk
to your neighbour
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