We Have Not Been Deserted Preached at Wollaston Congregational Church On May 28th, 2017 Scriptures: Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:1-11 Today we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus. This festival of the church is traditionally celebrated 40 days after Easter, which places the event on the Thursday before the 7th Sunday of Eastertide. The Ascension is often observed in an evening service, and in some countries Ascension Day is actually and national holiday. We were not in church on Thursday, though, so I have chosen the Ascension Day scriptures for today. The Ascension of Christ may seem like a strange story, but it is a significant transitional event for the followers of Jesus and for the Church. It requires the disciples to deal with the question of who they are, now Jesus is no longer with them in the flesh. To complicate matters, we heard two different accounts of the same event written by the same author in our readings today. The gospel of Luke concludes with a description of the Ascension. Then Luke’s sequel, the book of Acts, begins with the Ascension of Christ. It’s a little bit like “previously on Law and Order”, a recap of what happened last in the gospel. Only the two accounts have some noticeable differences. In the gospel, Jesus is seen ascending right after the resurrection appearances, all on the first day of the week. That is, on Easter. It is quite a jam-packed day for the disciples, quite an emotional roller coaster. I have decided that I like the Acts account better, because in this case the Ascension takes place 40 days after the resurrection. The disciples receive 40 days of teaching about the reign of God. At least they have had some time and space to take in all the events of the crucifixion and resurrection. There’s one more thing I’d like to highlight about this story. In fact, it is something that applies to all of the gospels. That the story is heard, and also probably set, in the midst of the gruesome Roman-Jewish war, with the Jerusalem temple at the center of it all. Even though the description of the war and all of its atrocities are left out of the New Testament, we are repeatedly told of the disciples’ fear. And so, somehow, Jesus has taken the disciples out to Bethany, just outside Jerusalem, just beyond the fray. This is the place where he began his dramatic entry into Jerusalem, just a few weeks ago. Somehow, they have found a peaceful hillside, away from the anxiety and fray of Jerusalem. Somehow, the crosses of the many crucifixions taking place at that time are out of sight, and the disciples are able to focus on Jesus’ words. But, we can tell that they are still pre-occupied with what will happen in Jerusalem. They ask, is this the time when he will restore the kingdom to Israel? They are still thinking in terms of worldly power and success. He deflects, rather than corrects. You will receive the power from the Holy Spirit … you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, but also in all Judea and Samaria, to the ends of the earth. He is looking forward to the time when the gospel is brought to Rome, the center of power in their world. This is the trajectory of the book of Acts: the birth of the Church, the powerful action of the Holy Spirit in transforming lives. Even the lives of the oppressors. No wonder that when he is taken up into the Father’s heart, they stand there gazing. They’re left speechless, amazed. They haven’t taken it in. Yet again, there are the men in white, just as at the tomb, ready to admonish them. Don’t stare up toward heaven … follow Jesus’ instructions and return to Jerusalem, to wait, to pray, and to receive the Holy Spirit. I can’t help thinking that they must feel deserted by Jesus, as they slowly return to the fray in Jerusalem: to the epicenter of fear and anxiety. A couple of months ago, I saw the movie “Hacksaw Ridge” with my husband. It’s quite a graphic movie focusing on the horrors of battle, but it portrays an extremely compelling story. This is the story of medic, Desmond T. Doss, who served the US army during World War II. Desmond Doss volunteered for the army, in spite of the fact that he was a Seventh Day Adventist and a pacifist. He refused to carry a weapon, even during military training, saying that his Bible and his faith were all that he needed. Doss actually became the first conscientious objector to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. Doss received all kinds of abuse during his training with his infantry unit. The other trainees saw him as a weak link and his military superiors were determined to have Doss removed from the unit. But he persisted in his goal to serve the war effort as a medic. He was fit and strong, and withstood the bullying and abuse hurled at him with courage. Following training, Doss’s unit was then sent to serve in Okinawa, Japan. They were thrown into the fray of battle as soon as they arrived. The forces who were already in place had been decimated by the Japanese. And so, Doss and his comrades went up the cliff of Hacksaw Ridge and entered immediately into the carnage. Under heavy machine gun and artillery fire, Doss repeatedly ran into the danger zone. He carried wounded soldiers to the edge of the cliff and singlehandedly lowered them down to safety. Each time he saved a man’s life, Doss prayed out loud, “Lord, please help me get one more.” Then he would go back again. He clearly felt Christ’s presence with him as he returned time and again, into the night, for around 100 wounded men, including some Japanese soldiers. It is hard for me to imagine summoning courage like Desmond Doss’s. And so, I feel the enormity of what the disciples must be facing, as they gaze up after Jesus. But they are reminded that they are to go back into the chaos of Jerusalem … and then, wait. Only this time, Jesus is not besides them in the flesh. In some ways, what is required of the disciples seems even harder than what was required of Doss. It is a “don’t just do something … sit there,” kind of command. It’s a reversal of the worldly instruction always to act, regardless of what must be done. According to the book of Acts, they do go back to the city, they come together in the upper room. They pray and worship, awaiting the Spirit. I think that they do this, with some degree of hope, because they have taken in what Jesus is doing in returning to the heart of his Father. They have grasped in some way, the deepest meaning of the Ascension. Jesus has gathered up all the pain and suffering he experienced in the world. He has gathered up the distress and anxiety of people in all places, and brought his deep concern for humanity straight into God’s heart. There, returned to relationship with God, as the Christ, he is now in a position to be with all people for all time. He is in a position to be at the side of soldiers going into battle or like Desmond Doss, going to bind up the wounded. He is able to be at the side of the family gathered around the hospital bed of a loved one … or at the side of parents whose children have been lost in concert arenas or bombed out cities of the middle east. He is able to be at the side of all who wait, even in the most tragic of circumstances, all the while holding their fears and anxieties in the heart of the Father. Next Sunday, here at Wollaston Congregational Church, we will be celebrating our participation in the universal Church. We will observe the feast of Pentecost: the birth of the Church. And, after around 9 months together, I will officially be installed as your pastor. Over the past couple of years, this church may well have felt deserted, as you lost your settled pastor, and lost your ability to do the work you felt most called to do. It is no secret that the future of this church felt very uncertain. But, you have expressed your desire to continue in your existing ministries, as well as seek out new ways to build partnerships in the community. In order to continue our mission of hosting youth groups coming to the city of Boston to serve the community, occupancy permits are now needed. A good number of you have responded to this need by working to modify the building and scheduling the necessary inspections and hearings. This work has proceeded as an act of faith and trust. It is sporadic and frustrating, requiring us to wait on authorities outside our control. There have been times when action has been required. But, more often we have been required to wait and pray. In fact, much of this year has involved waiting. We need to wait for the permit so we can begin hosting again. If we begin hosting again, we will have more confidence in our future as church in this community. I do not know whether we will be successful in this process, although I’m very hopeful that we will. But, I do know that we have been faithful to the command to remain present in the fray that is our world today, even as the anxiety threatens to overcome us. We are steeling ourselves to remain present to the questions of deep concern in our culture today:
While we wait for the Spirit to direct us, and clothe us with the power we need for this work, we may, like those early disciples, remember that we have not been deserted. In fact, Jesus has gathered all our anxieties and fears, our concerns and our struggles and holds them in the heart of the Father. And now, Jesus is present, even to us, as real and as close as he ever was on the mountainside just outside Jerusalem, just beyond the fray. May it be so. Amen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
If you enjoy a sermon or have a question, please leave a comment. If you would like to quote any of my material in your own sermons or writings, please use appropriate attribution. I look forward to hearing from you!Archives
April 2022
Categories |