led with challenges and insights. I love this Sunday and share a few reasons why in my reflection. Perhaps you will find yourself in town - if so, please join us for worship at 10:30 am. Today is the Feast of the Ascension of Christ: it is one of my favorite celebrations in the life of the church, but also one that has become ever more complicated for people of faith in the 21st century. As one scholar observed, before the realm of science – before the work of the space program – we didn’t really have to wrestle with this feast day.
On a flat earth it was easy to point to where God lived. God was up beyond the dome (of the sky) and in fact was partly the dome itself holding back the chaos that seemed so close in that early world devoid of simple scientific rationale. Coming with this middle-eastern cosmology to the events of Jesus’ death, resurrection and re-assimilation into God it was easy (therefore) to speak of him having “ascended” back to God: literally back beyond the dome… but that doesn’t work so well in 2010.
Such simple-mindedness, however, just makes our brains hurt in this generation: where IS up from a planet suspended in space? And “given what we now kn
ow about the size of the Universe, ascension gets us into all sorts of problems such as how far, how high, which galaxy?” (Peter Woods, “Up, Up and Inside,” May 11, 2010)
So let me suggest that we put any and all inclinations toward literalism aside in our contemplation of Ascension Day and consider what deeper insights our still speaking God might be sharing with us on this sweet celebration. For when we put the insights of the scriptures into a context, they begin to reveal both the comfort and the challenge of being Christ’s disciples in our generation. Like St. Paul told the early church:
It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone… (and) once you heard this truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), you found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life (in God’s own time.)
So first let’s remember that the story St. Luke tells us about Christ’s ascension into heaven takes place… when? Do you recall? The words of Luke in Acts tell us it was 40 days after the resurrection – 40 days after Easter – so why do you think this is important? What do you recall about the number 40? We know that our
ancestors in faith – our Jewish cousins in Israel – used the number 40 repeatedly to speak of significant encounters with God’s presence in history:
• Noah and his brood were on the ark after the flood for 40 days and nights.
• The children of Israel wandered the wilderness and were tested and purified by God’s spirit for 40 years.
• Moses spent 40 days on the mountain with the Lord.
• The prophet Elijah spent 40 days hiding in a cave when he was most afraid and confused about his mission to a decadent society.
• And of course, Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and night before beginning his public ministry.
So, by using the number 40 St. Luke is not only asking us to make a connection between the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and the story of God’s love in Israel, he is urging his community to pay attention. Whenever you hear the number 40, he wants us to remember, then something important is about to happen. That’s the first insight on Ascension Sunday – and it has nothing to do with cosmology, science, spatial relations or literalism. It is an invitation and a warning: take notice because something big is about to happen.
The second insight takes place when we realize that St. Luke is retelling the story of Christ’s birth and ministry in the book of Acts. You might even say that Acts is chapter two of the Luke’s gos
pel because the same person wrote it.
• Did you know that? I’m not telling you something new here right?
• Luke wrote both the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles – and he does something quite important in chapter two – when he tells us that just as Jesus was conceived in the trust and humanity of Mary the first time – the same thing happens again through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
On a flat earth it was easy to point to where God lived. God was up beyond the dome (of the sky) and in fact was partly the dome itself holding back the chaos that seemed so close in that early world devoid of simple scientific rationale. Coming with this middle-eastern cosmology to the events of Jesus’ death, resurrection and re-assimilation into God it was easy (therefore) to speak of him having “ascended” back to God: literally back beyond the dome… but that doesn’t work so well in 2010.
Such simple-mindedness, however, just makes our brains hurt in this generation: where IS up from a planet suspended in space? And “given what we now kn
ow about the size of the Universe, ascension gets us into all sorts of problems such as how far, how high, which galaxy?” (Peter Woods, “Up, Up and Inside,” May 11, 2010)So let me suggest that we put any and all inclinations toward literalism aside in our contemplation of Ascension Day and consider what deeper insights our still speaking God might be sharing with us on this sweet celebration. For when we put the insights of the scriptures into a context, they begin to reveal both the comfort and the challenge of being Christ’s disciples in our generation. Like St. Paul told the early church:
It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone… (and) once you heard this truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), you found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life (in God’s own time.)
So first let’s remember that the story St. Luke tells us about Christ’s ascension into heaven takes place… when? Do you recall? The words of Luke in Acts tell us it was 40 days after the resurrection – 40 days after Easter – so why do you think this is important? What do you recall about the number 40? We know that our
ancestors in faith – our Jewish cousins in Israel – used the number 40 repeatedly to speak of significant encounters with God’s presence in history:• Noah and his brood were on the ark after the flood for 40 days and nights.
• The children of Israel wandered the wilderness and were tested and purified by God’s spirit for 40 years.
• Moses spent 40 days on the mountain with the Lord.
• The prophet Elijah spent 40 days hiding in a cave when he was most afraid and confused about his mission to a decadent society.
• And of course, Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and night before beginning his public ministry.
So, by using the number 40 St. Luke is not only asking us to make a connection between the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and the story of God’s love in Israel, he is urging his community to pay attention. Whenever you hear the number 40, he wants us to remember, then something important is about to happen. That’s the first insight on Ascension Sunday – and it has nothing to do with cosmology, science, spatial relations or literalism. It is an invitation and a warning: take notice because something big is about to happen.
The second insight takes place when we realize that St. Luke is retelling the story of Christ’s birth and ministry in the book of Acts. You might even say that Acts is chapter two of the Luke’s gos
pel because the same person wrote it.• Did you know that? I’m not telling you something new here right?
• Luke wrote both the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles – and he does something quite important in chapter two – when he tells us that just as Jesus was conceived in the trust and humanity of Mary the first time – the same thing happens again through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the first book, Theophilus,(which means one who believes in God) I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 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. 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; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Do you see the connection? It doesn’t become full blown until next week – Pentecost – but let’s review the background that Luke is summarizing right now so that we will be ready for the feast. And here is one of those wonderful challenges for Protestants of any era: if we want to be faithful to the Biblical story and embrace the wisdom of the Ascension and Pentecost, then we have to reconsider how we understand Mary – the mother of our Lord – because she is both the key and the model for what it means to be the body of Christ.
• Back in chapter one of St. Luke we read that in the sixth month (of Elizabeth’s pregnancy – and Elizabeth is Mary’s relative – most likely a cou
sin) the angel Gabriel visited a young Palestinian peasant girl by the name of Miriam.
• Gabriel – however you understand a spiritual messenger of the Lord – is the same angel who came to Zechariah (a high priest of Israel) and Elizabeth when they were very, very old and promised that they would bear a child – John the Baptist – who would announce the coming of the Messiah.
Are you still with me? Do you see where this is going? Spirit – Israel – becoming pregnant by God’s grace and deep faith? The text continues: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will name him Jesus. And when Mary asked how this was going to happen, Gabriel said: the Holy Spirit will come upon you… and by faith this child will be born and called the Son of God. And what did Mary reply? Here I am, Lord, your servant; let it be with me according to your word.
That is part one of the story – Mary is the model of faith through whom Christ Jesus is born – by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Again, we’re not talking about science or literalism: this is a testimony to what can happen by faith. New life can be born, new hope restored; blessings and bounty can take up residence in old and new flesh alike.
• And then this story is repeated by St. Luke in chapter two – what we now call the Acts of the Apostles – in exactly the same manner as chapter one: by the Holy Spirit, God is going to plant the seed of Christ in the new Mary – the church – and once again the body of Christ shall be born by faith.
• In both the book of Luke – the final chapter
– and the book of Acts – the first chapter we are told that Jesus said these words to his disciples: You are witnesses to all that God has created. 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… for 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. (Luke 24/Acts 1)
Am I being clear? Do you follow what St. Luke is trying to tell us? By faith, Mary received God’s promised Holy Spirit and gave birth to Christ in the real world. In like fashion, by faith the disciples – including you and me – are promised the Holy Spirit – God’s power from on high – to also give birth to Christ in another form – the church – so that God’s grace may spread throughout the world – first in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria but then to the ends of creation.
• Do you see why Mary is so important? She is literally the model for how God calls us to become the church.
• So what are you thinking? What’s going on in your heads and hearts?
First, Luke wants us to connect the ministry of Jesus with the grace of God revealed in Israel. Second, he wants us to understand that God’s promise is to continue in creation through you and me and all believers as we give birth to Jesus in our day just like
Mary did in hers.
And third there is a very unique promise of both waiting and power involved in these stories: Stay here in the city until you are clothed with power from on high Jesus tells his disciples in Luke – and this is repeated in Acts with the words – wait until you receive my power through the Holy Spirit. Now both waiting on the Lord and embracing the power of Christ can be frightening and frustrating, so let’s take a moment for clarity so that we know about what is being asked of us as disciples and don’t go off half-cocked.
First, wait – kaqizo – which some versions translate as stay or even settle down. Throughout the New Testament this little word means to sit down and stop being preoccupied with other concerns. It has to do with resting and being fully present to what is happening right now.
• Psalm
37 captures the spirit so well: do not fret because of the wicked… trust in the Lord… sit down and wait… be still before the Lord and wait patiently… do not fret for it only leads to evil.
• Like the folk musicians, the Wailin’ Jennys, said when we went over to Northampton to hear them last month: why do you keep fretting and worrying over and over? Worrying is like praying for things you don’t want to happen!
The invitation – the spiritual wisdom – is to wait like Mary: it takes time for this pregnancy to mature – it takes waiting – and letting go. How did old Ram Das put it back in the 60s? “Be here now, man!” Now, let’s be fair: such waiting and resting and living by faith takes practice, yes? It is not automatic.
Left to our own devices we’ll worry and fret and flit from one imagined catastrophe to the next without ever once resolving any of our anticipated anxieties. In fact, some have become so addicted to drama and angst that we have no idea what Jesus was even talking about when he asked us to rest and settle down. The poet, T.S. Eliot, puts it like this:
Endless invention, endless experiment, brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness; knowledge of speech, but not of silence; knowledge of words and ignorance of the Word… where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
And if that is too esoteric, consider the pop culture alternative:
The paradox of our time is that we have taller buildin
gs but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less common sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life and added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space.
Do you see the connection? It doesn’t become full blown until next week – Pentecost – but let’s review the background that Luke is summarizing right now so that we will be ready for the feast. And here is one of those wonderful challenges for Protestants of any era: if we want to be faithful to the Biblical story and embrace the wisdom of the Ascension and Pentecost, then we have to reconsider how we understand Mary – the mother of our Lord – because she is both the key and the model for what it means to be the body of Christ.
• Back in chapter one of St. Luke we read that in the sixth month (of Elizabeth’s pregnancy – and Elizabeth is Mary’s relative – most likely a cou
sin) the angel Gabriel visited a young Palestinian peasant girl by the name of Miriam.• Gabriel – however you understand a spiritual messenger of the Lord – is the same angel who came to Zechariah (a high priest of Israel) and Elizabeth when they were very, very old and promised that they would bear a child – John the Baptist – who would announce the coming of the Messiah.
Are you still with me? Do you see where this is going? Spirit – Israel – becoming pregnant by God’s grace and deep faith? The text continues: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will name him Jesus. And when Mary asked how this was going to happen, Gabriel said: the Holy Spirit will come upon you… and by faith this child will be born and called the Son of God. And what did Mary reply? Here I am, Lord, your servant; let it be with me according to your word.
That is part one of the story – Mary is the model of faith through whom Christ Jesus is born – by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Again, we’re not talking about science or literalism: this is a testimony to what can happen by faith. New life can be born, new hope restored; blessings and bounty can take up residence in old and new flesh alike.
• And then this story is repeated by St. Luke in chapter two – what we now call the Acts of the Apostles – in exactly the same manner as chapter one: by the Holy Spirit, God is going to plant the seed of Christ in the new Mary – the church – and once again the body of Christ shall be born by faith.
• In both the book of Luke – the final chapter
– and the book of Acts – the first chapter we are told that Jesus said these words to his disciples: You are witnesses to all that God has created. 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… for 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. (Luke 24/Acts 1)Am I being clear? Do you follow what St. Luke is trying to tell us? By faith, Mary received God’s promised Holy Spirit and gave birth to Christ in the real world. In like fashion, by faith the disciples – including you and me – are promised the Holy Spirit – God’s power from on high – to also give birth to Christ in another form – the church – so that God’s grace may spread throughout the world – first in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria but then to the ends of creation.
• Do you see why Mary is so important? She is literally the model for how God calls us to become the church.
• So what are you thinking? What’s going on in your heads and hearts?
First, Luke wants us to connect the ministry of Jesus with the grace of God revealed in Israel. Second, he wants us to understand that God’s promise is to continue in creation through you and me and all believers as we give birth to Jesus in our day just like
Mary did in hers.And third there is a very unique promise of both waiting and power involved in these stories: Stay here in the city until you are clothed with power from on high Jesus tells his disciples in Luke – and this is repeated in Acts with the words – wait until you receive my power through the Holy Spirit. Now both waiting on the Lord and embracing the power of Christ can be frightening and frustrating, so let’s take a moment for clarity so that we know about what is being asked of us as disciples and don’t go off half-cocked.
First, wait – kaqizo – which some versions translate as stay or even settle down. Throughout the New Testament this little word means to sit down and stop being preoccupied with other concerns. It has to do with resting and being fully present to what is happening right now.
• Psalm
37 captures the spirit so well: do not fret because of the wicked… trust in the Lord… sit down and wait… be still before the Lord and wait patiently… do not fret for it only leads to evil.• Like the folk musicians, the Wailin’ Jennys, said when we went over to Northampton to hear them last month: why do you keep fretting and worrying over and over? Worrying is like praying for things you don’t want to happen!
The invitation – the spiritual wisdom – is to wait like Mary: it takes time for this pregnancy to mature – it takes waiting – and letting go. How did old Ram Das put it back in the 60s? “Be here now, man!” Now, let’s be fair: such waiting and resting and living by faith takes practice, yes? It is not automatic.
Left to our own devices we’ll worry and fret and flit from one imagined catastrophe to the next without ever once resolving any of our anticipated anxieties. In fact, some have become so addicted to drama and angst that we have no idea what Jesus was even talking about when he asked us to rest and settle down. The poet, T.S. Eliot, puts it like this:
Endless invention, endless experiment, brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness; knowledge of speech, but not of silence; knowledge of words and ignorance of the Word… where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
And if that is too esoteric, consider the pop culture alternative:
The paradox of our time is that we have taller buildin
gs but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less common sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life and added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. To truly settle down and wait upon the Lord takes practice – cultivation – a commitment to the spiritual life. Jesus isn’t talking about gimmicks or schtick – tricks that lure people into worship or church – trinkets that distract but starve our soul of depth and integrity. He’s talking about the time-tested disciplines of being still and settling down; something that is almost unheard of in our day of multitasking and electronic devices that follow us everywhere.
Well, that is part of what Jesus is saying, but not the totality. Because he goes on to tell us that if we learn to settle down and rest in the Lord, he promises that we will receive power from on high. Dunamis – from which we get the word dynamite – the Holy Spirit who will empower us to be as Christ in the world.
• And please be very clear about what this means: it does NOT mean that we will become perfect – or sinless – or obsessed with doing, do
ing, doing good and noble work no matter how important.
• No, to be Christ in the world is to be his witness – people who have experienced and trusted both repentance and the forgiveness of sins – and are committed to sharing these gifts with others softly and tenderly.
We have, you see, been invited to show the world an alternative – God’s life giving alternative – because time and again, we refashion religion and the heart of God into our own broken image – and that is deadly. St. George Carlin once described his take on religion like this – and for many it is all too true:
Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man…living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever and suffer and burn and scream until the end of time. But he loves you. Oh yes, he loves you and he needs your money.
We have been asked to make flesh an alternative – Christ’s alternative – inspired by the dynamite of his grace. I think the words of M. Craig Barnes, pastor/teacher at Pittsburg Theological Seminary, transcend his description of what congregations want from their pastor when he writes:
What we really want to see… are those who know what it means to struggle against temptation and despair, just like we do. We
want to be led by someone who has also stayed up all night fretting over choices, regrets and fear, but who then finds the quiet grace to start over the next morning. We want to see the Gospel incarnated in a human life that is still far from complete but has become more interesting because the human drama is now sacred. In other words, we want a pastor – or I would say a witness – who knows what it means to be human, but in communion with God. Innocence is precious, but it’s the glimpses of redemption that truly compel. (The Pastor as Minor Poet, p. 53)
And that, beloved in Christ, is why Ascension Sunday, is so important: it helps us begin to see the possibilities God has in store for us by faith. Such is the blessing of the good news, so let those who have ears to hear: hear.
Well, that is part of what Jesus is saying, but not the totality. Because he goes on to tell us that if we learn to settle down and rest in the Lord, he promises that we will receive power from on high. Dunamis – from which we get the word dynamite – the Holy Spirit who will empower us to be as Christ in the world.
• And please be very clear about what this means: it does NOT mean that we will become perfect – or sinless – or obsessed with doing, do
ing, doing good and noble work no matter how important.• No, to be Christ in the world is to be his witness – people who have experienced and trusted both repentance and the forgiveness of sins – and are committed to sharing these gifts with others softly and tenderly.
We have, you see, been invited to show the world an alternative – God’s life giving alternative – because time and again, we refashion religion and the heart of God into our own broken image – and that is deadly. St. George Carlin once described his take on religion like this – and for many it is all too true:
Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man…living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever and suffer and burn and scream until the end of time. But he loves you. Oh yes, he loves you and he needs your money.
We have been asked to make flesh an alternative – Christ’s alternative – inspired by the dynamite of his grace. I think the words of M. Craig Barnes, pastor/teacher at Pittsburg Theological Seminary, transcend his description of what congregations want from their pastor when he writes:
What we really want to see… are those who know what it means to struggle against temptation and despair, just like we do. We
want to be led by someone who has also stayed up all night fretting over choices, regrets and fear, but who then finds the quiet grace to start over the next morning. We want to see the Gospel incarnated in a human life that is still far from complete but has become more interesting because the human drama is now sacred. In other words, we want a pastor – or I would say a witness – who knows what it means to be human, but in communion with God. Innocence is precious, but it’s the glimpses of redemption that truly compel. (The Pastor as Minor Poet, p. 53)And that, beloved in Christ, is why Ascension Sunday, is so important: it helps us begin to see the possibilities God has in store for us by faith. Such is the blessing of the good news, so let those who have ears to hear: hear.
credits:
1) fritz scholder /plainsart.org/collections/fritz-scholder/
2) monica sheldon www.agnesbugeragallery.com/Paintings.aspx?ArtistID=561) fritz scholder /plainsart.org/collections/fritz-scholder/
2) caroline levis http://www.levisart.com/
3) julie ann bowden fineartamerica.com/featured/mary-and-elizabeth-julie-ann-bowden.html
4) chris ofili tipart.blogspot.com/2010/02/purpose-of-contemporary-art.html
5) lashaun beal tipart.blogspot.com/2010/02/purpose-of-contemporary-art.html
6) mary bogdan flickr.com/photos/marybogdan/50529853
7) cyprian adagi ogambi www.insideafricanart.com/artists%20main%20pages/Ogambi.htm
8) cubism pet-portraitartist.com/learning-to-paint-and-draw/painting-styles/Cubism.htm
9) monica sheldon, ibid
10) chidi okoye www.modernartimages.com/galleryofcubismpage1.htm
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