[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Easter 7A- "The Ascension- What's It to You?

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-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 5/27/17  6:20 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Easter 7A- "The Ascension- What's It to You? 


Dear
Friends,

 

This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “The Ascension- What’s It to You?” and deals with the
Acts lesson (Acts 1:8-14).  Here it is: 

 

Today is Ascension
Sunday.  If you look at our cross over
the altar, it’s an ascension Christ-figure. 
At first glance, it’s easy to think the Christ-figure is a crucifix, but
there is actually no cross.  We see
Jesus, arms outstretched as if on a cross, ascending to heaven to take his
place of honor and glory after his victorious triumph over death.  In the Acts Bible lesson (1:1-11), we heard
the account of what happened.  The
disciples had been living roller coaster lives. 
They must have been extremely confused at the Last Supper.  From there, in rapid succession, they lived
through the horror of the crucifixion; the empty tomb- with strange reports
from the women about a possible miracle; the fear of what Jesus would say to
them if, in fact, he were alive- considering the cowardly way they had behaved
in his time of trial; and finally the relief of a new and renewed relationship
with the risen Christ at Easter.  In
other words- they had him, they lost him, they had him again, and now here
comes the Ascension, and they were about to lose him permanently with a promise
that the Spirit would come and things would be even better.  To make matters worse, we hear how the Jesus
tells them (just before he ascends) to get busy doing his work- going into all
the world to teach, heal, preach, baptize, bring about Jubilee- i.e.- give
everyone a fresh start in God’s kingdom. 


 

True, it was a
confusing mess for them, but what a wonderful event for us.  Why? 
For two reasons.  While Jesus was
on this planet, he was limited.  He could
be in Jerusalem OR Nazareth.  Without the
Ascension, bringing it to the present time, he could be in Saginaw OR Detroit-
but not both.  Can you imagine the lines
to see him?  Can you imagine the
telephone difficulties- “If you would like to talk to Jesus, please press ‘1’
now?”  It had to happen, but what a
frightening change for the disciples.  To
be accessible to all of us all the time, Jesus had to return to heaven- thank
God he did!

 

There’s another reason the
Ascension had to happen- so we could grow up spiritually.  As long as Jesus was physically present on
this planet, the disciples would remain just that- disciples- learners.  You know how finally you’ve got to stop
watching the expert and start doing for yourself?  If you want to learn to cook, you can watch
an experienced cook for a long time, you can stay hooked on all the TV cooking
channels, you can even spend your time reading cookbooks- but finally you’ve
got to get your hands in the flour or whatever and stop just watching and
listening- and start doing.  Before I
retired, I would frequently have student teachers in my classroom.  At the beginning of the semester, they were
very happy to watch me teach- in fact, some would probably have been happy to
spend the entire semester that way; however- that’s not how you make good
teachers.  Pretty soon they had to stop
watching me and start teaching on their own. 
When Jesus left this planet, the disciples were forced to carry on his
work themselves, which is what the Father intended all along.  Remember, St. Paul taught us that we- the church- are
the Body of Christ.

 

What are the implications of
the Ascension for us, if we are going to be true to our Lord?   Now that Jesus is in heaven, WE ARE THE BODY
OF CHRIST!  Our hands, feet, mouths,
bodies, lives do the Jesus ministry.  It
is entrusted to us.  If we don’t do it,
it simply won’t get done.

 

What are we to do?  The letters in the holy name of Jesus remind
us of some of the basics:

 

“J” reminds us we are to
continue Jesus’ work of establishing Jubilee- in other words: justice, peace,
and a second chance for all God’s people.

 

“E” reminds us to evangelize-
spread the Word, baptize, and teach. 
Remember, in Matthew 28 Jesus reminded us to go to all nations baptizing
and teaching.

 

“S” is for “strength”- the
power, courage, and endurance Jesus offers through daily reading of His Word,
prayer, fellowship, and weekly Holy Communion.

 

“US” reminds us that God expects
us to be in this together as a team.  The
disciples knew Jesus expected them to stick together, which is why they were
all back in that upper room at Pentecost. 
One person can’t be the “Body of Christ.”  Read 1st Corinthians 12, and
you’ll see we’re all expected to be the “Body of Christ” together.  I’m going to close with a story illustrating
why we must stick together.  Did you hear
the story about the mouse and the other animals?  Well- the mouse overheard the farmer tell his
wife that he was installing a brand new, foolproof mousetrap.  The mouse was so upset that he went running
to the barnyard to get help from the other animals.  When he told the hen, he got no sympathy
whatsoever!  “Don’t bother me, mouse-
that’s your problem; not mine” was the reply. 
So he told the pig and got the same reply- “Don’t bother me- not my
problem.”  He even told the cow; again
with the same reply- “Don’t bother me- not my problem.”  That night as the mouse was sleeping, he
heard the mousetrap snap.  A poisonous
snake had gotten his tail caught in the trap. 
When the farmer’s wife went to see what had happened, the snake drew
back and bit her.  Instantly, she started
to feel very sick, so she called her husband. 
Now the husband didn’t know anything about medicine, but he knew that
chicken soup cures anything; so he went to the barn, killed the chicken
(remember- it wasn’t her problem), and made some chicken soup.  Problem- his wife got sicker.  He called the doctor who said he would come
if he could be paid in bacon, so he butchered the pig (remember- it wasn’t his
problem) and paid the doctor in bacon. 
Finally, his wife died.  He needed
food for the many people who visited to comfort him, so he killed the cow
(remember- it wasn’t her problem) and started up the grill so everyone could
have steak.  The moral of this story-
we’re all in this together.

 

If it’s going to get done
for Jesus and God’s Kingdom, we’re going to do it.  We are the Body of Christ.  We’re all in this together.

 

 

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated
African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under
“Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org
.

 

Blessed
preaching,

Judy
Boli

St.
Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw,
Michigan





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