EASTER 7 – ASCENSIONTIDE

May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

SEASON: EASTER 7 – ASCENSIONTIDE
PROPER: C
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: May 27,2001

TEXT: John 17:20-26 – The High Priestly Prayer
“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

ISSUE: John’s Jesus is expressing the unity of himself with the Father, and prays for his church and those of the future of the church that they may bear witness to the world of a loving unity and relationship with God. The prayer calls for serving one another and the possibility of giving up some of our own needs for the good of a witness to unity.
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This Sunday, following the Thursday of the Ascension, is not merely the 7th Sunday after Easter, but more specifically the Sunday after The Feast of the Ascension. According to Luke’s accounts in The Book of the Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11, Jesus had made post-resurrection appearances for some forty days, which makes this past Thursday the 40th day past Easter. Jesus reportedly took his disciples from Jerusalem out to Bethany. He assures them that they will baptized with and receive the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus is lifted up from the earth and disappears into a cloud. Two men dressed in white ask, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” The scene is similar to the Transfiguration, and the two men in white may well be visions once again of Moses and Elijah, who traditionally were also assumed, or ascended into the heavens.
Here at St. John’s we have the good fortune to worship in the light of the Ascension, which is pictured in that beautiful window over our altar, which depicts the Ascension scene. I say that we are fortunate to be able to worship in this atmosphere, because the Ascension is a very meaningful event, often lost in the shuffle of Easter and the coming Pentecost. The Ascension celebration may well be another early tradition of the Resurrection event. It is definitely an experience of Jesus being with his disciples after his crucifixion, in which he is teaching them again about the Kingdom of God. Surrounded by Moses and Elijah he is lifted up into the heavens. What is the meaning of this event? In the Genesis story, in the disobedience of Adam and Eve, tension between their children Cain and Abel, and Cain kills Abel, we see the fallen nature of humanity. In the Ascension event, Jesus, is the human figure, and son of God, who has come to raise up, to resurrect, to lift up the fallen human condition. The ministry of Jesus is the offer of grace. It is the invitation to reclaim and to step back in to the Realm, Dominion, or Kingdom of God. Jesus, his life and ministry, you might say, is the outstretched hand of God’s forgiveness calling all humanity back into the Garden of God. It is not based on good deeds or extraordinary merit. It is the free gift of God’s loving grace that calls us to loyalty, faith, trust, and commitment to the God of Love. How fortunate we are to be here in light of that window that reminds us all that through Jesus Christ the hand of God is extended to raise us up.
I want to couple this understanding of the resurrection and ascension with the Prayer of Jesus that is found in John’s Gospel account. For a couple of weeks now, we have heard portions of Jesus’ prayer, The High Priestly Prayer, at the Last Supper, according to John’s Gospel. Please understand again that John’s gospel account was the last to be written. It was written to a relatively small early Christian community that was enduring be thrown out of synagogues for their beliefs, and on the other hand were threatened by the Roman government. It was also a time when the last of the eyewitnesses and disciples had died off. It is not likely that the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in John is a verbatim statement of Jesus. Yet it very likely expresses the remembered spirit of Jesus and his intentions for his followers. In this portion of the prayer Jesus calls for the unity of the community. Just as Jesus and the Father are united , and that Jesus has been the obedient Son and servant of the Father, unifying them in their purpose to love, restore, and raise up, resurrect the people of God, Jesus prays for that same unity among his followers to be a unified witness in their love of one another and in their love of Jesus Christ to witness to the world. You may recall the hymn: “They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” (Hymnal for Young Christians) This gospel account and part of the High Priestly Prayer calls the community into unity with Christ Jesus, as Jesus is in unity with the God the Father.
What you have in this Ascension season is another rather profound expression of God’s forgiveness and the Good News of knowing that God has reached out to all that is fallen to raise us up into his glory. Honor is restored; we are renewed in our essence of being in relationship with God. God in Christ has become human and comes to us that we might become like him, sons and daughters of God. (Incidentally, I’m so glad the artist of our Ascension window included a woman among the disciples.)
Of course, there is a problem for us today. The problem is compounded by our humanness, and by our being Americans. We cherish our individuality as American citizens. At the same time the church as a larger worldwide community is fractured by the existence of so many different Christian denominations. It is not easy for people outside of the church today to see much unity. And there is still the reputation some churches have for being contentious. It is not easy to get what Jesus was about, and it is not always easy to be so loyal and so faithful, and so convinced that God in Christ is calling us to be raised up and made new with an invitation to step into the peace of the garden. Breaking free of our past, and becoming transformed is too easy. It is something we have to be sensitive to, and keep working at.
I remember some years ago, our Vestry, had gone on a retreat, and we were working towards our goal for the future. Of the some eight or so persons present, we came up with some eight or so goals. We had not broken the stale mate by the time allotted for our exercise, and there was some frustration at the end. We all can be very fixed in what we feel is the right thing to do. We cherish “standing up for what you believe in, or to be right.” The art of compromise, or problem solving does not always come easy. Sometimes in marriages, and in important relationships we know we have to learn those skills, and have the grace to know that we are not always right, and even if our way is best, it may not be the only way. It is so interesting to me that what faith requires is not that we be right or perfect, or even totally morally good for that matter. We’d all be doomed if that were the case. It is about being in a committed relationship with Jesus Christ who leads us to God. Love and faith are closely linked as what is important for us, because they are what raise our humanity, and make us a part of a new godly way of life. Are the battles we sometimes choose to fight in our relationships in church, marriage, among friends, church, or other organizations worth the destruction and angry disunity, or paralysis that they may bring.
Jesus’ ministry was intended to be a liberating event. His intention was to allow the last, least, lost to become more, to have dignity and purpose and expand their awareness of themselves as a purposeful part of God’s creation. I’m wondering if it isn’t so very important not to be quite so committed to what I think the way things should be, but rather to enjoy the freedom of allowing others to express themselves, and their way. Maybe some of you in the process of raising your children have seen that they had their way of doing things, very different to what we the parent thinks, only to find that their way of doing things turned out fine, or if they didn’t you still had the courage to let them make mistakes, and keep the relationship in tact. Pray that we can all be free enough ourselves to allow others the freedom to be who they are and express themselves. Pray that we don’t become so committed to things and our way of doing them, that we lose the relationships of love.
I doubt that all the peasant people who were companions or acquaintances of Jesus were hardly upstanding righteous people. All Jesus wanted them to be was loyal to God the Father and his love, and know that God reached out to them in spite of themselves.
As to all the various Christian denominations in the world today, it is hardly likely that they shall all unify into one big Christian Church. People and their religious needs are often quite different. Our last Confirmation Service was a real demonstration of that fact. A raucous rock band played during the Holy Communion to the absolute delight of some and the dismay of others. Yet God was still there, Confirmation was valid, and in our great diversity, the unity of God’s people prevailed. The prayer of our Lord is that we may be united in love, to serve one another and to allow for the full expression of faith and involvement by all people, that no one is put down, and that all are raised and ascended into the Presence of God and God’s love. May our way of life as a Christian community share the pray by our way of life. In a hostile, apathetic, and violent world, we need God, Our Lord, and one another, that the world may come to know we are Christians by our love.