Sunday after Ascension Day
Acts 1: 6-14John 17: 1-11
I remember a ruse where two or three people would stand atthe foot of a tall building and just look towards the top, at its roof or its architectural style. Of course, the style was not what was interesting us. It was just the act of staring upwards. Often, we would find that we had gathered a few others doing just the same. What they were looking for was not always obvious because nothing was ever spoken. People are naturally curious.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles reads a little like that in some ways. the Apostles had gathered together and Jesus appeared to them. Deep down they were still expectingJesus to restore Israel. When would this happen? The reply that Jesus had given them was that the time and place were things that were not their concern. But he did promise to send to them the Holy Spirit. By the power of the Holy Spirit they would go out into all of the nearby regions, countries, and indeed the whole world, and that they will be witnesses of Jesus.
After this Jesus ascended into heaven, his ascent being veiled by a cloud. However, that is not the end of the story. Two men dressed in white robes addressed the Apostles. They were asked why they were staring up to heaven. Then they were told that Jesus will return the same way as you go into heaven. What a statement of reassurance. Not only to the Apostles but to all of humanity.
Filled with this reassurance the Apostles returned to Jerusalem to the others, and to the mother of Jesus, his brothers, and others. They were gathered in prayer. Imagine the rejoicing at the news that was to be imparted to them.
The sharing of the Good News has been passed on through the centuries. Today it continues. To read the scriptures in church, Sunday by Sunday, is a great privilege. To listen and hear the words that reassured the Apostles are being read out to us.
In the gospel reading we learn of the prayer that Jesus made to his Father in heaven. Firstly he commended himself to the heavenly kingdom, then he prayed for his disciples. They were to witness the horrors of the Cross, but Jesus also wanted them to know the glory of the resurrection. It was a glory that would remove the shame of the Cross. A little like someone who had ventured forth to carry out a perilous mission. On their homecoming they shared the triumph of their deeds. The going out, the mission, and returning home was the equivalent of the Cross. The final triumph was the gateway to glory. That glory would not have been theirs if they had not passed through the triumphal gateway. For Jesus the Cross was his return to God.
Let us go back to the promise of the Second Coming. The disciples wanted to know when this would happen. To speculate upon this is complete foolishness for not even Jesus knew when the Son of Man would come. God has a plan for humanity. We have to believe that all of history is not a conglomeration of events all happening by chance. There is a point towards which we are all moving. When we reach that place Jesus Christ will be our Judge and Lord of All. It is a place to which we have to make ourselves ready for that day when it comes.
We nearly now have all of the witness we need to prepare ourselves for the journey to go out into the world and to proclaim that Jesus is Lord. We have seen the death of Jesus on the Cross and we have seen how he is risen from the dead. There is the time spent appearing to his disciples and following that he has now ascended into heaven before their eyes. To make our witness complete the promised gift of the Holy Spirit will finish our preparation. This gift was mentioned in the reading from Acts. We now have just a short wait before we read fully of this gift.
Collect for the Sunday after Ascension Day
O God the King of glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
we beseech you, leave us not comfortless,
but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us
and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.