Sermon - Ascension Sunday 29th May 2022
Ephesians 1:15-23, New International Version
Thanksgiving and Prayer
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Luke 24:44-53, New International Version
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 you are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension of Jesus
50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O Christ, our Strength and our Redeemer, amen.
Today we meditate on Ascension Sunday and what it meant when Christ left this world physically. When Christ ascended, he gave the church a mission to preach the Good News to all people. We will examine the nature of our mission and what it means to be Christian.
In the first passage from Ephesians, we read that the church is Christ’s body here on Earth. This is of supreme importance to us because it describes our actual mission in this world. Many people labour under the false assumption that the church is here to conquer the world, and to that I repeat the very words of this passage, “God placed all things under his feet.” This is not future tense. It does not say, “God will” or “God plans to”; the passage is very clear that God has already overcome the whole world and placed it under the control of Jesus. Therefore, we are not meant to be the rulers of this world. On the contrary, we are here to serve all people as the body of Christ. That means, like our Lord who was crucified, died, and was buried, we too will eventually be called to sacrifice ourselves in some way - whether it be our time, our labour, our resources or our very bodies.
However, it is not a meaningless sacrifice because, as the passage says, God fills everything in every way. He is the master of both life and death, for after the crucifixion there was a resurrection, which means that we too shall rise again after death and see God the Son in all his glory. We spread the Good News because other eyes must see the glory of the Son.
Jesus the resurrected Lord has ascended to God the Father. He is both with God and God with us. Finally, he will send the Comforter; the Holy Spirit. Then, the Holy Trinity will dwell within us as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and God will be All in All.
Regarding our work here on Earth, God sees the big picture that we can’t. We only see the fruits of our labour during our limited time on Earth, but God is already in the future, and he knows how far our influence will go. The meagre, tiny seeds we plant today could go on to feed thousands of people in the future. Speaking of the past influencing the future, tomorrow is Indian Arrival Day, so I’d like to give you a history lesson.
2022 marks the 177th anniversary of the arrival of Indian indentured workers to Trinidad and Tobago. According to the Express Newspaper, “on the 30th of May 1845, the Fatel Razack docked in the Port of Spain harbour in Trinidad and Tobago. There were 225 adult passengers on board this first trip. The passengers were immigrants from India who had come to the British colony to work in the sugarcane plantations after the abolition of African slavery. They spent 103 days on sea. The arduous and dangerous journey spanned 14,000 miles (36,000 km). The immigrants were contracted for five to ten years to work in the sugarcane estates in a system that ended in 1917.”
In a Newsday editorial, journalist Arthur Dash wrote, “The labourers who arrived in 1845 on the ship Fatel Razack had tremendous odds stacked against them. Yet, they became a new labour force, assisting the economic development of Trinidad and, in the process, forever enriching our society.”
Although they were given the choice to return to India, most of the labourers chose to stay, and that is why I am standing here today delivering this sermon! Which one of those poor, sick, exhausted immigrants who stepped off that boat 177 years ago could have imagined how much Trinidad and Tobago would develop? We have joined hands with the nations of the world and enjoyed advances in science, technology and the arts that would appear miraculous to our ancestors. More importantly, the same God we worship today was with our forerunners 177 years ago on that boat, and the same God is with us today. His grace was sufficient for them, and the wide centuries have not exhausted his strength at all; His grace is still sufficient for us today and forevermore.
The second passage from the Gospel of Luke teaches us that Christ is the one who clothes us with power from on high; that is, the Holy Spirit. However, there are far too many Christians today who try to do their work with their own strength and with their own wisdom. To illustrate the futility of this way of living, I would like to tell you two short stories.
1. There was a little girl, Susan, who was trying to bake a cake, but when she had to mix the batter she found herself struggling with the cake mixer. She was trying so hard, yet it seemed she hardly made any progress. She thought baking was supposed to be fun. What was wrong? “You are supposed to mix this batter!” Susan shouted at the mixer.
Her mom walked by and saw her frustration almost instantly. “Susan, you need to plug the mixer in,” she explained.
• Preaching the Good News by using your own strength and your own wisdom is like trying to use an appliance without plugging it in. Without the Holy Spirit energising us, we can’t do God’s work.
2. There was a soldier, Sam, who was trained to use a parachute. He took to the training well, and even taught new soldiers how to deploy a parachute. Then one day Sam returned to base covered in bruises, and his superior officer asked him what happened.
“Well sir, I thought that after using the parachute dozens of times, I could manage alright on my own, so I jumped off a cliff without one!”
• Poor Sam doesn’t realise that humans are not built to glide, and that no matter how much he practises, there is nothing in him that could ever make him glide gracefully to the ground. In the same way Sam needs his parachute to glide, we as Christians need the Holy Spirit to spread the Good News.
Amen. Let us pray. Father God, thank you for the great gift of your Son and for your work in us begun. Be with us while we labour, for we cannot do anything without you. When our work is done, lift us to your Kingdom, so that we can reunite with our loved ones who have gone before us, and dwell with you forevermore. Amen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prayer of Adoration
God of incredible surprises, as we gaze into the clouds, remind us that we are standing on holy ground. Place our feet on the pathways of peace and hope. Let the vision of the Lord rising to the heavens help us to focus on the ministries that you would have us do. Keep us ready and willing always to serve you all our days. Loving and faithful God, we come into your presence rejoicing. We come to sing your praise. Be present with us in this time together as we come to worship you. Loving God, help us to respond to your promise and challenge of discipleship and renew us in your service. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prayer of Confession
Forgiving and gracious God, you have called us to be the church, to live out our Resurrection faith. you have asked us to place our trust in you and to bring to all the good news of your saving love. But we have failed to do this. We have given our faith a back seat to the troubles of the world and to the stresses in our own life. We look for the quick and easy answers. Forgive us for the smallness of our faith.
O Father, by raising Christ from the dead, you promised to raise our spirits and bring us to new life. You have done this and yet, we remain static in our response to you. Clear our spirits of the clutter of everyday living. Help us to be open always to your Word and your love. Challenge us to move in directions of peace and hope for all people.
Forgive our arrogance and impatience. Help us to overcome those traits which pull us away from you and from appreciating all that you have done for us. As we listen to the scriptures on this day in which the disciples witnessed Jesus’ ascension to you, O Father, let our hearts be at peace, knowing that you have taught us what we need to know to serve God joyfully in this world. Inspire us and give us delight for what is to come. These things we pray in the name of our risen Lord, amen.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Heavenly Father, we thank you for being such a loving God. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for sacrificing your life for us. Thank you for being mindful of us and becoming our Saviour, Deliverer and Liberator. We give thanks to you with our whole hearts; we sing your praises, we bow in your holy temple and praise you for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honour of your Name.
Son of God, thank you for enduring pain, shame, and humiliation to reconcile us with God the Father. Because of you, we have peace with God. You have given us your grace so that we can confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We declare that since we have been made right in God’s sight by your blood, we are saved from God’s condemnation. Today, we rejoice in our wonderful relationship with God. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Offertory Prayer
Gifted with the grace of God, and clothed with power from on high, let us now offer ourselves to the service of all people in this world. Bless these gifts, O Lord of all, as we worship you with great joy and serve all people with great love. In Christ’s name, Amen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pastoral Prayer
With mouths gaping open and eyes looking heavenward, we trace the ascension of our beloved Saviour Jesus Christ back to you, O Father. We would like to stand here, looking heavenward and thinking about how much Jesus means to us, but we are called to lower our eyes and get moving to serve you in this world, Lord. We can hold the image of his ascension in our hearts, but our hands and spirits must be ready to do the work that you have set before us.
You have asked us to live out our Resurrection faith in service, offering peace and justice, hope and healing to all we meet. We want your healing mercies for all who are ill, who mourn, who are lost and alone. Help us to live the prayers we ask. Help us to be agents of healing and mercy, of peace and hope.
Today you have called us together to hear the words of Jesus as he prayed for his disciples, telling you that his love for them is complete and that he believes in them. He has given his life for us. Now we are called to give our lives for him, to offer to all the Good News that God’s love is real and powerful. God’s healing mercy is for all people. We offer our prayers for our families and our friends who are in situations of need, asking God’s blessings upon them. We raise our voices in choruses of pleading for you to be present to all your people, creating pathways of peace.
Be with us, gracious Lord. Help us to witness to the world, not only by our words and our thoughts, but by our actions that your peace may be known. We offer our lives and prayers to you in the name of our ascended Lord, Jesus Christ who taught us to pray and say together the Lord’s Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven...