Readings
Acts 1:6-14
Psalm 68:1-10, 33-36
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
John 17:1-11
On this Ascension Sunday we remember the final physical departure of Jesus from the disciples, and by extension, our lives. It is a time marked, at least initially, by a sense of wonder and of loss. Jesus is taken up into the sky and disappears behind a cloud.
But the story does not end there. No, the disciples are challenged by two witnesses who say to them “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
And thus begins the truth of both their and our faith. We live between the reality of Jesus in his earthly life and the promise of his return at some point in the future.
Living in in-between spaces is never easy. As human beings we don’t like it when we’re in-between. And why not? In between times are marked by uncertainty, confusion, conflict, and unmet desire. Who among us doesn’t crave for certainty, clarity, peace, and fulfillment, or at the very least resolution?
And yet, in this passage of scripture we hear Jesus tell us that the Spirit is coming. That our work is unfinished, and that God is afoot in the establishment of God’s reign.
We are a people whose job is to proclaim the kingdom of God and to actively work for its fulfillment. We are called to continue in the pattern of Jesus’ own life. We are to follow in his way. And we are to recognize that we cannot and will not succeed without God’s help in the process.
But, whether we are theologically progressive or conservative, the temptation for us is to make the vision of and the proclamation of God’s reign far too parochial or myopic.
Given the recent success of end-time novels, interpretations of the conflict in the Middle East, and the broad misinterpretation of the prophetic books of the Hebrew Scriptures there is among our evangelical brothers and sisters a bias to interpret the restoration of the kingdom in sociopolitical terms. In North America we can see this in the movement of Christian Nationalism that seeks the transformation of the United States into a pristine, albeit conservative, ideal of a Christian nation. As if God’s creative and redemptive purposes depend upon the supposed Christianization of our country.
But those of us who are theologically progressive also slip into the trap of both the social Gospel and what is called a realized eschatology. While we do not seek the overt Christianization of every person, we nonetheless affirm and support a social and political vision that can equate the hope of a specific ideal of the modern state and society with the vision of the Reign of God.
Now don’t get me wrong. It is important for us to be a prophetic voice in our society. We are called to be Christ’s hands and heart in the world until he is fully manifest again. But our task is not simply to be the Republican or Democratic Party at prayer. Ours is not to simply take our secular proclivities and Christianize them. No, such a vision is too small, too narrow.
Let us look again to what we hear in today’s story from Acts. After Jesus’ ascension the disciples returned to Jerusalem and committed themselves to being in prayer and in community. And this was a broad community that included not just the 11 disciples, but many if not all of Jesus’ followers. They committed themselves to live in expectation of the Spirit that would empower them for ministry that was not just for the chosen of Israel, but for the whole world. Theirs was a message not simply about the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel but about the Kingdom of God.
And what is this Kingdom of God? What does the Reign of God look like? Well, unlike the world, which to this day, uses the exercise of unbridled power to assert itself, the Reign of God is ushered into existence with love. Yes love, not power, is the key to God’s Reign. God will not subject us forcefully to God’s will, rather God will embrace us with an all-consuming love that brings into our lives peace, joy, meaning, and fulfillment. It is a rule that is diffused and spread beyond the bounds of heaven and earth. It is a reality in which, even though the ascension has occurred we still can intimately know the abiding presence of Christ.
We too are called to proclaim this kingdom. We too are called, as I said earlier, to be Christ’s hands and heart in this world. But we do not get there on our own. In our society which glorifies individual achievement and individualism itself, we are to recognize that the task we face as followers in the way of Jesus cannot be done alone. We like those early disciples are called to live in community. We are called to pray in community. We are called to commit ourselves beyond casual friendship and public worship to something deeper and more abiding.
Over the past year many of you have made comment about the increasingly recognizable revitalization that has occurred within our community here at Christ Church. Some of you have graciously attributed that to me, to which I say “thank you.” But the deeper truth is that what has revitalized us up to this point is the willingness of some of you to begin to live more deeply in community, your willingness to commit yourselves more deeply to prayer, and your willingness to expand your definition of love beyond simple affection or affinity to a commitment to seek and serve Christ while respecting the dignity of every person.
Imagine the effect if we all made that commitment. Imagine the transformation that would occur. Imagine how the Spirit for which we wait again and again might use those investments for the growth and wellbeing of our Church.
But do not stop there, for we do not exist for ourselves alone. We are called to be witnesses to the Reign of God to a hurting and hungry world. Imagine the impact we could have on our neighbors, on Puyallup, on our region and beyond.
As we wait in the many in-between times of our lives, our society, our congregation, and our world, may we have the conviction and courage of the early disciples. May we “double down” on our commitment to Christ, to the community of faith, and to prayer. May we know the Spirit which has come and is coming. And may we be partners with Christ ushering in his reign of love, peace, and justice for all.