This sermon was preached on the 9th of May 2024, the Feast of the Ascension, in the Anglican Parish of Kalamunda-Lesmurdie
Texts:
Today we gather to celebrate the Feast of the Ascension. This is a big day in the life of the Church… ranking up there with Passiontide and Pentecost. And yet, oddly, many Christians seem to have forgotten about it. There aren’t many churches in which it is specially celebrated.
I’m struck by the contrast between the disciples of the Gospels, and our communities today: us, as modern day disciples. If we listen to the original ending of Mark’s Gospel, then we hear the response of the first disciples to the Good News of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ:
“[The disciples] went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” (Mark 16.8)
Fear, terror. That’s what they felt.
Now listen to the response to the ascension, as told to us again by Mark:
“[The disciples] went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.” (Mark 16.20)
The Ascension was clearly Good News to the early Christian community. It was at the heart of their faith, a cause for joy. But why was it Good News? It might, after all, have seemed like an abandonment. The disciples might have wanted Jesus to stay with them. If I imagine myself back then, I would have wanted Jesus to stay. Why wasn’t their reaction to his ascent dismay, even horror, rather than joy?
The answer is that the Ascension wasn’t an abandonment. The Ascension was the completion of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, the completion of the mission of Christ to us. Through the Ascension, our humanity was brought to heaven – our humanity was shown to be worthy of entering into that place.
Who could possibly have imagined that God would enter into the world, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary? Who could have imagined the second person of the Trinity, taking on all that it is to be human: all that it is to be flesh and blood, to be embodied, just as we are.
Fear, pain, grief, anger, despair, joy, elation, anxiety, happiness: Jesus experienced all of these, and more. God experienced all of these, and more.
And who could have imagined that God would suffer and die upon the Cross? That Jesus Christ would take on the worst that we do to one another, the worst that we do to God, that Christ would be rejected, betrayed, abandoned… and die.
Truly, die. He bled from his wounds, until his heart ceased to beat; and then his side was pierced with a spear, and blood, and water gushed forth. And then He was taken down, buried.
The God that I imagine, in my worst moments, would reply to this with terror, with retribution, with violence. But the God that Is, the God who Is, is greater than that. God replied with new life. Who could have imagined that?
How great thou art, oh Triune God!
And then Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, and so the restoration of relationship between humanity and its Creator was shown to be complete. Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Christ, went up into heaven, fully human, and fully divine. Human blood courses through his veins, as he sits there beside the Father and the Spirit. His human heart, like ours, beats.
Jesus lives. Jesus reigns! How great thou art, oh Triune God.
Yesterday was the Feast of Julian of Norwich. Julian lived in a time of plagues, of war, of despair. On her deathbed, she received a series of visions, and was miraculously healed. Those visions, those showings, shaped the rest of her life. God revealed Godself to Julian, and Julian bore what she had been shown into the tradition of the Church.
Here is part of her insight upon the importance of the Ascension:
“The dearworthy blood of our sweet Lord is as plentiful as it is sacred. Behold and see! The precious bounty descended to the depths of hell and burst the bonds that ensnared all beings there, lifting them to the holy halls of paradise.
The precious bounty flows over the whole of the earth, bathing all beings in grace, swiftly cleansing the impurities of every creature of goodwill, now and forever
The precious bounty ascended to the heights of heaven and merged with the blessed body of our Lord, where it continues to circulate inside him, and he keeps bleeding and praying on our behalf to the Creator of all that is, for as long as we need it.
It flows and flows, throughout every level of paradise, rejoicing in the liberation of the whole of humanity, until we reach our final number and are all set free.”
How magnificent Julian’s words are. Our Lord descended into hell that all who were there, all who would take His hand, would be freed. And our Lord, the Lord Jesus, right now, rejoices in the liberation of the whole of humanity.
Humanity has been found worthy of that liberation, worthy of the costly love of God. A love that asks nothing other than that we accept it. A love that is, and ever will be.
God rejoices in offering this. Jesus, fully human, fully divine, rejoices with the Father and the Holy Spirit at the victory that has been won, and that we are invited into. Let us rejoice too, lifting up our hearts to God. How great thou art, oh Triune God!