The Seventh Sunday of Easter (Sunday after Ascension Day)

4th May 2008 : 9:00am Sung Eucharist

Preacher: The Revd Robbin Clark
- the Rector of St Mark’s Episcopal Church, Berkeley, California. Robbin has served in parishes in the Los Angeles area; in Santa Fe, New Mexico; and has been the Rector of St Mark’s for the past 15 years.

Readings : Acts 1:6-14; 1 Peter 4:12-14;5:6-11; John 17:1-11

In the Name of Jesus – Risen, Ascended, Glorified

Greetings from your fellow Anglicans at St Mark’s, Berkeley. We are so pleased with our growing connection with this marvelous cathedral church. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Dean Andrew and to all the staff and parishioners who have cared for me so well this past month. Their welcome has been generous and genuine. My particular thanks go to Father Des, who arranged my programme here and has become a treasured friend.

This is my last Sunday with you. I return to my home in California on Tuesday, so you can imagine how much the grief of parting has been on my heart and mind these past few days. I imagine the disciples were feeling the pain of parting as Jesus was enfolded in the cloud on the mount Olivet that day. In fact, they seem to be almost paralyzed – staring into he heavens where they last glimpsed him The two figures in white had to shake them from their fixation with what had been and remind them that now was the time to get on with it.

Our collect today reflects what must have been their cry, “Leave us not comfortless”! They had not yet experienced the gift of the Holy Spirit which would come to them at Pentecost. But even we, who have celebrated many Pentecosts, can feel bereft and lacking in spiritual power. So perhaps it is a good time to reflect theologically on what is happening at this point in our liturgical year and how it can help us in our lives.

He Great Fifty Days of Eastertide take us from the empty tomb to the spirit’s tongues of flame. The Day of Resurrection brings tidings of victory over death. “Alleluia!”, we cry, “He is risen and we are free!” The Day of Pentecost marks the descent of the Dove, the coming of the Holy Spirit to empower the faithful of every age, turning them from frightened followers to bold messengers of the love of God in Christ, proclaiming the Good News as preachers, teachers, prophets, servants of the poor crusaders for justice and promoters of peace.

But in between is Ascensiontide, the second movement in this three-fold sweep of the season. And Ascension is all about glory. It is not only about Jesus returning to the heavenly glory which was his from before all time, but about his taking with him the humanity he so graciously shared with us. This is no return to some celestial status quo. It marks a whole new reality. Just as Jesus being raised from the dead changes forever our relationship with death, Jesus ascended forever changes the stature of our humanity. It dignifies it by incorporating it into the very life of God. Through this movement of glorification, we are readied to receive the Spirit’s power and to continue the works of the Lord.

So, we have victory, glory and power. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? And indeed it is. But let us not forget that each of these comes at a cost. Death, departure and duty provide the serious subtext for our season of celebration. There is no Easter victory without Good Friday. We all must pass through the grave on our way to eternal life. And the departure of the Ascension? How is this redeemed for us from the grief of loss and separation? Perhaps the best theology is the simplest. As I used to show my preschool chapel class, ‘Jesus went UP (raising hands straight up together) into heaven so he could be EVERYwhere (making huge circle with arms)’.

The physical presence of the man Jesus was transformed into a spiritual companionship available to all seekers at all times and in all places, even to us here today. And how is this accomplished? By the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. But, just as the life and glory we receive through Christ are not such as the world gives, neither is the power. The Spirit empowers us for the purpose of service, of continuing the ministry of Jesus in the world as his Body, the Church. Being faithful to this call is, as we say in our Eucharistic prayer, “our duty and our joy”. And we should not expect it to be all sweetness and light. Challenges and trials were a constant feature of Jesus’ ministry. Why would we expect ours to be any different?

Our scripture passages today speak of farewells and departures, and also of duties and trials. What can we learn from them to help us through the times when we do NOT experience victory, glory and power, but rather loss, confusion and weakness?

How can they help us in those times when we, too, cry out, “Lord, do not leave me comfortless!”?

Our Gospel passage, the first chronologically, is set in the context of the Last Supper. Jesus is speaking of glory. And we must recall that, fir John, the hour of crucifixion/being ‘lifted up’ IS the hour of glorification. Luke separates them by forty days. Jesus says he has glorified God on earth, “by finishing the work that you gave me to do”. For him, glory is all about obedient fulfillment of duty. His hearers did not yet understand the departure that was about to take place, nor could they foresee how he would remain present with them after his death and ascension. But they must have caught his huge emphasis on unity and continuity and the promise that would somehow know what they needed to know as they moved forward.

Our first reading recounts the Ascension, and the departure theme is paramount. Jesus disappears out of their sight into heaven via a cloud. One could say that he becomes enfolded in God’s presence, since that is what clouds signify in scripture. In this is his, and our, glory, but the disciples could not see it then. All they feel is the absence. In their loss, they push for information, but are told that the specifics of God’s plan are not for them to know. They must trust that they will receive all the knowledge that they need in God’s good time.

In difficult or transitional times, we often try to steady ourselves with information. To some extent this is helpful, but it will never carry us completely through. Jesus cautions us against trying to rely on such ‘surface’ knowledge/information. The knowledge that will truly empower us is what Jesus was speaking about at the Last Supper- a deep and abiding conviction and trust in the unity, continuity and connection we have with God. That sort of knowledge is gained through doing exactly what the disciples did following their experience on Mt. Olivet. They gathered in community and devoted themselves to prayer, sharing and caring. It was there they experienced the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes. During uncertain times, we just need to step out in trust. We may, in fact, find that we do indeed know all that we need to know. As Dag Hammarsjold wrote, “What next? Why ask? Next will come a demand about which you already know all that you need to know: that its sole measure is your own strength.” And I would submit that such strength comes through the Lord, who is our strength.

The reading from First Peter speaks most directly to our need to be strong and resilient in tough times. Tests and trials are a part of life. Our challenge is to meet them faithfully, in all humility, strengthened by the victory, glory and power that is ours as Easter people. We ready ourselves for glory by doing the work God has given us to do. And in doing so, we find the comfort and guidance of the Spirit is with us. We most certainly have not been left comfortless. Even in our most profound moments of loss and absence, the Holy Spirit is there to comfort and strengthen us, if we but call upon God. Glory is our destiny. And our hour of suffering may be the very hour of our glory, if we embrace it as Christ did, in joyful obedience and trust toward God.

We are by no means bereft or comfortless, though sometimes we need to be shaken out of our paralysis to realize it. Let us, like those first disciples, devote ourselves t prayer and to caring and sharing in community. For surely, that is where we will know the gifts of Eastertide- victory, glory and power.