Rev. Dr. Bary R. Fleet - Pastor
May 20, 2007 – Ascension Sunday
Acts 1:1-11:  
Ephesians 1:15-23
Luke 24:44-53

You Are My Witnesses

I read this week about a young seminary graduate who was only a couple of months into his first call as pastor of a local church.  He says that he still doesn’t remember what it was in the sermon that prompted an elderly member of the congregation – on the way out of church, after the worship service – to ask him if he believed in Satan and Hell.  He answered, “No, but if you do, that’s okay.  We don’t all have to believe the same things.”  He patted her on the arm, and turned to the next person in line to greet him.

The next week he proceeded as usual, making pastoral visits, hospital calls and preparing for worship, which happened to be Palm Sunday.   When he arrived for worship that Sunday, he was met at the door by the senior elder, who informed him that they wouldn’t be having worship, but instead would be having a meeting. 

The pastor managed to talk the gentleman into postponing the meeting until after worship.  It was, after all, Palm Sunday.  When worship ended, they all filed silently downstairs to the Fellowship Hall for the “meeting.”  It was then that the senior elder said that they had an awkward situation.  He asked if the pastor had said that he didn’t believe in Satan or Hell, to which the pastor acknowledged that he had said that.

“In that case, you are fired!”

The pastor asked if they were interested in hearing why he had said that, and they were unanimous in saying that they really didn’t want to hear his reasoning.  All they needed to know was that they had a pastor who didn’t believe in Satan or Hell, and they no longer wanted any of his services.

When the pastor got in the car with his wife to go home, she asked about the meeting.  He told her that it was good news:  they could sleep in next Sunday!

Beliefs are important.  They are important because they shape how we understand the world, how we interact with the world, and how we interact with each other.

How many of you were aware that this past Thursday was “The Feast of the Ascension?”  I suspect only you former Roman Catholics!  But the doctrine of the ascension has been an important part of Christianity. 

The story is that forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven.  Now, whether you believe that literally or not, I don’t want to get into at the moment.  I do want to get into the meaning of the story – what made the story important to tell.

So, one way of getting that information is to wonder about what the question is that is answered by this story. 

On a practical level, it answers the question:  “Where’s the body?”  If Jesus is no longer with us, and there is no body, then where is it?  Answer:  He ascended into heaven to be with God.

On a much deeper level, it was a way for the early church to affirm that the life of Jesus – when all was said and done – was elevated to the status of being divinely connected to God!  “He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.”

Whatever else, it was the church’s way of saying that we need to pay special attention to the life, the teaching and the ministry of the man, Jesus of Nazareth.          

So, if that is true, then the implication for us is clear:  we are to live lives that emulate Jesus.  It means that, to the extent that we follow his teaching, to the extent that we live Christ-like lives, we too will be divinely connected.

So, I would invite and encourage each of us this week to think about what it would be like if we consciously chose to love the way Jesus loved.  How would the world be different if more people loved, according to the example of Jesus?  What would it be like if love and forgiveness were the standard?  What would the world be like if  everyone we met was seen as a brother or sister, if the walls that separate people were torn down?

What would the world be like if love prevailed?
 
What would we have to do differently if we wanted to be a part of making those changes happen?  … something to think about these days between the Ascension and the celebration of Pentecost!

NOTE:  The opening story is from the book:  If God is Love by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland.  New York:  Harper Collins, 2004.  

SERMON IN A SACK:  A jig saw puzzle.  All the pieces are different, but if take the time to get to know them, to become familiar with their shapes and colors, we will understand how they all fit together to make one picture.  We will understand that they truly are a part of something, much larger and beautiful.