“And He Will Raise You Up” May 28, 2017

Today’s gospel reading concludes Jesus’ time on earth with his disciples.

While Jesus’ ascension into heaven opened the Book of Acts, the same account concludes Luke’s gospel.

Jesus’ physical time on earth is ended and the promise of a future spirit is meant to sustain his followers.

Hear now Luke’s account of Jesus’ last day with his disciples from the Book of Luke 24: 44-53.

Here ends the reading of God’s holy word. May He add to our hearing and understanding, his blessing. Amen.

Please pray with me.

O God of glory, your son Jesus Christ suffered for us and ascended to your right hand.

Unite us with Christ and each other, in suffering and in joy, that all your children may be drawn into your bountiful dwelling.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

Sermon

This week we’re living between the Ascension and Pentecost.

Jesus has left and has promised his followers that a different power will come to carry them into the future.

Scholars call these “in-between” or ‘not yet’ times.

It is often in these times that God does some of the most transforming work.

As Jesus left his disciples for the last time after the resurrection, he instructed them to wait, and promised that they would become his witnesses after they had received power.

And so they wait.

Waiting, patient anticipation of what is to come, of promises fulfilled, makes up much of our faith life.

Actually, it makes up much of our life-period.

As I was reflecting on this idea of ‘in-between’ time I realized that we spend a large amount of our lives anticipating the future.

As children, we long to be adults.

As adults we long for stability and success.

We spend much of our adult life planning for our retirement and then spend much of our retirement wondering what is next.

This forward focus has the potential to cause anticipatory anxiety – we worry about what is next.

Jesus, however, tells us to be patient in our waiting – to trust that God is in control and God will not disappoint us.

An important point that we might miss in this passage is that before Jesus left he “opened their minds to understand the scriptures.”

What a beautiful parting gift.

Jesus trusts that if his followers adhere to his teachings they will easily take on the challenges that lie ahead.

Jesus has this same trust in us.

If we truly follow what we have been taught we will be able to live lives of joy.

If we remember that we are connected to our Creator; that a piece of the divine is present in each and every one of us, we need not worry.

We can pray with confidence “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done – on earth as it is in heaven.”

But, we need to wait.

We must use the waiting time to building a deep connection with God.

If we try to move out into the world before we have become rooted in Christ’s love and life, we will inevitably find ourselves tossed about by the chaos we encounter.

Without God, we may end up adopting the strategies and values of the culture around us.

But, when we make time in our lives to root ourselves deeply in Jesus, we are more easily able to remain true to the values and mission of Jesus.

This is what Jesus prayed for as he left his disciples.

John’s gospel tells us that Jesus’ final words on the night he was betrayed were “As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Do you live your life with the idea that God is in you and you are in God?

This knowledge leads to trust.

The ability to trust in God is a gift of grace.

You can’t make it happen, but you can let it happen.

We see the message of implanted grace most clearly in Jesus.

He recognizes that he is one with God.

Jesus knows that it is God in him doing the knowing, loving, and serving.

Jesus fully trusts his deepest identity and never doubts it, which is the unique character of his divine sonship.

We often doubt, deny, and reject our true identity, finding it hard to believe that we did not choose or create ourselves.

One author noted “Such unaccountable gratuity is precisely the meaning of grace and also why we are afraid to trust it. Yes, it is God in us that always seeks and knows God; like always knows like. Maybe the ultimate grace is to know that it is all grace to begin with! It is already a grace to recognize that it is grace.”

I had an interesting encounter this week with a young person who subscribed to a theology very different from mine.

He was raised with a fearsome God who must be pleased or we will be punished.

I believe in a God who created us out of love and continues to love us.

The God I worship represents eternal, unconditional love, which is boundless – far beyond any human capacity.

God doesn’t love us because we are good or because we follow all the rules.

God loves us from a free and deliberate choice.

Receiving God’s love has never been a “worthiness contest.”

This is very hard for many people to accept.

It just does not compute inside our binary, judging, competing, and comparing brains.

God does not love you because you are good;

God loves you because God is good.

God’s love allows you to be good as you draw upon such an Infinite Source of love.

I chose the hymn we just sang, “On Eagle’s Wings” for this morning to reiterate this message of love and trust.

These beautiful words are drawn from Psalm 91, weaving in excerpts from Exodus, Isaiah and Psalm 139.

This is the scriptural promise.

This is God’s covenant with us.

No matter what happens, now, in the future or ‘in between’, God promises to be with us; holding us in the palm of his hand.

My friends, God created you and wants the very best for you.

That doesn’t mean that you will get everything you want or think you need – it’s more than that – its beyond our human experience.

As some of you know, I have been having lunch each Tuesday with a member of the congregation who is over 90 years old.

These lunches have given me access to a well of wisdom that is not often tapped.

One of the most profound lessons I have learned from this wise cohort is that life rarely turns out the way we planned, but if we stay rooted in faith, life can be a joyful adventure that brings us to a place of contentment.

Jesus’ followers did not want him to be crucified, resurrected and ascend into heaven, but that’s what happened.

They then made a critical choice about how to respond.

“They worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

Let us learn from our ancestors.

Let us pray.

Gracious, loving, eternal God we are grateful for your presence in our lives.

Help us to draw on your love so that we might be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.

Help us to model compassion, understanding, gratitude and peace in all of our relationships.

Let us be the light bearers in this dark world.

Here our prayers this day for those whom we love.

For those who are sick, we pray for healing.

For those who mourn, we pray for comfort.

On this Memorial Day we pray for all of the people who gave their lives for our country, that they have found glory in your presence.

We pray for the families, those who have lost loved ones in defense of our beliefs.

We pray, most fervently, for peace in our world; for an end to violence, hatred, famine and greed.

Help us God to discern our role in building your kingdom on earth.

Hear us now as we turn to you in the sacred silence of this Meetinghouse…

Jesus taught them to pray in these words….

Our Father…..

Amen