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May 04, 2008 sermon

Cloud Gazing
(Acts 1: 1-11; John 17: 1-11)

Reverend Minister Sally Harris

Ground and source of all that is, energy of the heavenly sphere,M
thank you that there is room in your heart for us.
Root within us our ancient story and by your spirit
set us free to live that word in the world. Amen

What do you do with an Ascension?

The Cuban-born theologian, Justo González, claims that the author of this story may have been using the absurd to illuminate the sublime. Humor, he writes, is one way the author of Luke and Acts engages in “moderate subversion” of an early church that was becoming increasingly exclusive in its models of leadership. Jesus’ ascension, as it is described in the first chapter of Acts, is one of the funnier biblical narratives.

In a final, over-the-top demonstration of “not getting it,” an unspecified group of followers demand of the resurrected Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Now can we take our rightful place as kings?”

In response, Jesus promises an entirely different kind of power and then promptly disappears into a cloud, as though in exasperation. I imagine later there was a fair amount of head shaking among his followers, with them saying, “I can’t believe that was the last thing we said to Jesus.”

So there they are standing and cloud gazing, well gawking up at the place where Jesus has disappeared when two white robed strangers appear and ask why. The appearance of these strange figures is sudden but not necessarily supernatural—they may simply have walked up on the distracted cloud-gazers. “Why do you stand here looking into the sky?” But let's not be too harsh on these disarrayed disciples. They've been through the mill - they were complicit in the betrayal of their companion, watched the torture and death of their friend, were baffled by the resurrection, and are now watching the final exit of their leader. Small wonder they're left staring into space. And so are we… what do you do with an Ascension?

But even though this story is hard to comprehend in our 21st century understanding of time and space I think the prayer of Jesus is even tougher to preach on… As our Gospel reading comes to a close, we picture Jesus cloud gazing, looking toward heaven and overhear him praying for the disciples: protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me- -so that they may be one as we are one.

It goes almost without saying that even this closing prayer is more mystical than our linear western minds prefer. Our inquiring minds want to have a clear account of this seemingly opaque prayer with a resulting action plan that can be carried out in the real world of busy religious folks. Once one knows what this prayer means presumably one will know what it is that one is supposed to do to be one as Jesus and God are one.

So we try to make nice with those whom God loves even though we might disagree deeply about what it means to be Christian – we try to forget our differences and opt for a kind of oneness in good feeling.

Or we try to make common cause with people of like mind around a thinly veiled “What would Jesus do” praxis. Here we opt for a kind of unity in social action yet even this agreement is divided by differing camps – those in unity for abortion; those against; those for same sex marriage, those against…

When Pope Benedict offers prayers for Christian unity and expresses hope for healing the schism of East and West, the response of many is “On whose terms?” Who decides what is Christian and what is not? From the beginning there has been discussions, debates and divisions because of doctrinal difference; problems with polity or opposing interpretations of scripture. But we do not really need to go that far afield to experience the disagreement of our Christian brothers and sisters. We do not need to look back at history or look beyond our front door – we know first hand what it means to live out of disunity.

But lost in all this disillusioning, disturbing disharmony is any sense of what it is that Jesus prays for… Jesus’ prayer is not a program or an action plan. It is a confident prayer to the creator of the universe who Jesus knows intimately and loves deeply. Let us listen more closely for Jesus is looking into the heart of the creator and prays that all may know this heart. Jesus knew that there is a bigger heart that’s reaching out for all of us.

OK I am comfortable with that conclusion to this convoluted prayer. Prayer is gazing into the clouds… gazing into the heart of God. Prayer maintains a sense of wonder at this edge of the mystery and a sense of gratitude for witnessing such wonder but wait don’t we need to balance the cloud gazing of prayer with the story of ascension? Our faith, our witness is not only gazing into the heart of God it is more… don’t just cloud gaze put your faith into action… sort out what belongs to who and give it back. [def. of justice by W. Bruggeman] And so again we need to listen closer:

Jesus is this the time when you will restore the kingdom of Israel? Can we plan on taking over, can we plan front row seats for the big show, should we plan to let people know that things will be under new management? What is the plan? And Jesus responds that it is not for them to know, but trust this: they will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon them and they will be witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

But wait, this doesn’t sound like a plan to me. Great things are expected but just how is this supposed to work? Just how will this band of astonished apostles and disinclined disciples get out of Galilee, and out of their small world and to the ends of the earth and have something to say to the whole earth? At the end of this day all the disciples are left with is: the prediction that they will do great things, a hole in the sky, a hole in their soul, the promise that Jesus will be back, and the directive to stay in Jerusalem and wait for future developments.

Doesn’t seem like much to hang onto, does it? Except that there is a truth to understanding our sacred story that we must always remember: The power of our story is not in the details that confound us but in the message that transforms us. We usually think of faith as an attitude of trust and belief on our part: We trust God. But perhaps the Ascension is the expression of a different faith. God’s faith in us.

We are to be witnesses to what God is “up to” in the universe. Already engaged in repairing the world, God simply invites us to perceive and participate in what God is doing. Yes it is an awesome responsibility God has entrusted to us. But God has faith in us, cloud gazers and God gazers and earth gazers.

See the presence of Christ all around
Hear the call of God who knows your name
Wait and the Power of the Spirit will be known
Build a world where the Presence of God is revealed. May it be so! Amen

[resources: B. Taylor, S. Zumwait, C. MacCreary ]

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