The Rev. Dan Rondeau
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church & School
Acts 1:1-11 | Psalm 47 | Ephesians 1:15-23 | John 13:31-35
Sing praises to God, sing praises Ps 47:6
As we gather with great joy, festivity, and yes, solemnity, this evening, we are caught between two demands. Be reasonable—meaning, think, use some common sense, search your experiences for affirmation of what you are saying, test, probe, don't be fooled—is one demand.
Be open to Mystery—look but discover you can't see, listen and discover you can't hear, pause, be still, and discover you can see farther and hear better than you ever imagined; try to hold on and the truth you seek slips away, let go and discover you are held by the truth you seek—is the other demand.
We are products of our age: we need to see, experience, measure, describe, experiment, and such other things in order to accept as "real" some report of an event. We are asked to be reasonable. We are constantly members of a jury who will base decisions on the evidence presented. We are practical. And so we come to the texts and ask, "Did the Ascension of Jesus actually happen as recorded in the scriptures?" We want to be reasonable after all. I will reveal my bias right now and state, this is the wrong question to ask. The right question for us tonight is, "What does it mean?"
We are experienced enough with Mystery, as witnessed by our presence here this evening, to understand that in order to sing God's praises, in order to share joy and understanding, words will need to be infused with mystery and "more-than-meets-the-eye" meanings; and we will understand that the words will ultimately fall short, but we will speak and sing anyway. Luke in both the Gospel and in Acts wants to share his experience of Mystery. Luke wants to open us to Mystery that our joy may be complete. He has chosen his words carefully. And his words open us further to Mystery. It is my prayer this evening that each of us will see how much we are like those first disciples, and how much we need to be here this evening.
The disciples in this moment of Ascension did not know what was ahead for them. They were being left. Jesus was going away. Jesus was with them (40 days and nights we're told); this they knew, it was comfortable, it was full. Now Jesus was leaving them. No more walks together, no more meals shared, no more embraces to warm the heart, Jesus was leaving. What was to come next?
Luke tells about that: "they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God." (Luke 24:53) They said goodbye to the Risen Lord—not with tears and grief, but with worship and then they walked with great joy to receive the fulfillment of promises made by Jesus. In their waiting, they prayed. Fullness, emptiness, worship, joy, prayer—these are the points of contact with Mystery. Be open to Mystery; that is Luke's invitation to us tonight.
Like the disciples in those 40 days, enjoy the presence of the Risen Lord. Let the words of your prayers, your conversations with the Father, come with ease. Feel the contentment of the Lord's embrace, the sweet joy of moments shared with the Lord that are full and rich and easy. Experience that fullness, even as our ancestors in the faith experienced it.
Know that this moment of Ascension will come in your relationship with the Lord. Jesus will leave—not abandon, not flee, not desert you—but will leave you so that the Spirit might come and fill you. You will be emptied, so that you might be filled. And my experience is that it happens more than once.
In that moment, sing praises to God, sing praises, worship the one who leaves you open to more than you can ask or imagine. Understand that it must be so; understand that this is a jubilant loss, for the Father and the Son are ready when you are emptied to return such joy and power and wholeness that you can't imagine. Let your worship be genuine, from the heart, in that moment.
Allow your walk, while you wait, to be filled with joy. Be in the company of others in that moment, even as our ancestors in the faith were in each other's company. Allow yourself to be surprised by joy even while you wait, emptied and wondering.
Pray. That is what the disciples did. That is our model for waiting. Be open to Mystery by being present to Mystery. With or without words, go into the presence of God with mind and heart while you wait. That is what our ancestors in the faith did in this moment of Ascension.
Of course, we have peeked to the ending. We know of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Those first disciples didn't. In joy they waited. In expectation they prayed. With each other they believed that more was to come. They were not disappointed, we know. Let us follow their example as we live our lives in this community. Let us share when we are full and when we are empty; as we do tonight, let us keep each other company as we worship, as we give expression to our joy (knowing our relationship to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to each other), and as we pray.
May we have grace in our day to give glory to God. Amen.