Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
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Original Manuscript:
Ascension is one of those great mysteries of the church. What is going on? Is Jesus ascending upwards, as so much of our art suggests? Why is He going that way? Why is He going at all? This wasn't foretold.
Even the disciples are confused. "Is this the time when You will restore the kingdom of Israel?" They still don't get it. They still don't get what it's all about.
There's still so much we don't know in this world, about this world or the next. And it's important for us to celebrate days like the Ascension because it's important for us to be comfortable with mystery. It's important for us to realize there's still a lot more to our faith for us to understand.
But the Ascension, for all its mystery, gets at two important things. The first is that Jesus is no longer with us in this world. He has gone to prepare things for us in our new, adoptive home.
The second is that Jesus is, in fact, still here, which is another great mystery of this day. He is present with us through the gift of The Holy Spirit in our hearts. He is still listening to us, which is why we direct our prayers to Him. Jesus is still very much a part of our lives.
For this reason, we keep out the Paschal Candle, as the Prayer Book states we should (BCP 287). We keep it out because even though we remember Jesus' Ascension into Heaven, He is still with us. Just as the Light of Christ has been present with us throughout this Easter season, so too is Jesus present with us right here, right now.
We don't live as a people that are without Jesus, we live as people with the Light of Christ still present in our hearts. We may not always understand how, but we can feel Him there with us, if we take the time to stop and listen. He will be there with us, always.
Even the disciples are confused. "Is this the time when You will restore the kingdom of Israel?" They still don't get it. They still don't get what it's all about.
There's still so much we don't know in this world, about this world or the next. And it's important for us to celebrate days like the Ascension because it's important for us to be comfortable with mystery. It's important for us to realize there's still a lot more to our faith for us to understand.
But the Ascension, for all its mystery, gets at two important things. The first is that Jesus is no longer with us in this world. He has gone to prepare things for us in our new, adoptive home.
The second is that Jesus is, in fact, still here, which is another great mystery of this day. He is present with us through the gift of The Holy Spirit in our hearts. He is still listening to us, which is why we direct our prayers to Him. Jesus is still very much a part of our lives.
We don't live as a people that are without Jesus, we live as people with the Light of Christ still present in our hearts. We may not always understand how, but we can feel Him there with us, if we take the time to stop and listen. He will be there with us, always.