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Easter 7/Ascension, Year A
South Sydney Uniting Church
May 28, 2017
Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 28:16-20
‘As he leaves them, he promises to be with them always’
The Ascension is not about Jesus going up into the sky, or into outer space (though the image is strangely familiar to Hebrew, Greek and Islamic imagination: see Enoch, Ezra, Baruch, Moses, Elijah; Augustus, Romulus, Heracles; Mohammed). The Ascension is not an event as such, but a celebration of the passing of the baton from Jesus to us. The risen Christ is now present in God’s people (though not, of course, exclusively so), and today’s readings stress the mission of the church to carry on the work of Jesus. Does the resurrection of Jesus make any difference to the way we live our lives? What is the good news we are called to preach to the poor and powerless? What political and religious arrogance are we called on to confront today? God be with you ...
The most striking thing about Matthew’s account (as opposed to Luke’s two accounts) is that Jesus does not go anywhere. He remains. “And know that I am with you always, even until the end of the world!” So concludes the Gospel according to Matthew.
Jesus’ limited physical presence among his disciples is transformed into an all-
Attending more closely to the text, the risen Christ leaves the Eleven with a triple charge.
Firstly, he reiterates his own authority as God’s Own, and he authorises those who believe in him to bond others with themselves in a belief in him. He tells them and he tells us to keep in touch with him, and with one another, and with those among whom we live and move (Peter Steele SJ).
We might summarise the triple charge as having to do with prayer, with inter-
A professor of psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, Martin Seligman, has revised his thinking on happiness. A narrow focus on moods, he has come to think, produces misleading data with regard to wellbeing. Seligman’s book is called Flourish. What’s crucial to wellbeing is not how cheerful you feel, he says, not how much money you make, but rather the meaning you find in life and your sense of what economist Arthur Brooks calls “earned success” -
Seligman’s “five crucial elements for wellbeing” are as follows: Positive emotion: experiencing joy and pleasure; Engagement: being consciously involved in activities; Relationships: having enjoyable interactions; Meaning: a purposeful narrative about our lives; Accomplishment: achieving goals and following core values.
Helpful stuff, no doubt.
Our gospel can be read/heard as an evangelical call/invitation to wellbeing, a call/invitation more concise and more social/political/ecological than Seligman’s psychological “wisdom”.
The Ascension teaches the present-
As one commentator says: “As he leaves them, he promises to be with them always” (John Speekman).
He promises to be with them by means of the triple charge: in and through prayer, in and through inter-
Disciples are charged with responsibilities. Disciples are charged for prayer, charged for fellowship (or friendship), for justice-
Perhaps you can relate to one or more of those charges; perhaps to one more than the others. Prayer. Friendship. Peace-
When do you feel most charged for prayer, friendship and peace-
It may not be in conventional or stereotypical ways. I know how important it is for me to make time and space for meditating on Scripture, and I’m pretty sure there’s something prayerful, for me, in songwriting – joyful, engaging, enriching, meaningful, satisfying – something I still don’t fully understand that has a connecting and expansive power in my life, an integrating power.
The hours spent making music with friends have been crucial and precious hours (my musical friend Julia surprised me with a visit on Thursday – Ascension Day). As are the hours spent in early-
I’m pretty sure there’s something prayerful, for me, in gardening (mostly composting), in cooking (how I miss my beloved sandwich-
The triple charge is also more than psychological.
Adam Hill (aka Blak Douglas), an Aboriginal visual artist whose most recent work has been acquired by the National Gallery in Canberra, argues that “social justice and sensitivity are not at the forefront of the dominant psyche” in Australia. “The problem with attempts at reparation is they are always patronising. The white fella means well and wants to find the best way forward, but what’s the black version? Reconciliation is a fictitious thing. I think we need a more substantial term: we haven’t done anything wrong …
“There are issues of social justice,” he says, “such as lower life expectancy and the high incarceration rates. In education, there’s been a failure to have a two-
Two days after National Sorry Day, as Indigenous delegates complete the Uluru Statement of the Heart, a road map for a treaty and elected Indigenous advisory body in Parliament, Hill is talking about a national wellbeing. There’s something electric in his words – an undeniable charge.
The risen Christ leaves the Eleven with a triple charge. Firstly, he reiterates his own authority as God’s Own, and he authorises those who believe in him to bond others with themselves in a belief in him. He tells them and he tells us to keep in touch with him, and with one another, and with all those among whom we live and move …
Let’s complete the homily together. When do you feel most charged, most energised for prayer, friendship and/or peace-
... In the name of God, Earth-