The readings are for those of Ascension Day:

• Acts 1.1-11

• Psalm 47

• Luke 22. 44-end

You might like to use the link below to find the above readings, and click on any of the reading above that you wish to use: http://www.katapi.org.uk/CommonWorship/CWLectionarySelV.php

Collect of the day

Let us first spend a few moments in silence to centre ourselves,
to gather ourselves in our souls,
to come before the Lord just as we are with our joys and sorrows,
our hopes and our fears, our loves and our pains.
Let us just focus our minds and hearts on Jesus who is the answer for every problem.
Let us pray that the Spirit will work through our lives
to bring Christ to the world.

Silence is kept

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ
to have ascended into the heavens,
so we in heart and mind may also ascend
and with him continually dwell;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

Amen.

Risen Christ,
you have raised our human nature to the throne of heaven:
help us to seek and serve you,
that we may join you at the Father’s side,
where you reign with the Spirit in glory,
now and for ever.

Amen.

Prayer before the Sermon

Loving Heavenly Father,
we thank you for the words you have given us today.
We know they are words of life and salvation.
Open our hearts O Father,
touch our souls,
help us to respond to your word
and know that you are indeed our Lord and Saviour.
May we experience in our hearts
your love and your presence always.

Amen.

A homily based on the readings of today is given below:

Waiting in faith to be clothed with power from on high…

The Gospel Passage: Luke 24:44-end: The Ascension of Jesus

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶ and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” ⁵⁰ Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; ⁵³ and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

Homily

Let us pray:

Come O Holy Spirit and inflame our hearts with love for you. Amen.

Introduction

It’s always fascinating spiritually to gather together for a service of Holy Communion. As we  break bread and share the wine, he body and blood of Jesus, we say “though we are many, we are one body because we all share in the one bread.” We are then reminded that life is all about communion – with God, with the universe and with each other. All this becomes possible contemporaneously in Jesus Christ in whom we can enter into communion with the entire universe and with every human being. As Saint Paul writes, “Jesus Christ reconciles to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (cf. Colossians 1:19–20) Isn’t that wonderful?

Today we celebrate the ascension of Jesus forty days after the resurrection. We really don’t know what really happened, certainly not quite like a Bishop in Horsham who, some years ago, on Ascension Day did a hot air balloon flight to the delight of his flock looking from below! And of course he landed in a different village near by!

Ascension

At Christmas we speak of God’s Son ‘coming down’ from heaven to us. But these are ways of speaking that no one should take literally. Just like we speak of ‘sunrise’ and ‘sunset’ even though we know that the sun isn’t moving, we are!

In the time of Jesus these ideas were taken literally. Everyone ‘knew’ that the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around the earth. The world was like a big chocolate cake with three layers: God was up there, we were down here, and hell was down below. It’s been centuries since people thought like that  and we still talk that way. In fact, Galileo was condemned and persecuted by the Church for stating that the earth revolved round the sun and not the other way around.

What does ascension tell us?

Today we have a better understanding of the universe. We know that the earth is not the centre of the universe. We know that the old idea of the three-tier universe is only a way of understanding and we cannot take that idea literally.

So, actually, we are not celebrating ascension as a trip to space, like the astronauts or some wealthy millionaires have begun to do. No, at ascension we celebrate the triumph of Jesus’ redeeming work with his death and resurrection and his entry into eternal glory and the assurance of his continuing presence with us in His Spirit.

Ascension must be seen in the light of the resurrection and the Pentecost.

After the resurrection Jesus was seen in his bodily form. But now the time had come for him to return to his father. But having returned to the Father, he sent us His Holy Spirit to be with us always. Jesus promised us: “I am with you always till the end of the world.” (Matthew 28.20)

The ascension, like the resurrection, once again tells us that Jesus is no more just ‘Jesus of Nazareth’, limited to a place, a space, a church or anything like that. He is, instead, the Lord of the whole universe. He is ‘all and in all’ (Col 3.11). He is ‘everywhere’. We can turn to him and meet him just anywhere. It is enough to turn our hearts and our minds to him with love and with faith. Life can be a great deal more fascinating when we live in his divine and loving presence.

“Stay here until you have been clothed with power from on high…”

Jesus offers us the greatest gift of all as he ascends into heaven: “You are witnesses of these things.  And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24. 48-49) He invites us to wait for the “power from on high”, the Holy Spirit!

The disciples were asked to stay in the city until they were empowered with the Holy Spirit. Staying put is a difficult thing; we like to move about, get things done, be in charge of our diary, our affairs. Staying, waiting for something to happen is frustrating to say the least.

Trusting in the Lord, being still and waiting on him …

There are several verses in the Bible that remind us about the need to be still and wait on God. Let me provide you with a few just to emphasise the need to trust the Lord and to wait on him. “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46.10)

When confronted with the armies of Pharaoh, ‘Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.”’ (Exodus 14. 13) “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14.14)

Prophet Isaiah he writes to the nation Israel: “In returning and rest shall you be saved. In quietness and trust shall be your strength. The Lord waits to be gracious to you. Blessed are all those who wait for him.” (Isaiah 30.15, 18)

Samuel speaking to Israel in his farewell speech narrates the great deeds the Lord had done to Israel and says: “Now, therefore, stand still and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes.”  (1 Samuel 12.16)

We need to learn to stand still, to wait in faith for the Holy Spirit whom Jesus has promised us before he ascended into heaven.

“The power from on high …”

We hear of the power from on high also at the Annunciation of the angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon  you and the power of the most high will overshadow you for nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1. 35,37) The power from on high is the Holy Spirit of God that we are invited to wait for.

We are to be clothed with “the power from on high”. We need to put on spiritual robes. We may be physically clothed but spiritually naked and empty. We need spiritual power. We are like empty glasses that need to be filled. The Spirit of God alone can fill our spirits, our hearts, our empty lives. Jesus ascends to heaven and returns to his Father but he promises us His Spirit to be with us always! The “power from on high!”

To conclude …

Let us be still. Let us wait on him. Let us hunger for him. And the Spirit will come and fill our hearts and our lives will be transformed! The Ascension of Jesus leads us to the descent of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. We shall celebrate that event next Sunday, Pentecost Sunday!

Please spend some time in silence, responding to what you have heard today and listening to what God might be saying to you in your heart ….

Pause to pray …

A further Prayer you can say now:

Lord Jesus,
I believe you are the Son of God.
Thank you for becoming one of us.
Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins.
Thank you for rising from the dead
to give me hope and the gift of eternal life.

I repent of my sins
and invite you into heart and life
as my Lord and Saviour.
Please grant me your Holy Spirit
so that I may know you, love you
and follow you every day of my life.

Amen.