Ascension Day
Thursday 13th May 2021
Ascension Day
Act 1.1-11
Luke 24.44–end
Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs
We have all got used to new rules this past year.
The rules of lockdown.
The rules of gradual coming out of lockdown.
The rule of social distancing
The rule of wearing face coverings…
The rule of 6 – remember that?
So many rules.
But today I am encouraging you to remember the rule of 5.
Ascension Day marks the moment when Jesus began his heavenly ministry and with him took our humanity into the very presence of God.
It also marks the beginning of Thy Kingdom Come. Days of prayer and reflection between Ascension and Pentecost when we – and many many Christians of all denominations around the world are encouraged to adopt the rule of 5….
Think of 5 people who matter to you.
5 people who maybe do not share your faith or relationship with God and Jesus.
5 people who you can intentionally pray for during these days – that they may come to build a relationship with God for themselves.
It is only just over a week – 9 or 10 days to focus your prayers especially on these five named individuals.
They don’t need to know you are praying for and with them.
And you won’t necessarily know whether anything in their lives changes for them… but that is not the point. It isn’t about you, about us. It is about God’s Holy Spirit entering into their lives; about salvation for them
In his reflection for today the Archbishop reminds us that at his birth Jesus is given two names and that we need to take on board both of them.
First of all is Immanuel – God with us. To remind us that even when God has gone up – with a merry noise, with the sound of the trumpet or however you choose to imagine it, God is still with us and always will be. There is nothing we can do either to merit that closeness with God or to destroy it. Oh, we can choose to ignore it and make ourselves miserable in the process, but God is always with us.
And the second is God saves – Jesus (Yeshua). God is the one doing the saving. Not us. Not you or me or any human agency.
But unless and until you have accepted that god is with us – Immanuel – you will never come to terms with the second bit – God saves.
And if God makes a difference in the lives of any or all of your 5 friends that you pray for during the time of Thy Kingdom Come, it will be God’s doing – not yours, however fervent your prayers. But it can’t hurt and it may help! So why not give it a go!
If you want to find out more, then I recommend you download the TKC app on your phone or tablet and begin exploring.
Which is a lot more help than those first disciples had! They must have been at a total loss as to what to do next, having seen Jesus ascending to be with his Father in Heaven. Filled with both joy that their beloved friend and teacher appeared to have defeated death itself. But filled also with sadness and apprehension at having to bid him farewell yet again! But their instinct was to keep worshipping and praising God. Waiting for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.
We dislike change and loss. It unsettles us as Dorothy reminded us last Sunday. But sometimes we need to be unsettled in order to discover the truth about our own abilities and about what God is calling us to. We are all living through such enormous change and loss; what with the pandemic and with the Vicar preparing to leave too! I have lost count of the questions I always get “Well, who is coming to replace you?” And of course, neither I nor the PCC have any clue. It doesn’t work like that in the C of E. You may think that is foolish and frustrating, but there is some virtue in the system too.
You cannot rush these things. There needs to be a proper time of preparation and waiting in between the loss of one thing and the start of another. Pentecost cannot come too quickly after Ascension. The moment of loss must be endured and grown through before a new chapter of ministry can begin… And begin it will for God is always with you and God Saves!
Amen.