First United Methodist Church Stafford Springs, Ct. 5/24/2020 Ascension Sunday
Hymn-#2088— “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” Good Morning Everyone,
Call to Worship: Rejoice and sing to God.
We sing of the risen Christ. Clap your hands and shout for joy.
We rejoice in the Living God. Celebrate this day.
We celebrate with the Spirit who calls us here.
Let us begin with pray:
Holy God, we celebrate your presence this day. For the gift of resurrection, we give you thanks and praise. For the gift of your ongoing presence in our lives, we rejoice and sing. Overwhelm us with your presence here, that we might be overwhelmed with joy. In joyous gratitude, we pray. Amen.
Today’s Scripture: Luke 24: 44-53
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are wit- nesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension of Jesus
50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they wor- shiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the tem- ple, praising God.
From my book—Connections-Year A, Volume Two—WJK (Westminster John Knox Press)
The liturgical time in the weeks between Easter and Pentecost is a wonderful time for a sermon on living in between. Between turning in a final exam and receiving a grade. Between planting a garden and enjoying its bounty. Between spring cleaning and summer vacation. In betweenness is not only seasonal. I am enduring a significant health challenge but have no diagnosis or effective treatment yet. My daughter is capable, independent, and entering adulthood, but she is still my little girl. The churches with which I work are start-ups, fully church yet still becoming. So much of life is lived in between.
This season, not to mention Ascension Day in the Christian tradition, reminds us that we need awareness and skills to live faithfully while in-between. Easter has come and gone. Christ is risen. A new world with Jesus as ruler is here, and we seek to align our lives with His regime. Yet we wait for the promised Holy Spirit to show up and make a difference. Sometimes, we wait well, knowing that good
things come to those who patiently focus less on themselves and more on God. Other times, we feel lost, betrayed, or let down, as if waiting for anything in our instant-gratification culture proves God does not love us.
In Jesus’ final, preascension words in Luke 24: 44-53, we hear that the centuries of waiting, testifying, and prophesying are finally fulfilled. After looking back, Jesus looks forward. We hear that the disciples, both then and now, will witness what God is doing and be clothed with power from on high. Then Jesus blesses them, withdraws, and in-between time sets in. However, rather than grieving a lack of closure or God’s seeming unwillingness to meet a list of needs and wants, the followers of Jesus receive His blessing, observe His departure, and live with intentionality and great joy, reveling in what they have. They learn to watch, listen, be together, wait, bless, and worship. They do not have all the answers, but they have more important things: clear directive from God (Luke 24: 47-49), each other (vv. 44-53), blessing (vv. 50- 53), and one of the riches that can be mined from the in-between time—joy (vv. 52-53).
Interim times teach, change, and prepare us. They help us learn to appreciate and mine all moments, both the expected and unexpected seasons, the welcome and the difficult stretches of life. In-between times can forge in us a skill that the faithful of all ages have to learn: the art of waiting. When those rare moments of closure and new beginnings actually occur and then wear off, God is in the in-between time, teaching and reforming us once again, helping us rejoice in the reality that we are neither stagnant nor complete.
Sermon: My Thoughts: All the In-between
When I compare today’s scripture with the reading from connections it lays out something that was as true in Jesus times as it is now. Jesus starts out just as He did on the Road with Cleophas and another follower. Jesus opens the scriptures to them. Jesus has tried this before with the disciples and it hasn’t fully worked. Once again don’t you see all of this was predicted ahead of time by the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms and must be fulfilled. The Christ must suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and a change of heart and life for the forgiveness of sins must be preached in Hid name to all generations.
The question of how do we know the coming of the Spirit? The good news is that it is already here poured out on all nations at the first Pentecost. The real question is have you received it yet. Which brings us to how do we know; the answer is a changed heart and life. We call it living for Jesus.
Then Jesus led them out two Bethany lifted His hands and blessed them. Now come the hardest job of the disciples. Waiting till Pentecost to receive the Holy Spirit of God. What do you do when waiting for a promised event to happen.
When Kids are waiting for a birthday or Christmas to get presents, they are filled with excitement. It hasn’t come yet, but oh the excitement of anticipation. I wonder if the disciple, who had walked, talked, and lived with Jesus worried about what would happen or if filled with excitement that they were part of God’s plan for the world. How about you? Are you worried what it truly means to be a Christian or are you content just as you are? The in between time from when you first come to believe Jesus and the time Jesus sends you out in the world is a time of faith building. Learning all you can so as to know you never walk alone, God is with you.
You see right know we are in an in-between time! Life was going about as usual and then corona virus. Everything stopped. People listen to the night news and politics, (The World) and became afraid, Afraid that we could get the virus and die. This may sound crazy, as I started out that way and caught myself not listening to God but the world, the daily news. So, I changed my focus in this in-between time from the world to God. I spent more time in Prayer, more time reading scripture, and more time studying God that the world and believe it or not—I have gained—Peace, Contentment, Joy and closeness to God. And I live my life with joy not fear. So the real question is how are you spending you in between time, The time between Jesus’s resurrection and His promised coming again at the end of the ages or for some of us that time Jesus invites us home.—Amen.
Let Us Pray:
O Loving God, we come to you today in love. Praying that your Holy Spirit we abide with us and in us always. We praise you for your love poured out on us through the gift of your Son and we pray to you for our lives and our world. Help us to not be afraid of the changing times because we know you are with us. And lead us into ministry for you through your holy Spirit this day Amen. Amen.
Please meditate and pray for all the prayer concerns on the list included—Amen.
Please recite Lord’s prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Hymn # 2282—“I’ll Fly Away”
Benediction:
Joy to the world!
The Lord has come to earth. Joy to the world!
Christ is risen from death itself. Joy to the world!
Christ’s glory is ours to share.