Ascension Sunday, June 5, 2011; Fr. Tony Baron

I.          We All Have Secrets in Our Hearts

A.     A Personal Secret:  All of my life I have longed to give myself completely

to something or someone Ultimate (self-surrender)

1. Image Problem: It did not fit the image I wanted to present to others and myself (independent, self-sufficient, admired)
2. Thanks very much, my destiny, seek mastery.
3. Trust Problem: My life trusted in the wrong thing/tools:  learn enough and
   1. strengthen my will enough so I can determine my destiny and seek mastery of my own life.
4. Hypocrisy Problem: People acted like they knew what life was all about and how it should be lived.

B.        A Personal Dis-ease was Created because of Battling with My Secret

1. Dis-ease of saying “yes” versus “no” to people
2. Dis-ease of mastery and mystery of life
3. Dis-ease of self-determination and self-surrender

“Surrender does not come easily.  It has been treated as a noxious concept in our society. We are taught never to give up, never to allow ourselves to be determined by anyone or anything other than our own self-will.  We have been so well taught to say no that when we do say yes we are liable to feel spineless and unassertive.  Our confusion is deepened by the fact that too often we really are spineless and unassertive.  Too often we go along with the currents of social whim or the desire of other people instead of standing up for what we sense is truly right within us.  Such surrender to other people, institutions, or causes is, in my opinion, the opposite of true spiritual surrender.  The destructiveness of such distortions is likely to make us fear any kind of surrender, spiritual or otherwise.”- Gerald May, MD

• To whom or to what does one surrender? And how?
• What effect does true surrender have on personal freedom and individual will?
• Most surrenders are terribly destructive.  Even if it is God to whom I surrender, how can I trust that this God is true and good and will not abandon me?
• How can I trust that this God is not of my own making?

II.   The Security of Knowing that Our Self-Surrender to Jesus is Safe (The Significance of the Ascension)

1. The Early Church Response:

• It is the Hinge of the Gospel of Luke and Acts
• It is found in every major Creed of the early Church -  “Jesus is Lord”
• It is restated over and over again in the Scriptures (Eph. 1:20; Phil. 1:9-11; I Tim.3:16; Heb. 1:3; I Peter 3:22)

B.  The Theological Response:  The Resurrected Jesus now sits in a position of authority in heaven and on earth (“the Father’s right hand”) – “Jesus is Lord”

1. At the ascension, the Lord Jesus begun His Messianic Reign as the Davidic King: The Messianic Blessings Have Started

What kind of Messiah were the Jewish people waiting for?

• More than a military and/or political leader, they were waiting for the restoration of Israel by a Messiah in a new exodus to deliver them out of bondage

1. The coming of a new Moses, Duet. 18:15-18
2. The making of a new covenant sealed with the blood of sacrifice and concluded by a heavenly banquet, Ex. 4:22-23; 24:5-11; Jeremiah 31:31-33
3. The building of a new Temple where the first tabernacle was a portable temple (75 feet wide and 150 feet long); Haggai 2:6-9; Micah 4:2’ Is. 56:6-7; 60:1-7; I Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Eph. 2:21; Rev. 11:19; 21:22
4. The journey to a new promised land, Amos 9:14-15; Hosea 1:10-11; 2:16-23; Jer. 3:15-19; 2 Sam. 7:10: Ez. 36:33-35: Is. 43,49,60; 64:17-18; 65:18,20,22.

1. At the ascension, the Lord Jesus is enthroned as the Messiah, but His reign is not complete because not all the enemies are subdued.(Acts 2:35; Phil. 2:9-11)

At the ascension, the Lord Jesus has transferred His mission to the Church (Witness to the Salvation Jesus has brought, Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:4-8). “You are my witnesses” – Acts 1:8

1. The “New Physics” Response: Jesus is in heaven (Heaven is the immediate presence of God’s glory and can be present simultaneously anywhere and everywhere on earth). The risen Jesus is not somewhere in the galaxy far, far, away, but the risen Jesus continues to work on this earth in the church and through the Spirit.  Heaven transcends us as a greater, truer, more splendid reality. The distance between God and humanity is fully and finally spanned in Christ (Eph. 1:3; Col. 3:1-3).

1. In the Holy Spirit, time is collapsed in that we presently possess eternal life, although we await its full experience at the consummation.
2. In the Holy Spirit, space is collapsed in that the presence of the risen Christ is available everywhere, although we await the time when we will see him face to face.
3. In the Holy Spirit, matter is collapsed in that the presence of the risen Christ is experienced in the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, although we await the final marriage feast of the lamb.

1. The Pastoral Response: (Ephesians 1:15-23)

1. You are safe because God invested His entire wealth in you

You will gain wisdom and revelation of that power when you di-vest your willfulness and be willing to trust the Spirit and plan of God in self-surrender.

Ascension Day as a liturgical festival often gets overlooked in the interval between Easter and Pentecost.  The intensity of personal reflection during Lent was released in the exuberance of Easter with triumphant music, powerful preaching on the Resurrection, Easter lilies, and packed pews.  Pentecost is just around the corner with multilingual calls to worship, red vestments, and Holy Spirit joy to celebrate the birth of the Church.   Few followers seem able to muster much energy for Ascension Day.

Ascension Day is often overlooked liturgically, but even more sadly, this celebration is underappreciated theologically.  If the death of Christ was for our forgiveness of sins, and the Resurrection of Christ was His victory over death forever for our sake, the Ascension of Christ was His enthronement as King of kings, and Lord of lords.  The servant leader Jesus of Nazareth, at the Ascension, is enthroned as King!  Because of the Ascension and His enthronement as King, all authority on heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Matthew 29:18; Psalm 110; Acts 1:11).

The early church recognized the significance of the Ascension.  The Ascension is found in every major creed, including the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed:

The Apostles’ Creed:  On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

 The Nicene Creed:  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

 The creeds only confirm what is in the New Testament (see Ephesians 1:20; Philippians 1:9-11; I Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:3).  The Ascension is the climax of the earthly life story of Jesus Christ and THE KEY to understanding the role of the Church.

This Sunday I would like to invite you to be a participant in our community of faith as we open the Word of God to understand the significance of the Ascension for our lives in the 21^st century.  I will be teaching. Then we will join together as we give thanks for Christ being our manna (bread of life) as we celebrate Holy Communion. 

With love and peace,

Fr. Tony