Acts 1: 6-14

When the apostles had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

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Through the written word and the spoken word may we know your Living Word, Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen

I’ve recently experienced one of those once in a life time ‘Damascus Road’ realisations. Something that has brooded inside me for quite a while has finally come to the surface and I have become enlightened to the truth.

I tell you this because those of you who know me will, when we can finally get together following lockdown and isolation, see that I have changed. Hopefully for the better, but who knows.

I long for this situation with Covid-19 to be over, I pray for it to end and that the human race will take from it a rejuvenation in their lives, communities and the environment. That love will out weigh hate, that wars will cease and the oceans and atmosphere will be clean and clear, but most of all I want it to be over so that I can embrace the people I am closest to and miss so dearly and also so that I can tell them all about my ‘Damascus moment’ and listen to their words of wisdom and encouragement.

So I hear you muttering, what has this got to do with ‘Ascensiontide Sunday’ and the reading from Acts? For me it echoes a sense of suddenly being alone, isolated from a close friend, a confidant, a companion. We see it in the disciples as their eyes continue to look heavenward as Jesus ascends into the clouds transfixed, not on the form of Jesus, but on the space that is left behind.

For me the recounting of the ascension story creates a tinge of loss mixed with a sprinkling of hope. If we think about the past forty days since Jesus’ resurrection on that glorious Easter morning we have heard stories of Jesus teaching the disciples more deeply in the philosophy of God which was his prime mission on earth. We are also learning from these encounters on the road to Emmaus, breakfast by the Sea of Galilee and numerous others, that finally the disciples understand the teaching and wisdom of Jesus. Oh yes! They finally get it.

The sadness of finally saying goodbye to their friend and saviour is eased by the knowledge they have learnt from him and that knowledge is that love will conquer death and hope will conquer fear, but more importantly that if they carry the love Jesus has given them in their hearts they will never be alone and they will never be afraid. Oh and they also knew that Jesus would be sending them a gift, the Holy Spirit who would encourage, enable and enlighten them as they journey on in the name of Jesus Christ ‘and make disciples of all the nations’. They knew that the ministry of the earthbound Jesus was about to be transformed into a limitless ministry that would cover the whole earth not just the Middle East. Ascension therefore is a time to celebrate, to rejoice in the endless possibilities that the teaching of Jesus Christ is not glued to the earth to one spot, but is boundless, holistic and omnipotent.

It is worth reminding ourselves, that the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ is not held in one place. We practising Christians often forget this. We worship in a church building, chapel or even converted warehouse and during this time of lockdown this practise is being lamented and worship via live streaming and zoom is being decried by some as ‘ungodly’. We need to remember, however that the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ is not merely about us the converted, and that live streaming of services and even posting sermons and prayers on line is reaching out to more people than we could ever imagine. The mission and ministry of Jesus Christ is being transformed once more. Evangelism, the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness is surging forward and reaching out to people on a presidence not seen since the the early days of Methodism in the 1760’s.

It is therefore extremely important that this transformation is underpinned by prayer and by our own testimony. The stories we tell of our coming to know Jesus, our relationship with him and our faith journey can all bear witness and enable people to know and understand Jesus more deeply.

Take our example and encouragement from the disciples, that motley band of fishermen and outcasts, especially Peter who at the arrest of Jesus was so afraid to proclaim him that he denied him three times, yet only a few weeks later he is seized by the Holy Spirit and begins to proclaim and witness to the marvellous works Jesus has done. As modern day disciples we too can be enabled by the Holy Spirit, that ethereal being whose force can knock us off our feet and with equally severity build us up into something new and amazing.

Even though Jesus ascended into heaven and is no longer physically here on earth his love and compassion, his encouragement and ministry still grows and reaches out to all of us, believers or not, and non more so than in the witness of the anchorite Julian of Norwich in the late 1300’s.

Throughout this pandemic the words of Julian of Norwich have echoed in my ears and the small hazelnut I carry around in my pocket is warn and shinny through the constant holding and caressing of the shell. Julian believed that the world was the size of a hazelnut held in the hands of God and her most famous prayer or saying, if you will, and please excuse me if you think I’m quoting it too much! ‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well’, and I am sure that is exactly what the disciples thought as they witnessed Jesus’ ascension into heaven because deep down they knew that they were being held in the palm of God’s hand and that all would be well.

If there is anything good to come out of this period of isolation it is the transformation of how we proclaim Jesus’ mission and ministry. It is the resurgence and reigniting the renewal and deepening of our faith. It is also the challenge of witnessing and worshiping in new ways. Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit moving over the world is enabling us all to reach out and touch faith in the most extraordinary of ways and I am sure that is exactly what the disciples thought as they witnessed Jesus’ being lifted into heaven. Amen.

I would like to take a moment to share with you these inspirational words, which for me sum up the whole essence of Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives and puts everything into perspective. It reminds us that we are the clouds of witness that we proclaim the transforming ministry and mission of Jesus Christ here on earth in all that we do and say and that there is no more important time than now.

Ascension Day Sonnet written by Malcolm Guite

We saw his light break through the cloud of glory
Whilst we were rooted still in time and place
As earth became a part of Heaven’s story
And heaven opened to his human face.
We saw him go and yet we were not parted
He took us with him to the heart of things
The heart that broke for all the broken-hearted
Is whole and Heaven-centred now, and sings,
Sings in the strength that rises out of weakness,
Sings through the clouds that veil him from our sight,
Whilst we our selves become his clouds of witness
And sing the waning darkness into light,
His light in us, and ours in him concealed,
Which all creation waits to see revealed .

Ann Hilton
Reader St Wilfrid’s and St Thomas’

I invite you all to join in with the prayer activity below…

Let us pray

The friends of Jesus were ‘left behind’ and now had to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit.

Put your left hand behind your back – let’s pray for all those who feel left behind because they have no job and no hope.

And Jesus promises (speak out the following words together on the fingers of the left hand, which you all now bring to the front): ”I am always with you’.

Now reach out your left hand to the side – let’s pray for all those who feel left out because they are sick, bereaved or afraid.

And Jesus promises (speak out the following words together on the fingers of the left hand, which you all now bring to the front): ”I am always with you’.

Now put your left hand palm-down flat in front of you – let’s pray for all those who feel left alone because they have no friends or family or no one they can turn to and are sad.

And Jesus promises (speak out the following words together on the fingers of the left hand, which you all now bring to the front): ”I am always with you’.

We hold our left hand to our hearts and say together…

Lord Jesus Christ we know you are always with us, loving us and holding us through all the days of our lives. Give us the strength we need to get through these difficult times, give us the love in our hearts to share and care for others and give us the wisdom and the words to proclaim you in all that we do. Amen

Lords Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

God the Father,
who has given to his Son the name above every name,
strengthen us to proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord.
All: Amen.

God the Son,
who is our great high priest passed into the heavens,
plead for us at the right hand of the Father.
All: Amen.

God the Holy Spirit,
who pours out his abundant gifts upon the Church,
make us faithful servants of Christ our King.
All: Amen.