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Christ Church
Morningside
If you have ever been into my house for a cup of tea you will have seen my assortment of mugs. If you haven’t then I warn you now, I don’t possess a cup or saucer, so if you want one, you had better bring your own! I have a collection of Dunoon pottery mugs in various tartans which I always give (accompanied by shortbread) to people from overseas who want to know which clan I belong to. And then there is a range of mugs with shells and arrows on them collected over the years as souvenirs of the Santiago pilgrimage. There is a mug which one of my psychotherapy clients gave me at the end of a long series of sessions – perhaps to get her own back for having substantially contributed to my mortgage - which says ‘I need therapy’ and another which I was given at my ordination which says ‘Jesus is coming – look busy’. But in recent weeks I have taken to having that delicious first brew of the day from a mug I got from Poundstretcher which carries this quotation from Albert Einstein: ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible but no simpler.’ Wisdom and inspiration come in various shapes and guises, but Times Roman, size 16, printed in red on a white 50 pence mug is doing it for me right now I can assure you. ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible but no simpler.’
If I heed Einstein’s instruction and apply it to today’s readings which come from the closing verses of the Gospel of Luke and the opening verses of its sequel, the Book of Acts, what we end up with is something equally pithy and certainly short enough to fit on a mug. ‘Jesus goes up, the Spirit comes down, the Church goes out.’
For the last six months since late November when Advent began we have followed Jesus in Mary’s womb, his birth at Bethlehem, his growth in Nazareth and the beginning of his public ministry in Galilee. With the arrival of Lent we saw him praying and fasting in the wilderness, and then we accompanied him through the drama of Holy Week to his Crucifixion and death.
Six weeks ago we heard the strange news that we was RISEN and ever since have heard of his appearances to the 12 in the Upper Room, to Thomas a week later, to fishermen on the lakeside and to the disciples on the Road to Emmaus.
But today, on this Feast which brings his mission here on earth to an end, Jesus goes up, back to the Father from whom he came, and hands the baton on to us. His work is now in our hands.
What an awesome responsibility to be left to do what he did
and like Moses and Jeremiah and all the saints down through the ages we find ourselves asking how in heaven’s name we could ever do what Jesus did. How on earth could we tend the needy, challenge the comfortable and call people to turn their lives round as he did?
The answer to that question is given in tonight’s Gospel – ‘The Holy Spirit will come down and clothe you with power from on high.’ The Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary at the Annunciation, and by whom Emmanuel – God with us – was conceived, the very Spirit who came upon Jesus at his baptism to launch his public ministry, now hovers over us since from today onwards, with Jesus having returned to the glory of his father in heaven, it is up to us to whether the Kingdom of God keeps gathering momentum or runs out of steam.
But that Holy Spirit is not given as a divine comfort blanket for us to hide in, or as some sort of holy ISA which is best kept untouched for a rainy day. Far from it! God knows only too well that, left to our own devices, we are not up to the task of taking on the baton from Jesus, and so promises to clothe our vulnerability and to redress our inadequacy with the very POWER of God himself. And why? So that the Church can GO OUT and keep alive God’s passion for the world. Until yesterday it was all down to Jesus. From today onwards its all up to us.
Keeping things ‘as simple as possible’, we know that God’s part of the bargain has been fulfilled - Jesus goes up today and the Spirit will come down next week at Pentecost – but whether or not we, the church, will play our part and go out to keep God’s work visible in the world may prove to be the hardest thing of all.
And so on this Ascension Day, let us pray that God will so clothe us with power from on high that absolutely nothing will impede our GOING OUT in his name to tell the world that, despite all evidence to the contrary, God has not abandoned or forgotten his people, nor disappeared into a cloud to get away from us but is still every bit among us in ordinary, everyday things
in quiet early morning cuppas, in those who find it in their hearts to forgive and in people like you and like me who do our own wee bit for the healing of the world.
This is the feast of divine human collaboration. Let’s not stick our heads in the clouds but with feet firmly planted on the earth take up the challenge with grateful hearts. And if we do, then like Jesus we too will find that our ultimate destiny is not here on earth but with our Father in heaven. Amen.
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