4th May, 2008 The Ascension of Our Lord, Year A
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The Gospel this weekend is the passage at the very conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel….. it is one of the most beautiful, reassuring and powerful Gospel passages.
I have read this section many times but you know I had never noticed something that is really interesting about this gospel….// what’s missing????....... on this feast of the Ascension….. which features THIS Gospel of Matthew…. the thing that is missing is that it actually doesn’t mention Jesus’ ascension. It ends rather with the wonderful words…. ‘know, I am with you always…. until the end of time…” …… It is assumed that the ascension follows, because of similar sections in the other Gospels and also in “The Acts of the Apostles” and from The letter to the Ephesians….. but Matthew’s gospel is making a very strong point here.. and that is: Jesus never really leaves us….// He continues to be present with us and to us who are his disciples….. // Jesus effectively never goes away, (according to the point Matthew’s Gospel is trying to emphasise). Sure, he returns to his Father in Heaven,; Yes he ascends to Heaven …… He becomes Lord of all heaven and earth…… // True… he does later send the Holy Spirit to his disciples….. but the bottom line is that Jesus continues to be very much WITH US….//. and his ascension, and the sending of the Spirit only serve to make him evern closer to us than before…. in ways so deep that they go beyond appearances.
How reassuring it is to us to trust that Jesus is as much WITH US now as he was with his disciples all those many years ago…….. //
We are called to go and make disciples of all nations because we recognize that our Lord Jesus is with us until the end of the age;
It is not as though somehow we are workers for the Lord. Rather it is the Lord who works through us. Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit. Jesus promises the power of the Holy Spirit at work with us. // so we are commissioned to be like “Jesus in the world,” Jesus for one another, Jesus interceding for all
We need to serve the Lord in one another. We need to witness to the presence of the Lord Jesus to others . We need to use our energies for the Kingdom and for the glory of God.
The readings this weekend repeatedly state that “ALL POWER, ALL AUTHORITY… ALL DOMINION HAS BEEN GIVEN TO JESUS CHRIST…. AND IS HIS….”…. Jesus also promises to give us this same power and authority…. to all who are his disciples……
I am fascinated by this concept of POWER and SOVEREIGNTY……
when we speak of power… a lot of thoughts come to mind about the meaning of it…… the definition can mean everything from an ability to do or act a certain way…….a physical or moral capability of doing or effecting something…. it can also speak of physical strength or force or the ability to control or command ….as well as influence…..
If someone came to town this weekend and said… I am about to bestow on you true POWER and DOMINION…. I will give you POWER over all the world…… I reckon most people would consider that this would mean the ability to control, to will……to direct, and to force…. to overwhelm…. no wonder there are so many fantasy movies around that show power as an ability to override the willpower and EFFECT results according to the willpower of the person commanding….. any many wars and battles have been fought over attaining that kind of control and power…..
what is the meaning of Jesus words…. in what way does he really have power…. and what kind of power is Jesus promising to pour down upon us with the coming of the Spirit…..??
A person who dominates is powerful in a sense…. but one who frees is greater……..
A person who controls people or events by their own could very well be described as ‘powerful’ but one who gives true freedom…… is greater still…
a person who rules by force and threat exerts enormous power….. but the one who leads by persuasion and truth… is devastatingly more powerful……
One who does not resort to violence in order to acieve the results one demands is greater than those who wish to hammer and force the world into a mould of their own choosing…..
This is still difficult to comprehend…. but it is God’s way….
true power, true authority, true leadership is this:
LOVE, vulnerability, release, freedom, persuasion, a heart so open that is can suffer…..
A person who is truly free…. who knows that they have the authority that comes from truth….. this person is devastatingly powerful….. a person who refuses to bow to threats or force and does not even fear the loss of their own life, because they believe in the absoluteness of the truth of things…… that is bigger than themselves and bigger than threats and violence…. such a person cannot be controlled… they are powerful….
There have been many kings and queens… great and terrible rulers throughout history……. But none of them have had a more profound and lasting impact on the world and history than one solitary life….. a carpenter’s son… wo rejected violence and took the path of love and suffering….. who was not defeated even by a sham trial and a criminals death, but rose up even more powerful than ever…. and won the whole world………
the roman empire which was in “POWER” at the time of Jesus is now a pile of ruins in the middle of
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