Sermons for the Month
Believe the Unbelievable; Receive the Inconceivable
DATE: May 28th, 2006
SERVICE: The Ascension of Our Lord
TEXT: Luke 24:44-53“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
We have been invited to come and believe the unbelievable and receive the inconceivable. Those words will be sung by the band later this morning, causing me to wonder if that statement is a reality in our lives. Oh, I believe it's true that we have been invited to believe and receive, but do we? I ask that because of my own response to verse 52 in today's Gospel. "And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy…." My first thought was, "Why did they respond with great joy?" After all, their beloved Teacher is leaving them; they had just watched him ascending in heaven. Surely they were sad, not to mention worried about his command that they proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations. And, don't you suppose they were wondering what exactly in meant that they would be clothed with power from on high? That sounds overwhelming to me. So, why were they joyful? It was not until a friend pointed out that, in contrast with what they expected in the normal course of living, what had happened to them was phenomenal and would have produced a rush of feeling blessed. They not only had bonded themselves to Jesus, and were so secure in his love that they would carry it with them always, but they had seen him return to life after death and watched him float away into glory, his hands raised in blessing, never to die again. That must have sent chills up and down their spines, don't you think? And now their lives had purpose, the emptiness inside of them had been filled. They had experienced the unbelievable and received the inconceivable and were overflowing with joy and the desire to worship God. Just think how their lives have changed. When they first encountered Jesus after the resurrection, as they hid behind locked doors, they believed him to be a ghost. The verse that describes their response is so telling, "While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering…." (Luke 24:41) They were glad to see their Teacher alive, but they certainly did not understand what was happening. But now, 40 days later, that joy has grown and they have moved from fear to worship because who Jesus is is clear to them. Of course they are filled with great joy; it's time to celebrate! Is that how we feel as we "celebrate" the Ascension of our Lord? Or is our response more along the lines of "Ho Hum"? Jesus was raised from the dead; he ascended into heaven; he promised to send power from on high upon us. "Ho Hum, what else is new?" If it's true that that is our attitude, then it explains why, for many, worshipping is not a natural, uncontainable response but is instead a positive habit or a good thing to do. (Unfortunately, many may add "if nothing else comes up," especially this time of year.) I'm afraid that it's not often that worship is the overflowing response to our joy over what God has done in our lives. In fact, I was thinking this week that television shows like "The American Idol", and the final contestants Katharine and Taylor, are more likely to garner people's devotion and excitement than the Good News that we proclaim every Sunday. I guess that's because it's somehow more "real" to us, or perhaps because so much time is spent focusing on and talking about it. Even those of us who have never tuned in are kept up to date as we watch the news, since every television station had their representatives on sight for the final shows. Newspaper readers were informed that the TV critic would be blogging about the telecast on Wednesday night, and people were directed to the correct link to participate in an online poll. There's no doubt that American Idol rates high on the interest scale; it's fun and I'm sure there were celebrations when the contest ended. Could the popularity of this show be because people can get involved, but not too involved? Not that much is asked of the viewer; in fact, nothing that he or she is unwilling to do. (By the way, isn't it interesting that the word "Idol" is used, when that's the one thing we are warned against over and over again in scripture - worshipping false idols?) On the other hand, it's not true, or at least it should not be true, that disciples of Jesus can get involved, but not too involved. Often Christians are asked to do that which they would rather not do. But, once we really grasp what God has done for us through Jesus, that unwillingness fades and joy begins to express itself in worship. And, our joy flows out now only in worship but also in love - being and acting for others even at a cost to ourselves - for our world and the people in it. First, though we have to get the image of Jesus blessing us in our minds eye and realize that there's nothing ho-hum about it. As many of you know, Mother Teresa was a person I view as a spiritual leader. I knew that the Order she founded, the Sister of Charity, say that their mission is to worship God and that the service they do for those who are suffering is secondary. This week when I was reading through some of her reflections I came to understand that even better. Mother Teresa wrote that at one time the Order participated in the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament only once a week. I'm not totally familiar with what that is, but I do know that the bread of Holy Communion which has been consecrated is considered to be the true body of our Lord. That which is not used in the Mass is kept and becomes a focus of people's prayer and devotion. In any case, Mother Teresa said that the reason not to have daily adoration was that there was so much work to do for the poor that there was no time for this act of worship every day. Still, the decision was made at some point to add an hour of daily adoration - before daily Mass - to the Order's schedule. This is what Mother Teresa says about that, "I can tell you I have seen a great change in our congregation from the day we started having adoration every day. Our love for Jesus is more intimate. Our love for one another is more understanding. Our love for the poor is more compassionate. And we have twice as many vocations." (1) Now, I'm not sure what the equivalent to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament would be for Lutherans, but I please note that what is being described here is people who have taken the time to focus on what God has done for them in Jesus Christ, and the joy of that has overflowed into worship and into loving others. To use that image from a couple weeks ago, the branch is firmly connected to the vine, Jesus, and is bearing good fruit that will last. I must confess to you, my sisters and brothers, that I am not gifted at meditating on the holy. That doesn't mean, though, that I do not see the value in it. I think we each need to find our way to do that; for me walking in the woods is the key, perhaps for you it's listening to music or praying with someone. Whatever the case, it's so important that we get out of this "Ho Hum" attitude when it comes to responding to the love of God as it is manifested in our lives. Isn't it possible that, like those first followers, we can experience that rush of feeling blessed? Can't we be bonded to Jesus, and be so secure in his love that we carry it with us always? Our lives also can have purpose, and the emptiness inside of us can be filled. You see, we too have been invited to believe the unbelievable and receive the inconceivable, and for that reason we can have great expectations of our Lord, and our Lord can have great expectations of us.
(1) The Mother Teresa Reader: A Life Lived for God, Compiled by LaVonne Neff, Servant Publications, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1995, pg. 188.
AMEN