EASTER  7             24^TH MAY 2020        ASCENSION

WE GATHER IN GOD’S PRESENCE

Lighting the Candle

Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness

but will have the light of life.’

Let us be mindful of each other as we engage in worship;

do you recall where you used to sit,

who sat near you,

perhaps you can give them a phone call this week?:

Greeting:

the Lord is risen HE IS RISEN INDEED

this risen Lord be with you AND ALSO WITH YOU

We Focus on God     Psalm 93

The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty;
    THE LORD IS ROBED, HE IS GIRDED WITH STRENGTH.
He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
²     YOUR THRONE IS ESTABLISHED FROM OF OLD;
    YOU ARE FROM EVERLASTING.

³ The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
   THE FLOODS HAVE LIFTED UP THEIR VOICE;
    the floods lift up their roaring.
⁴ More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
    MORE MAJESTIC THAN THE WAVES OF THE SEA,
    MAJESTIC ON HIGH IS THE LORD!

⁵ Your decrees are very sure;
    HOLINESS BEFITS YOUR HOUSE,
    O LORD, FOR EVERMORE.

We Sing: TIS 228 CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS

Prayer

Holy and gracious God,

we gather as a community of your people

in your presence this hour,

to praise you and focus on you,

to heed your word for us.

Grant us sufficient understanding

that we might grasp the enormity

of the hope into which you have called us,

the incalculable inheritance you bestow on us

and the overwhelming power you grant us

to guarantee quality life eternal

not just for us, but all…

We gather to acknowledge the risen and ascended Jesus

as the one whom we follow

as the way, the truth and the life;

therefore we pray as our Lord taught us to pray:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours

now and forever. Amen

WE LISTEN FOR A WORD FROM GOD

Scripture

ACTS 1:1-11

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning ² until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³ After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴ While stayingwith them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ ⁷ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ 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.’ ⁹ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹ 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.’

 and EPHESIANS 1:15-23

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your lovetowards all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, ¹⁸ so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. ²⁰ Godput this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. ²² And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

In this is the Word of the Lord   WE HEAR AND REJOICE, O LORD

LUKE 24: 44-53

44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things

49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’

50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

This is the Gospel of our Lord  PRAISE TO YOU LORD JESUS CHRIST

Prayer of Confession

Since, then, we have a great high priest

who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God,

let us hold fast to our confession. 

For we do not have a high priest

who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,

but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are,

yet without sin. 

Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness,

so that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 3:14-16)

Merciful God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of glory:

we who own more than we use,

proclaim more than we experience,

and request more than we need,

come asking your forgiveness.

LORD HAVE MERCY

We seek your salvation,

   then act like we save ourselves.

We beg your forgiveness,

   then repeat our errors.

We experience your grace,

   then act defeated.

We rely on your power,

   but only in hard times.

CHRIST HAVE MERCY

We have become confused and misguided.

Forgive our every defection.

Bring us to an unbroken commitment

and a steady trust…

SPIRIT HAVE MERCY

through Jesus Christ,

who is the way of hope,

the truth of God,

and the life of love, now and always. Amen. #

# The Worship Sourcebook 2004    P.96   The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, MI;

Declaration of Reconciliation

He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,

so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness;

by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Passing the Peace.. as we raise our hands in blessing to those unseen…
The peace of the Risen and Ascended Lord be with you all 

AND ALSO WITH YOU.

We Sing:  TIS 520 LORD, ENTHRONED IN HEAVENLY SPLENDOUR

Contemporary Word  

WAITING IS SERVING ALSO

   I enjoy looking at clouds!

Whilst appreciating a clear blue sky,

a sky with cloud, white and fluffy floating across blue,

or varied grey and white flecked, racing overhead,

or a black mass thrusting towards its ultimate destination

to unleash its pent-up force…

or from a different perspective,

cloud with its own particular skyscape

with cloud mountains and valleys, if flying higher

and looking down on the cloud formations,

oh yes… a sky with clouds wins hands down!

Not that I know much about clouds technically;

I remember Joni Mitchell  singing:

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It’s cloud’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all 

That describes me perfectly!

   The image of the Acts and Luke story is clear to us

from any illustrated ‘Çhildren’s Bible’

or even the Family Bible with Illustrations.

Jesus floating upwards into a cloud.

This is, after all, what the text tells us:

’ ⁹ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up,

and a cloud took him out of their sight (Acts 1:9).

Do we ever wonder what that cloud appeared like?

My first inclination has been to think in terms

of a white, fluffy cloud,

a cloud of comfortable appearance,

if such can be imagined,

the equivalent of a first-class seat when flying!

Through some further delving into cloud imagery in scripture,

I realised that merely thinking of the cloud, as cloud literally,

obscured a crucial possibility.

That the cloud is in fact a metaphor for God;

the power and presence of God.

God was present with Moses at Mt Sinai in a cloud

that covered the mountain.

This was not a gentle fluffy cloud environment!

Fire, smoke, lightning… (Exodus 24:15-18).

A pillar of cloud would be indicative of God’s presence

for Moses and the people as they journeyed

towards the promised land

When all the people saw the pillar of cloud 

standing at the entrance of the tabernacle,

all the people would rise and bow down, all of them,

at the entrance of their tents. (Exodus 33:7-11)

and ‘For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day,

and fire was in the cloud by night,

before the eyes of all the house of Israel at each stage of their journey’ (Ex. 40:34-38).

We recall of course, the incident when Jesus was on the mountain

with Peter and James, and Moses and Elijah appeared.

The two disciples witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus.

Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here;

let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses,

and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said.

 ³⁴ While he was saying this,

a cloud came and overshadowed them;

and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 

³⁵ Then from the cloud came a voice that said,

 ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’

Obviously God was in this cloud, entering which terrified them!

In the Acts text, the cloud which came to envelop Jesus

and bear him out of sight might well be understood

as God welcoming home the Son.

The imagery of the father running to embrace

the returning younger son in Jesus’ parable of the loving father

(better known as the prodigal son Luke 15) comes to mind.

Jesus did not just make up some imaginary loving father…

he drew on divine experience!

So when the time came for Jesus to return home,

the Father came and welcomed him not as a prodigal returning,

but as the faithful cherished son,

loyal to the Father’s will.

   Those who pay attention to such things

point out another echo from the Hebrew scriptures –

namely the ascension of Elijah! (2Kings2:1-15).

As Elijah waited for the whirlwind that would take him to heaven,

his disciple Elisha asked for “a double portion of his spirit.”

Sure enough, when Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle,

discarded as Elijah ascended,

that’s what he got—a powerful dose of the Spirit.

   In similar fashion, the last couple of weeks

we learned that Jesus promised his disciples

that he would not leave them comfortless,

but would give them the Spirit… another paraclete.

He meant for them to have an inheritance, the Paraclete. 

And when, in a manner of speaking, they picked up his mantle,

that’s what they got—a double portion.

The Spirit at Pentecost!

That is how most commentators describe the sequence.

Except this just assumes witnessing the ascension 

had no impact on those disciples

during the ten-day interval between Ascension and Pentecost. 

   Here I want to correct an error I for quite some time,

had unwittingly fallen into!

So used have we become, over the past few Sundays,

to the disciples as a disillusioned and frightened bunch,

that we take that imagery through even to their meeting

in the upper room at Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2! 

   We completely fail to let the finale to Luke’s gospel have its impact:

Then he led them out as far as Bethany,

and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 

51 While he was blessing them,

he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.

52 And they worshipped him,

and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 

53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God (Lk 24).

Jesus’ last act on earth is to raise his hands in blessing

over the disciples.

The disciples responded to Jesus’ blessing in amazing ways!

They worshipped him… a clear indicator

of their recognition of his divine nature! 

Only God is worthy of worship;

Jesus emphatically denies Satan’s request for worship,

quoting Deuteronomy 6:13:

“Worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone” (4:8),

and Peter rejects Cornelius’s attempts to worship him (Acts 10:26).

Luke closes the Gospel with the disciples’ recognizing Jesus

as no mere mortal, but rather as God, worthy of worship.

It seems in his human form,

they failed to understand him,

although they had the opportunity to travel with him,

watching and listening as he interacted with crowds and individuals,

using storytelling, exhortation, and conversation as his teaching tools. They did not understand what was happening,

did not understand who he was.

   Somehow, within the forty days of instruction offered the disciples

by the resurrected Jesus (Acts 1:3 and Luke 24:44-49)

culminating in this final act of blessing, the penny dropped.

They worshipped him… and returned to Jerusalem with great joy!

Great joy: Bubbling with joy!

Joy which expressed itself in continual public blessing of God

in the temple, the centre of the opposition to Jesus!

Joy which transformed into courage!

The blessing Christ,

as he entered into the embrace of his Father,

bestowed on his disciples there and then,

brought a transformation which has them visibly, publicly,

uninhibitedly blessing God! 

No more sneaking off to go fishing,

no more fear of authorities, no more hiding!

This does not diminish the promise of

the outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit

gifted on Pentecost for their mission…

however it does align the Ascension of Jesus

in closer parallel to the story of Elijah and Elisha.

I am convinced the analogy is very deliberate!

Elijah, rather God through Elijah,

called Elisha to be his successor…

and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah

as prophet in your place (1 Kings 19:16).

Upon Elijah’s ascension by means of a chariot of fire,

Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle (1 Kings 2:1-14).

The disciples watching Jesus, standing there,  

watching in awe and amazement are questioned:

‘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.’

The question contains implied instruction.

Don’t stand here watching into the heavens,

Jesus will come;

meanwhile, get on with what is required on earth!

The disciples, as it were, are to pick up the mantle of Jesus’ mission:

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,

in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth… (Acts)

⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins

will be preached in his (Jesus’) name to all nations, 

beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things (Luke). 

Not only that first generation of disciples,

but all successive generations…

That mantle has now been picked up by us,

ours is the commission to bear witness to Jesus!

We used to be so sure of how to do this!

Get a group of committed people, get a block of land,

construct a building, and organize worship, activities and service!

Now we are not so sure anymore.

Even before the virus crisis, questions arose in our minds.

More so now!

We have learned new ways to be mindful of ourselves as community

than merely through gathering.

We recognize that even as restrictions are lifted,

gathering for worship and other activities will not return

to how they were,

most likely not even if a vaccine

to counter the Corona virus is available.

Social distancing and sanitizing space and people

will be standard expectations.

At the church council we discussed the rather onerous requirements imposed by Government if worship and other activities

were to be permitted! 

Thorough cleaning of floor and all furniture where people sit,

or which may be touched etc. before! and after! each gathering;

one way traffic flow: entering in one door,

moving in one direction to exit via another door

with hand sanitising dispensers at both;

strict 4 square meters per person social distancing space;

singing is a risk, because of the breath expelled!

Specific rules re cleaning etc also apply to using one’s car

to offer people a lift!

Not only that, government advice remains

that vulnerable people, those over 70!

should seriously consider not gathering

in large public space groups at all.

That includes your minister!

The church council will meet again in June

to consider seriously what may be possible

within the new public health regime requirements.

It is worth noting the disciples were instructed to wait…

they were commissioned, but, for the moment, wait!

Wait for the gifted power offered through the Holy Spirit

to enable their global mission.  

This crisis time may well be our period of waiting;

this enforced isolation in which we are learning fresh ways

to open ourselves to God’s word and will for us.

I get the sense that a fair number of people

are rather surprised at the blessings

which have come their way

through taking time at home to engage in worship,

or making the effort to phone others to maintain community.

I suggest we might do well

not to hanker merely for a return to how we worshipped

and fellowshipped before lockdown.

We do well to accept this as a time of waiting,

discerning what might be our future

as the faithful people of God bearing witness to Jesus.

How might we accomplish this in the brave new world waiting for us?

I am convinced the Paraclete, (recall from last week),

the multi-faceted, skilled if you will, guide, advisor, coach, enabler, advocate, companion.. will open up fresh ways,

(fresh in the sense of both new, and also renewed),

to fulfill our commission as witnesses.

Recall that the disciples after being commissioned, waited…

and within that waiting they were filled with great joy

having been blessed by Jesus.

The Ephesians reading has Paul summing up

what makes up our blessings as church,

that community which is Christ’s body here and now,

even as it lives in Christ!

– Enduring hope, unbelievable giftings,

irrepressible energy here and now,

and a future sharing in Christ’s glory in our lives beyond this one! –

Contemplation on these surely ought to elicit great joy

and have us blessing God

even as we wait!

These blessings echo that the ascension is not about Jesus’ absence,

but about his presence in the world in a new way.

Therefore, rather than turning our gaze to heaven

to await Christ’s return,

the questioning earthly minded angels

turn our gaze out into the world.

The Lord is risen and ascended HE IS SO INDEED, HALLELUJAH

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

We Sing: TIS 606 SON OF GOD, ETERNAL SAVIOUR

This music has a modern rhythm,

and contains a fresh verse (the middle one)

with the first and second verse of the TIS hymn

opening and closing this version.

We Bring Our offering to God

setting aside our gifts to support the local and wider work of the church

and bless our gifts …

Prayer of Dedication

O God, we return some of what you have given us in the first place

for your work through the church, locally and beyond here…

what we retain we also commit to your service

through how we live as your people,

acknowledging you as Lord.

We Share Our Community Life 

Let us be mindful again of each other…

Prayers of the People

(The prayer requests which follow are suggested by Synod office)
 

God of creation and sustainer of all of life within it,

who offers us hope

through the resurrected and ascended Jesus,

and the gifted Spirit as surety

for life beyond what we know,

hear us, we ask:

*  we pray for our Ministry Agents and Chaplains

who are ministering within our communities during these uncertain times

*  we pray for UnitingCare and Blue Care

as they minister to those who are reaching out for assistance

and for those with disabilities

and the elderly within their care. 

Grant them the necessary gifts and graces and the wisdom to use them.

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

*  we pray for our Politicians, Health Workers

and those on the front line who are daily stepping up

to care for the community
*  we pray for those in positions

where difficult decisions have to be made –
Grant them an overflow of your compassion with strength and peace.

Lord hear us, LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

*  we pray for those in our communities who are struggling – may we find genuine ways to encourage and uplift them
*  we pray for those in our communities who have lost/reduced their employment.

Grant them hope for a renewal of a productive life,

and all of us the will to share each other’s burdens.

Lord hear us, LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

*We pray for those folk dear to us

who suffer in different ways,

with ill health and debilitating afflictions of body and mind…

• name these aloud or within our minds… –

Grant them your peace

Lord hear us, LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

in the name of the resurrected an ascended Christ

AMEN

WE GO OUT TO SERVE GOD

We Sing: TIS 216 REJOICE THE LORD IS KING

Music provided by guitar and keyboard with singer(s).

Sending Out (Eph 1)

Go as a people:

   always learning more

about the hope to which God has called us,

   always learning more about the unbelievable riches

which are our inheritance as a people called by God,

   always learning more about that unimaginable power of God

which raised Jesus from the dead

and placed him in the heavenly places

above all and superior to all,

now and forever…

Blessing

The ever loving God encompass you,

the ever present ascended Christ be with you,

the ever coaching Spirit be within you

this day and beyond time itself…AMEN

The Lord is risen HE IS RISEN INDEED