Jesus Christ Risen and Ascended… What is Next for us in the Church?
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Alleluia, Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
We have officially made it to the last Sunday in Easter! Not only did Jesus Christ become Incarnate for us, He taught us to love through His example in His earthly ministry, He died for us, He rose for us, He ascended for us, and now… well, what now? What is there after our Easter season? What is the next step for Christians?
In a way, we do celebrate a mini-Easter every Sunday, so even though it may not officially be Eastertide for much longer, we will continue to celebrate this season in our hearts throughout the year. And we should! We have been given a gift in Holy Communion that bestows a blessing upon us when we partake. We are drawing closer to God and experiencing His Real Presence in the Eucharist.
But now that the official Easter season is drawing to a close, what do we do now? What is our focus? After all, we have been either in Easter or preparing for Easter since the last day of January this year.
Well, for an idea on this, let’s look to the Word of God. Reading the Bible is more than learning about God and His people; it is a guide to how we should interact with each other – and with God – in love. We need to be using the examples we see and seeking to bring the goodness of God’s love to life here in Dothan.
Now, the question that comes up during this time, is what did the disciples do during this brief interlude between Jesus ascending on high and the coming of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which we celebrate next Sunday? It is clear that there were no public forums, no great sermons or oratories. So what were the Apostles and friends doing during this time? Were they hiding and afraid, like after the Crucifixion? Or was there more going on?
This period of time – 10 days – is not discussed much in the Bible, but one can make an educated guess that these early Christians had been changed by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just as we all celebrate Easter and are filled with hope at what we know the Resurrection means, these early followers also knew that their lives would never be the same. Jesus was alive and so was their hope in Messiah! Everything now made more sense and the 40 day ministry of the risen Christ here on earth was a glorious reminder of all of God’s promises and evidence that what Jesus Christ said was true. My guess is that the Apostles were praying fervently for the coming of the Holy Spirit. They also could have been reading the Scriptures, looking at prophecies that Jesus Christ had fulfilled. These disciples were filled with joy and hope, waiting for God the Spirit to indwell them. Things had to seem so different after the Ascension when compared with the aftermath of Good Friday.
However, even with this joy and hope being fulfilled in the Resurrection, Christ-followers still need God to lead and guide them. The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was necessary for the Church to continue during these turbulent and treacherous early times. And times have not changed. We still need the Holy Spirit to guide us. And when we call on the Lord in prayer, we will be given God’s strength and guidance when we wait upon His Will and timing.
This is an important point. Even though we do have the indwelling Holy Spirit as believers, we still need to wait on the Lord’s timing, making sure that we are preparing ourselves for what comes next in the work of our local congregation and for the larger One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
As St. Peter waited for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he probably did not realize the stage which he would have on Pentecost in a few short days, but when the time came, God used him effectively. Why? Because he had most likely learned from Jesus that in times of waiting, one should be following St. Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray without ceasing.” This is such good advice to follow before beginning any ministry opportunity or outreach that comes our way.
But what if the response to our witness of Christ is negative? Our Gospel text for today discusses this. We begin in the middle of Jesus’ comments about the world hating those who follow Him. In John 15:18, Jesus states that “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” We would be loved and accepted if we are of the world, but since we are called to more as Christ-like ones, we will be persecuted like Christ was (ref. John 15:20). Jesus goes on to say that “they have no excuse for their sin” because Jesus has proclaimed the Truth (ref. John 15:22). And He adds that those who hate Christ and do not follow Him, also hate the Father and cannot follow God, as Father and Son are our one God.
And then we get to the text for today about the Third Person of the Trinity: God the Spirit. We are told that “when the Counselor comes, whom I [Jesus] shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of me” (John 15:26). This verse does an awful lot as we break it down. First of all, it shows us the importance of the Ascension. Jesus Christ will send the Spirit from the Father, meaning that after Christ leaves, He will send the Comforter to His people. And, for the scholars out there who like to go really deep, this also is a verse that acts as a proof against the “filioque” [fill-ee-oh-quay] clause addition of the Nicene Creed; Jesus does say that the Spirit proceeds from the Father in verse 26 of John 15.
However, the main point is that we are not left defenseless against the hatred of the world. The world is opposed to the Truth and therefore if we believe and show Christ-like character, we will be hated as well. But we have God the Spirit helping and guiding us in our defense of Christianity and what we know is true.
And then one of the more compassionate moments in Scripture happens. One can see Jesus looking lovingly at His followers as He tells them of the Spirit’s arrival after His Ascension to keep them from falling away (ref. John 16:1). The Apostles, disciples of old, and those of us today who continue in the Truth will be ostracized and face atrocities – even unto death – because of what we believe. And the supreme irony is that those who are persecuting us will think that they are doing so in service to God, just like Saul before he became St. Paul (ref. John 16:2). When one feels that being the worldly version of “good” – which we all know just means not doing truly heinous acts – is good enough to know how things should be, this is when society falls apart. Humanity cannot be its own god and produce goodness. This can only happen successfully when being led by God. Those who claim to do what is right or good apart from God do not know God and what they do is worthless.
Isaiah put it this way: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (chapter 64, v. 6).
We can only do good in Christ; everything else is useless and vanity. Ask Solomon. Remember how he said, “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit” (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
Then, continuing in our Gospel text, Christ furthers His thought about not leaving His followers alone after He ascends. Jesus says, “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the Truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). And then, later in the chapter, Jesus adds that when we are in Him, we can have peace. And the chapter ends with the wonderful words “be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).
There is nothing that God cannot do. And the more we rely on the Spirit and His work within us, the more we will feel the love of God and the peace that comes with knowing that our God has overcome everything that can possibly threaten us or hurt us.
Our epistle today discusses that “the end of all things is at hand” and “therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7). 2021 is a longtime since the beginning of the “end of all things,” but St. Peter’s point is valid: we are in the home stretch. Since the Ascension of Christ, the Church – through the guidance of the Holy Ghost – is preparing for the reconciliation of God with His people. This is why Christ Jesus repeatedly told the disciples to “watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” in which He will return (ref. Matthew 25:13).
And the way we watch… or keep our lamp’s burning in anticipation of the master’s arrival (ref. Luke 12:35)? We do as Jesus did. We pray as often as possible. We come to church to fellowship, to learn, and to grow. We help each other through prayer and good works. We find an avenue to show God’s love to those around us… whether this is a phone call, a card, or letting someone know you are praying for them. If you are going to miss church, let me know so I can be praying for you while you are away. The more we think of each other as family, the more we will be doing “church” correctly – attempting to show each other the love that God has shown us.
St. Peter exhorts us to “practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another” (chapter 4, v. 9). This means from a place of love we are supposed to do life with one another… not just see each other Sunday morning. To be good stewards – as St. Peter suggests – we have to work at it. We have to do more than what we are doing now. Don’t raise your hands, but I bet most of us – if we were being honest with ourselves – could do one more act of love this next week than we have done this last one. Even if it was just a friendly call to someone who has not been to church in a while – and all it took was five minutes – this would be a great opportunity to further your own spiritual growth and help someone else.
And as our collects for today both point out, may we worship and praise our Triune God, the Father for exalting the Son – God Incarnate – and for the Son’s ministry, and for the sending of the Comforter, the Holy Ghost. May we continue daily to seek to understand the Faith more, and rely on the love that God has shown us through His loving actions made manifest through the events we remember and celebrate this time of year!
Now “may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Amen. [2 Corinthians 13:14]