Today is the Sunday after the Ascension. According to the Book of the Acts of the Apostles Jesus was “lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” The wonderful graphic on the cover of the worship booklet shows the disciples all looking up at the feet of Jesus as he goes to heaven to sit at the right hand of God. This is one piece of high Christology … Jesus was born of a virgin … impregnated by the Holy Spirit. He lived his life among humans as a divine being. He was crucified, resurrected by the power of God, and then ascended to heaven. Jesus came from God and he returned to God.
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Have you ever noticed that the front doors to this church are painted red? We are not the only church with red doors … many Episcopal churches … as well as Lutheran, Methodist and other churches … paint their doors red. Have you ever wondered why?
Happy Mothers’ Day! I wish many blessings for all the mothers here this morning and hope that you have a wonderful and special day. I learned a long time ago that preaching about Mother’s Day is fraught with landmines, so this morning I’m going to stick with the lectionary readings.
So, is it true that the only way “to the Father” ... to God … to the divine presence of the sacred … is by being a Christian? Does that mean that other people in the world around us who happen to worship God in a different way, and call God by a different name … or maybe don’t even believe in God … are denied access to a divine presence? In our Gospel reading from John this morning we hear those well-known words: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." But we also hear “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” We are in the season of Easter … the season of Resurrection … of new life given us by God. I believe that there is new life available for each of us, for this congregation, for this community, and for the entire world. The reality of the Resurrection … this “newness” … can be witnessed every single day. God takes what is broken, discarded, given up for loss, and left without hope, and God raises it up, proclaims its divine value, and gives it once more to us to be treasured. Over and over, God does this with our households and our families, our congregations and communities, with those whom we love and those whom we despise, with those who care for us and those who would cause us harm. And God does this with the Church as a whole, and even with congregations such as St. Cyprian’s, and communities like St. Augustine. God yearns to do it with all of us in every aspect of our lives. God takes what is broken in our lives … relationships … our self-worth … our sense of purpose … and God raises it up, transforms it, proclaims its divine value in our lives, and gives it new life. God is calling us and leading us into “newness” … into new life. That is the unimaginable depth of God's love. This is what Jesus was talking about when he said “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
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October 2024
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