SERMON: ON THE ASCENSION OF JESUS

The Ascension of Jesus caps the end of a roller coaster ride for the
disciples.

They went from humble fisherman, to friends and followers of the
Messiah.

Then when He went to the cross, they too faced persecution and fear, not
knowing what was next.

And then, in the midst of their terror, Jesus does the unthinkable and
returns from the dead... only to say goodbye once again, as he
disappears into the heavens, leaving them speechless, staring at the
sky.

We too know what its like to have the rug pulled from under us, for
things to suddenly change in the blink of an eye.

A friend came to me the other day, eyes filled with tears saying she
went to the doctor just for an routine exam and they found 'a lump'...

I work with soldiers and sailors still young and strong, but who never
would have guessed that PTSD would be ravaging their careers, their
marriages, their lives....

Or that family near Montreal, who one minute are cheering for the Habs
in their living room, and the next minute they're all dead, house swept
away in a landslide...

As much as we try to fight uncertainty through insurance policies, house
alarms, healthy eating and exercise, visits to the doctor; the fact
remains we're all so vulnerable to forces outside our control. That's
just the nature of reality.

People who are critical of faith often say that religion is just a
crutch, a coping mechanism or a security blanket to protect us from the
chaos of life.

But that couldn't be more false. We don't approach God like a magic
lantern, whom we rub to receive wishes. The cross is not an amulet, a
lucky charm to protect us against misfortune.

In fact, as Christians we accept that sometimes we MUST bear our cross, and that the challenges of life can build us up spiritually.

But to make it even more confusing, sometimes we may not even know that
our blessings can come in the form of misfortune.

A story that I love that illustrates this involves a farmer who had a
fine stallion that one day escaped and ran off. The farmer's neighbours
commiserated with him. "What bad luck you have," they said sadly. But
the farmer responded, "Who really knows? It could be bad. But it could
also be good."

Sure enough, the very next day, the stallion returned followed by twelve
wild and healthy young steeds. "How fortunate you are!" exclaimed the
neighbours. "Who knows," countered the farmer to his neighbours'
surprise, "if it is good fortune or not?"

Not long after, the farmer's strapping son attempted to break one of the
wild horses when he tumbled and shattered his leg. "How unlucky you
are!" exclaimed the neighbours. The farmer shrugged his shoulders and
asked again, "Who knows if it is bad luck or good?"

Later, the king's soldiers arrived, recruiting young men for battle and
war in far-off lands, but they quickly passed over the farmer's son with
the bad leg. "How very lucky you are," said the amazed neighbors as the
old man muttered once again, "Who knows? Maybe it is good, maybe it is
bad."

Good or bad? Who can say?

So given all of this, how do we orient ourselves spiritually? How do we
approach God?

Do we pray for a perfect life, that no harm will come our way, or to our
loved ones? Or perhaps we should pray that bad stuff happens to us, but
only bad stuff that we can learn a lesson from?

To help us with this question, let's turn to Paul. In his Letter to the
Hebrews, he writes;

"...since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach
with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled
clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let
us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who
made the promise is trustworthy" (Heb 10:19-23)

Paul's underlying point is this; that no matter what life may throw our
way, be it good or bad, that we may be spiritually prepared by trusting
in God and approaching Him with a clean heart.

I'm not saying to stop praying for our daily bread and for deliverance
from evil; I'm saying to balance our intentions by also asking, Have we
been honest with God about ourselves? Do we find ways to justify things
we do when we should really be asking for forgiveness? Do we treat God
like Santa Clause, asking for all kinds of things when we should really be
asking for help to be more loving, more giving, or more patient?

And finally, though life is filled with ups and downs, do we trust the words the Angels said to the disciples? "Men of Galilee, why do you stand there looking at the sky? Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will return the same way as you have seen him going into heaven."

So let us pray that God may renew and strengthen our faith, that the drama of our lives--with all its joy and sorrow--unfolds within the arms of our loving Creator, who in the end will mend every wound, right every wrong, and wipe away every tear.