Sermon for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, June 1, 2025

Acts 16:16-34+Psalm 97+Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21+John 17:20-26

Well, here we are, back at the Last Supper when Jesus said his final words to his followers before being arrested. Today we hear the last part of what is known as the "High Priestly Prayer," which some scholars believe was inserted between Jesus saying, "Rise, let us be on our way," at the end of chapter 14 (14:31) and the beginning of chapter 18 where it says " After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley to a place where there was a garden" (18:1). If this is the case, the three chapters in between would indicate to us that later, maybe even decades later, those who continued to follow the Way of Jesus had wrestled with what it all meant, perhaps having clearer vision in hindsight about the meaning of the Incarnation, the Crucifixion and Resurrection, and the Ascension and coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

Thursday of this week was the Feast of the Ascension, and in some calendars, today is called the Sunday after the Ascension. (I like to call these ten days between the Ascension and Pentecost "Ascensiontide," but our parish administrator, Dr. Laura Moore, insists that there is no such thing, so, not to end our professional relationship in an argument, I have not called the time we are in "Ascensiontide," but I am thinking it.)  Anyway, for ten days, Jesus' followers weren't quite sure what to do. Their friend, risen from the dead, was really and truly gone. Or was he?

A moment ago, we heard Jesus say, "The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one" (John 17:22), and it seems pretty clear that they had figured out some time later that no, in fact, Jesus was not absent from them.

There is a story told by one of the ancient desert fathers named Abba Sayah, who, so they say, supposedly tells that story as if it had been passed on to him right from the mouths of the apostles. And this is the tale he told:

As the gospels tell us, after forty days of resurrection appearances, Jesus knew it was time to leave his disciples – his mother, his brothers and sisters, all his companions in the Way. It was hard to say goodbye, but he knew that the time had come. After all, he was the Truth and we humans can only take so much of that. 

So, Jesus called them all together on the mountain top and made his farewells. It was a tearful moment. Mary was crying. John was crying. Jesus was crying. Even Peter, the immovable rock, was reaching for his handkerchief. 

They knew that Jesus had said he would always be with them. But they also knew it wasn't going to be the same. There would be no more breakfasts by the seashore, no more late-night discussions around the campfire, no more unexpected jugs of wine…and so they wept.

Jesus was sad too, but he was glad to be returning to his Father, and he knew it was all part of the plan. And so, he began to ascend. 

As Abba Sayah told the story, as Jesus began to rise, slowly and gracefully into the air, John just couldn't bear it. He grabbed hold of Jesus' right leg, and refused to let go.

"John?" said Jesus “What are you doing?”
And John shouted back, 
"If you won't stay with us, then I'm coming too." 

Jesus calmly continued to rise, hoping that John would let go. But he didn’t. And then, to make matters worse, Mary suddenly jumped up and grabbed hold of Jesus' other leg. 
"I'm coming too," she shouted. 

By now, Jesus’ big exit had obviously been ruined, but he looked up into heaven, and called out: 

"Okay, Father... what do I do now?" And a voice came out of the clouds, deep and loud like the rumbling of thunder in the distance. 

"Ascend!" the voice said.
"Ascend?" Jesus asked
"Ascend!" the voice replied.

So Jesus continued to rise through the air, with John and Mary holding on until they too were lifted off the ground. 

But the other disciples couldn’t bear to be left behind either, so they too jumped on board…and within moments there was this pyramid of people hanging in the middle of the sky. Jesus at the top. John and Mary next. The apostles hanging on below. Quite a sight, if anyone had been watching.…

And then - what was this? Suddenly all kinds of people were appearing out of nowhere…friends and neighbors from around Galilee, people who’d heard Jesus’ stories, people whom he had healed, people who just knew that he was something special…

Young and old, men, women, children, Jews and Gentiles…a huge crowd – and they too refused to be left behind…So, they made a grab for the last pair of ankles and hung on for dear life. One way and another there was quite a kerfuffle -people squealing “Wait for me” -then startled yelps as they felt themselves seized by the ankle -and above it all the voice of God calling out, “Ascend!" 

But all of a sudden, from the bottom of the pyramid, there came the piping voice of a small child. 

"Wait!” he shrilled, “I've lost my dog! Wait for me” 
"I can't wait," Jesus called back, "I don't know how this thing works."
But the little boy wasn't going to be left behind, and he was determined his dog was coming with him. So, still holding on with one hand, he grabbed hold of a tree with the other and held on with all his might. 

For a moment, the whole pyramid stopped dead in the air - Jesus pulling upwards, and the little boy holding on to the tree, scanning the horizon for his lost dog. But Jesus couldn't stop. The ascension had begun, and God was pulling him back up to heaven. 

At first it looked as if the tree would uproot itself. But then the tree held on, and it started to pull the ground up with it. Sort of like when you pull a rug up in the middle, the soil itself started moving up into the sky. And hundreds of miles away, where the soil met the oceans, the oceans held on. And where the oceans met the shores, the shores held on. All of it held on, like there was no tomorrow. 

To cut a short story long: Jesus DID ascend to heaven, He went back to his natural habitat, living permanently in the presence of God’s endless love and care and wholeness and laughter. 

But, as Abba Sayah tells it, he pulled all of creation – the whole kit and caboodle – everything that ever was or is or ever will be – he pulled it all up into heaven with him.[1] 

 If all creation was pulled up into heaven, that must mean that reign of God is truly here, now, in this place.

In a few minutes, we’ll gather at this table which we call a foretaste of that heavenly banquet, and if Abba Sayah and the others are to be believed, the ascension of Christ means that we already dwell in the presence of God. It means that the work of the resurrection continues until everyone knows that all of creation has been pulled up into heaven, that this is where God dwells. Jesus came down from heaven, was born as one of us, and in rising to heaven again, invites us into the divine dance of love and reconciliation, here and now. We continue that work in the world, praying that it will finally be “on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Book of Revelation ends with these words:

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come."
And let everyone who hears say, "Come."
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. (Rev. 22:17)

My friends, come. Taste and see how good is this God who sent Jesus to be one of us, to remind us who we are, and to show us the way home, to be with him not in some far-off heaven, but to bring that very heaven to earth.

[1] http://goodinparts.blogspot.com/2008/05/once-upon-time.html