Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year B

Between Loss and Promise

Readings: Acts 1:15-17; Psalm 1; 1 John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19

I find as I prepare for preaching on this last Sunday of Easter that there is a piece missing. That is because most of us missed out on a feast day that fills in the gaps. Last Thursday was the Ascension of Our Lord. It is forty days after Easter, so it always lands on a Thursday. It is an important preparation for Pentecost. Fortunately the themes connect to this Sunday between Ascension Day and Pentecost.

When I was growing up, I went to a Private Girls' School run by a religious order. We had some unusual holidays. Ascension Day was one of the more memorable ones. We began the day by trekking down to the local church affectionately known as “Smokey Tom’s” for Eucharist, and then we piled on buses, and the whole school went to Toronto Island for a picnic. It was a day of celebration and fun. It marked the beginning of the end of the school year. We ate and played and raced and generally had a good time.

I have to say that it influenced my thoughts greatly. Indeed it still comes as a surprise to me to discover that the Ascension and the Sunday that follows is not about a picnic. Indeed, it is anything but a picnic.

During this Easter season, we have been discovering that Jesus in his full humanity has been given new life in the resurrection. The Ascension, as he withdraws from his disciples, as he is carried from them into heaven, marks the end of Jesus' time on earth. Like the other post Easter experiences, it is clearly an encounter with the risen Lord. Jesus has appeared to the disciples bringing peace into their midst. Then he commissions them, as witnesses of the resurrection, to continue his proclamation. It becomes their responsibility to carry on the work that Jesus began. "Jesus lives! Jesus reigns! Jesus has left his disciples holding the bag!"

I can well imagine what it must have been like for them to discover that the risen Lord was not going to stay with them. Their sense of loss must have been profound. They must have felt that they were being left on their own. But it truly is not the end of the story; it is only the beginning. Jesus and the disciples are entering into a new relationship. What Jesus began in his earthly ministry he now expects the disciples to continue. But fortunately for all of us, we do not have to do it alone.

“I am risen. I am still with you.” That is the message to the disciples. It is clearly the message to each one of us on this Sunday between loss and promise.

All of the readings are about that sense of loss and promise. In the account from the Acts of the Apostles Peter faces a difficult task. Judas, the betrayer, is to be replaced. The community has been fractured by the betrayal. But the time has come for them to make a choice that will help them to move on. They pray, they cast lots, and God shows them that Matthias is the one who is to continue the God’s work. It is a wonderful reminder that Jesus is the Lord of our failures as well as our successes.

Are there similar situations in the life of a congregation? There are always things that fracture a community. They are not as shattering as Judas’ betrayal, but they are difficult to deal with just the same. Life is full of losses. We learn early in life to mourn our losses – loss of innocence, loss of friendship, loss of status, and the loss that comes with death. This is a community in transition. Transition periods are difficult. They are times of loss, of change, and we do resist change. As a priest retires and Interim clergy come and go, and as you await the appointment of permanent leadership it can be a difficult time in congregational life. The sense of loss can be profound.

And yet John’s letter attests to the faithfulness of God at such times in our lives. He reminds the community that their daily experience is a testimony to their faith. That is an important learning for us. During times of loss how do we sense God’s presence with us? When have we been empowered to overcome some terrible situation in our lives, or to respond to something which seemed beyond our capabilities? When has the ordinary been transformed for you or for me or for this congregation? The signs of resurrection in our lives bear rich testimony. They make our lives full and rich with meaning. Our lives are different because Jesus lives in us. And if our lives are not different, then we need to ask ourselves if we are really know Jesus.

And finally there is the heartfelt prayer of Jesus as he prepares to take leave of the disciples. It is a wonderful prayer, particularly when you consider that it is the prayer of a person who knows that death is imminent. He is thinking of those he is about to leave behind. He is praying for them, and he is praying for the world and the state it is in. Is he thinking about structures of racism, competition, exploitation, violence, discrimination, greed, neglect? Is he praying for the poor, the wretched, the leper, the orphan, the spiritually impoverished? He is certainly praying for his followers, for those who dream his dream, for those who put everything on the line to enhance the coming of the kingdom.

Are we in his prayer? Do we pray his prayer, for this could well be our prayer in a fragmented and argumentative age? We need to be reminded that what we do as a worshipping community we do in Jesus’ name. Sometimes truly it is easier to have faith in God without seeking commitment to the church. Churches can be fractured places. In this church this morning there are many different ideas about how to do things and about who should be doing the doing. There are no doubt opposite hopes and plans. But I hope and pray that there is unity in agreeing that it will be accomplished in carrying out our Lord’s will.
Our work as a congregation during the time of transition is to come together in prayer. It is to ask for grace to deal with one day at a time. We pray to be able to offer our struggle and pain and anxiety to a loving God. The prayer of Jesus gives such a sense of mutual belonging and caring for each other. It is something that we need to experience as a congregation. How can we strengthen that understanding of ourselves as church? What are the values of the faith community that we show to the world? How do we discover in this time between loss and promise that we are not alone after all?

“I am risen! I am ascended! I am glorified! I am still with you!” That is the message to the disciples. It continues to be the message to the church today. We still encounter the risen Lord. Yet it is a mystery which, not surprisingly eludes our grasp. Our encounter is rather like trying to view a beautiful painting through the slats of a venetian blind. We can see the image, but not clearly enough to understand its beauty and perfection. We get flashes of insight, but to fully appreciate its beauty we must view it under the proper conditions. Our view must be unobstructed. There must be proper lighting.

When we are encountered by the risen Lord, we do, for a moment fully comprehend. But we find it impossible to hold on to the image. Yet if we have eyes to see the mystery of the resurrection we will glimpse it all around us. We will see it in nature; the smell of the rain, the wildness of a thunderstorm, the beauty of a flower unfolding, the sight of a starry sky. We will dream it; the kind of dream you wake up out of without quite remembering what it was about, and yet you feel better for having dreamed it. We will experience it through the liturgy as we break bread together, as we sing hymns of praise, as we pray. We will experience it through the world of books. We will experience it through other people. By God’s grace we will know the resurrected Christ at work in our lives.

Living between loss and promise is no picnic. We may be left holding the bag, but we are far from alone. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to help the disciples, to guide them, to keep them, to protect them. That promise is there for us as well. May we live by that same life giving Spirit!