Ascension 2009
The Sermon Notes of Father S. Peter Donatelli
(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)
JOKE:
It was the last day of kindergarten and the students decided that they would each buy their teacher a gift. The first student, whose parents own a florist shop, gave her a present. She held it and said “I guess that it is flowers”. “How did you guess?” asked the little boy. She laughed and thanked him. The second student, whose parents own a candy store, gave her a present. She held it and said, “I guess that is some candy.” “How did you guess?” asked the little boy. She again laughed and thanked him also. The third student, whose parents own a liquor store, gave her a box which was leaking. The teacher touched the liquid with her finger and tasted it. “Yummy is it wine?” she asked. “No,” said the little girl. So she tasted it again. “Is it champagne?” she asked. “No,” replied the little girl, “It’s a puppy.”
INTRO:
I remember dropping Cassandra off at Holy Cross School her kindergarten year; when she actually liked to wear dresses. Now she is off to college where jeans, sweats, and pajamas will pretty much take her through the week. What does graduation have to do with the Ascension of our Lord? In some ways the Ascension is the Feast of us followers graduating from Christian School to go out into the world and teach all nations the love and the sacrifice and the discipline of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So this morning I want us to think in terms of the three R’s of being a Godly disciple; remember, receive, and relate. In some ways each reading has all three actions but let us take a look at Gospel first.
POINT ONE:
Our faith requires us to remember everything we learn. I do not want to necessarily get into where we learn our faith. We should not be struggling with the facts of our faith that Scripture has everything necessary for salvation, the Church has passed down the unchanged Canons of our Tradition for two thousand years, and the Holy Spirit still moves in us today as we touch, heal, and speak into the lives of all people. In today’s Gospel we see how Jesus gives his friends (reread last week’s sermon) some comfort and some instruction as He returns to His rightful place on His throne in Heaven. Mark 16: 14Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
By definition remembering requires us to bring to mind or think of again which justifies why Jesus rebukes His disciples. After all that was Jesus’ entire message for three years; the Son of Man must be handed over, be crucified, and rise from the dead. When all this happened and some of the disciples even saw Him after the crucifixion, the others still did not believe. Yes, Jesus had a right to be pissed off. The intimacy of this conversation proves beyond doubt that the New Testament is not only true but accurate. Amazingly liberal scholars like to point out the chronology of this account however we know that this Gospel was written ten to twenty years after Jesus died. Peter recounts this story to the best of his remembrance but in an age where TV and computers and printing presses did not exist, oral tradition was very accurate. Combine this with the fact that Jesus and Peter were and still are close friends; this historical account is more accurate than any ancient writing. If we were to examine the dating of Plato and Aristotle’s writings, the gap between the original autographs and subsequent copies is 1000 years. There is an interesting phenomenon about this. Most liberal scholars would not argue over the accuracy or content of these ancient classical works, but their perspective in regards to the New Testament is quite different. They are quick to find fault and criticize the NT more easily than they are to support it. If they were to suspend their tainted views and examine this objectively, they would realize that this is nothing but the result of bias attitudes towards the Bible. The fact is that our truth is not only based on truth but truth is absolutely a necessary and logical consequence coming from God who by definition cannot manifest anything but truth. Finally, how dare anybody question the relationship remembrance of billions of people? Remember what I said last week that the friendships of our faith are love relationships and the Eucharistic celebration that remembers the sacrifice of our friend Jesus Christ is a love feast which is remembered a billion times more than any other historical, factual event.
POINT TWO:
Therefore we must receive the truths that our faith has to offer. The people of Ephesus knew this as they consistently received the Bishops that the Church gave them. [According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Ephesus owed its chief renown to its temple of Artemis (Diana), which attracted multitudes of visitors. This building, which was looked upon in antiquity as one of the marvels of the world, was burnt by Herostratus (356 B.C.) the night of the birth of Alexander the Great, and was afterwards rebuilt, almost in the same proportions, by the architect Dinocrates. Its construction is said to have lasted 120 years, according to some historians 220. It was over 400 feet in length and 200 in breadth, and rested upon 128 pillars of about sixty feet in height. It was stripped of itsriches by Nero and was finally destroyed by the Goths (A.D. 262). It was through the Jews that Christianity was first introduced into Ephesus. The original community was under the leadership of Apollo. They were disciples of St. John the Baptist, and were converted by Aquila and Priscilla. Then came St. Paul, who lived three years at Ephesus to establish and organize the new church; he was wont to teach in the schola or lecture-hall of the rhetorician Tyrannus and performed there many miracles. Eventually he was obliged to depart, in consequence of a sedition stirred up by the goldsmith Demetrius and other makers of ex-devotees for the temple of Diana. A little later, on his way to Jerusalem, he sent for the elders of the community of Ephesus to come to Miletus and bade them there a touching farewell. The Church of Ephesus was committed to his disciple, St. Timothy, a native of the city.] Subsequently Muslims came into Ephesus and what was once a thriving seaport, a city known for her riches, a city known for her relationship with Jesus Christ, now is fairly desolate. I wonder if a country’s failure to remember the greatest Love of becomes a sterile country. Let us recall Paul’s admonition. Ephesians 1: 15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
POINT THREE:
As we conclude graduation day, we are reminded of our three R’s, remember, receive, and relate. Today we celebrate the Ascension as a springboard for next week’s celebration of Pentecost where our focus becomes how we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to relate our faith to others. However, let us not jump the gun. Even as the disciples of the faith see the miracle it takes the angels to smack them upside the head. Acts 1: 1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
First, let me remind you again that Jesus can fly and that is so cool. Secondly, let me remind you that we cannot sit here on earth staring into Heaven and wonder what’s going on. Remember what the angel said, “why are you standing around? Get up! Do something!” The great sixteenth century reformer, Martin Luther, had to make a choice when it came down to relating his faith. He saw the abuses on the sale of indulgences, extracurricular activities between priests and women, and the financial excesses of the Roman church. He had to ask himself, “Well are you going to do nothing or do something about it?” When he posted his 95 thesis on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, he placed himself in a position where he understood the consequences may be grave and he said, “Here I stand, God help me.” Subsequently after much debate the leaders of the day tried to kill him. He survived and began the Reformation movement. Now, allow me to emphasize, no Christian nor does Luther himself want division. However as we relate our faith to others we must understand the consequences can be either extremely pleasant or downright hostile. But when it comes to our Kingdom covenant, when it comes to the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ, when it comes to our eternal salvation, it is worth sharing our faith with people we love.
CONCLUSION:
Praise God folks, we have graduated! We know our faith, we have a relationship with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we love His Bride, our Mother on earth, the Church and we are ready for the three R’s, remembering, receiving, and relating the faith to all the ends of the earth. Next week we get our super powers…
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