Thursday was
Ascension Day. Ascension Day marks an end and a beginning. It marks the end of
Jesus’ earthly ministry, and the beginning of his heavenly one of interceding
for us at the right hand of the Father. And yet even in the end, there is
continuity: because Jesus ascends, not as a soul set free from the body, but in
the flesh, as a physical being. That is mystery: we cannot know how it is
possible, but believe it to be so, and so believing we know that our bodies
matter very deeply to God. So, an end; and a beginning. And yet ‘In the
beginning,’ there is a waiting to see what is to happen when the Spirit comes –
which takes us right back to the very first verses of our Scriptures. There is
a prayerful expectant waiting between Ascension and Pentecost.
And that is
where we are. And we are at our own ending and beginning. This is the last
time, for the foreseeable future at least, when we shall meet at 8 o’clock on a
Sunday morning at the Minster to hold a service of Holy Communion as set out in
the Book of Common Prayer. But it is not the last time that we shall meet
together to do so. Unlike being put out of the synagogue, which refers to
building and community, we are leaving the building but not the church: for the
church is, wherever the church meets.
Indeed, we are going back to the beginning, when the church met in one another’s
homes to break bread and drink wine in remembrance of Jesus our Lord and
Saviour.
In the world
around us there is a steady stream of endings and beginnings. On the global
stage, we are coming to the end of an American presidency, and wait to see who
will take up that mantle. In politics in particular one has the sense that an
end is always waiting to happen – who will stab whom in the back? – and often potential outcomes are portrayed as
being The End Of The World – staying in the EU or leaving are both warned
against in terms of Doom.
In a very
immediate sense, the end of something is at hand. And this may be a reminder to
us that the end of all things is at
hand. That end is not to be lamented,
but longed for; and so perhaps all endings along the way might be to us a renewal of our hope. Nonetheless,
Peter’s instructions are particularly fitting as we stand in that point between
what has been and what is to come.
First, Peter
says, ‘be ye therefore sober.’ That is, have a measured judgement. The
unfolding of history around us is so often portrayed as either the thin end of
a terrible wedge, or as the vanguard of a wonderful new dawn. Viewed soberly,
events in the world are the ever-changing context in which we are called to be
the church, called to be faithful to our Lord and Saviour. In recent days I
have read some insightful articles on the rise of tyrants within late-stage
democracies; and I have read a great deal of scaremongering; and my reading and
my response to what I read needs to be informed by Peter’s wise caution: ‘be ye
therefore sober…
‘and watch
unto prayer.’ If we are to understand the
times in which we live, we must also pray
the times in which we live, asking God to shape us for those times, to
shape us to be his in those times.
Pray for
those who have been elected to political office, for those who stepped forward
but were not chosen, and for those who have been deposed from their seat. Pray
for our sisters and brothers, in this city and this nation and throughout the
world, that we might love our neighbour in the power of the Holy Spirit and bear
witness to the Son who sent the Comforter into the world and the Father from
whom the Spirit of truth proceeds.
‘And above
all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the
multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every
man hath received the gift, even so minister
the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.’
Understanding
the times in which we live. Praying the times in which we live. And with
prayerful understanding, acting as
God’s representatives in the times in
which we live. Seeing one another as those who are exposed by sin in a
multitude of ways and are therefore in need of the covering of love. Offering
hospitality, within which healing of the soul takes place. Serving one another
with the resources of heaven, entrusted to us, through words that strengthen
weary hearts and minds, and actions that bless weary bodies.
These things
are counter-cultural, in every age. We can live this way only empowered by the
Comforter. Therefore, let us spend these days between Ascension Day and
Pentecost praying earnestly for the gift of the Holy Spirit to be poured out on
our lives afresh, and continually. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment