Ascension - a homily drawing on Ed Moll's book

 Look away now if you are coming to church this evening! 

Reading: Acts 1:1-11 (page 1092)

Gospel reading: Luke 24:44-end (page 1062)

 

What new thing to say about the ascension?

 

Well, I’m not sure I have anything new to say.

And I’m not sure that a novel take on the ascension is our greatest need.

 

But I have read a new book on the ascension.

It’s by Ed Moll, a Vicar from Somerset, and published by the Latimer Trust this February.

And I recommend it to you.

It’s only 100 pages long, so it need not take you forever to read.

 

The full title is: The Ascension of Christ – Pioneer, Priest and King

 

You may know that it is traditional to think of Jesus as our prophet, priest and king.

But Moll says pioneer, priest and king.

 

Jesus is our pioneer in the sense that he has gone before us and made a way for us.

Jesus the God-Man has pioneered the way to heaven for us.

We are in Christ by faith, and where he is, we also are and shall be.

Jesus is the head of his body the church, and Jesus the head is enthroned in heaven.

Where the head goes, the body follows!  

So in a sense we are in Christ and already seated with him in the heavenly places.

But also, of course, we are still here on earth in Dallington.

Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension show us where we are going, our destiny, our destination, our future.

Where Jesus is, all Jesus’ members – all the parts of his body - , all his people, will one day be.

Jesus shares his victory with us and brings us along with him.

 

We’ll say more about Jesus and our priest and king in a moment, but Jesus offers himself as the ultimate sacrifice and ascends to heaven as our priest, our mediator and go between with God, representing us to God and God to us, pleading his sacrifice for us he ever lives to make intercession for us in the heavenly temple throne room.

 

And the ascension is the enthronement of the incarnate Christ as the world’s true and conquering King.

 

Moll summarises the teaching of the New Testament about the ascension in ten points.

And it’s fun for me to preach a ten-point sermon, however briefly.

I have to get my enjoyment where I can!

So let me tell you those ten points.

I’ve adapted them a little bit.

(see pp49-51)

 

We’ll do them quite quickly so nudge your neighbour if he or she is having a doze.

I’ve blogged them in case you want to read them again later.

 

(1) In addition to the narratives of the ascension in Acts 1 and Luke 24, which we had read, the New Testament has much to say about the ascension.

It is a major doctrine.

 

(2) The ascension marks Jesus’ departure from earth to heaven.

It isn’t his retirement, nor is it simply a return to the way things were before Jesus came to earth.

The ascension is a new phase of the life and ministry of the God-Man.

 

(3) Jesus ascends to heaven and is installed as king, victorious over his enemies.

He receives all authority and power and gives gifts to his people, not least his Holy Spirit, empowering us to proclaim his triumph and kingdom.

 

(4) Although Jesus is bodily absent from us, Jesus’ ascension should be a cause of joy to us.

 

(5) Jesus ascends to the Father to be our advocate in heaven.

And he sends the Holy Spirit from the Father to be our advocate on earth.

The ascension means we have Jesus our advocate in heaven and the Holy Spirit our advocate with us on earth.

All these things are connected: incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, the gift of the Spirit, the mission of the church – and more.

 

(6) Jesus’ ascension and gift of the Spirit enable Jesus’ followers to do even greater things than Jesus did in his brief earthly ministry, particularly in taking the good news beyond Israel to all the nations and establishing an international church with millions of members.

 

(7) The book of Acts describes the ongoing work of the ascended Jesus on earth by his Spirit through his church.  

Acts is still the Acts of the ascended Jesus.

 

(8) The ascended Jesus ministers for us as our priest in the heavenly tabernacle, giving us confidence before God.

 

(9) Jesus ascended as man, completing the destiny of human beings and guaranteeing our New Creation.

 

(10) We are in Jesus, seated with him in heaven, and so we share his victory.

We should lift up our hearts to enjoy our heavenly participation with the ascended Christ.

 

There’s much more in this book which is well worth reading.

Moll tells us what the C of E has to say about the ascension.

And he explores the connections of the ascension with some other doctrines, but I’ll let you follow those things up yourself if you want to.

Let me finish by mentioning three areas of application which Moll gives.

What difference might the ascension make to us?

 

Moll invites us to think about the implications of the ascension for worship, prayer and mission.

I’ll just say something about those three things and the ascension very briefly.

 

(Below, see pp78ff)

 

(1) Worship

 

We rejoice to worship the ascended Christ.

As our great high priest, he leads our worship, which is really not just here in the church building but in the throne room of heaven, not in an earthly temple.

We don’t have to go off to Jerusalem to worship God but we lift up our hearts to heaven in worship.

When we come to the Lord’s Supper, Jesus is not on the table but we are joined to him in heaven by the Spirit and we feed on him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

 

(2) Prayer

 

Jesus our great high priest gives us assurance that we are loved, forgiven, accepted and heard.

The ascended Christ ushers us with our requests into the very throne room of heaven, and brings us with our needs to the Father.

So let us pray with confidence.

 

(3) Mission

 

And let us share Jesus with joy and confidence.

We have such good news of Jesus the risen king, our pioneer and priest.

He authorises and sends us and he continues to rule his mission.

So let us go, empowered by Jesus’ Spirit, speaking his words.

 

As the Church of England’s Thirty-Nine Articles say:

 

Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his body, with flesh, bones, and all things pertaining to the perfection of man’s nature, and with it he ascended into heaven, and there sits, until his return to judge all people at the last day.

 

(IV – adapted)

 

And so in the words of the Litany, we are bold to pray:

 

By your cross and passion,

by your precious death and burial,

by your glorious resurrection and ascension,

and by the coming of your Holy Spirit,

Good Lord deliver us.

 

So may God give you joy and confidence in the ascended Christ that you might live under and advance his heavenly reign.

And to God the Father, God the Ascended Son, and God the Holy Spirit, be all honour and power and glory, now and for ever.

Amen.