“Something Bigger in Mind” -May 24, 2020

Music as We Prepare to Worship

Invitation to Worship

One: This morning, on this Seventh Sunday in the Season of Easter, we unite our hearts in worship.
All: Even though we are not able to gather together in our normal places of worship;
One: we enter into worship together remembering that Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among you.”
All: Thanks be to God who meets us here as we worship in our homes. May we be empowered by the Spirit whom we encounter here, that we might love the world in Jesus’ name.

Opening Hymn

Voices United #409 “Morning Has Broken”
1. Morning has broken like the first morning, blackbird has spoken like the first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!
2. Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from heaven, Like the first dewfall on the first grass. Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden, sprung in completeness where God’s feet pass.
3. Ours is the sunlight! Ours is the morning born of the one light Eden saw play! Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s recreation of the new day!

Opening Prayer

One: Come to us, Holy God, as we worship now in our homes – with others or by ourselves;
All: remind us of your love that encircles us.
One: Bless us with your sustaining Presence;
All: open our hearts to your grace.
One: Draw us ‘round your living Word,
All: and bind us to one another as disciples of Christ, whose Spirit is with us this morning and always. Amen.

Bible Readings

This morning’s Bible Readings are among those assigned for this Seventh Sunday in the Season of Easter, by the Revised Common Lectionary. As we hear these words being read (or as we read them aloud at home) may we be reminded that we are part of a world-wide community of those who are seeking to follow Jesus in the Way.
Acts 1.6-14
Our first reading is from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. Here, in the first chapter of his second book, the author of Luke tells the story of the Ascension of Jesus. We will read this morning from “The Message” (a paraphrase by Eugene Peterson) In this and all our readings this morning, listen for the word of God:
When they were together for the last time, they asked Jesus, “Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?”
Jesus told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Holy One’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even the ends of the earth.”
These were Jesus’ last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky.
Suddenly two men appeared – in white robes! They said, “You Galileans! Why do you stand here looking up at an empty sky? This Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly – and mysteriously – as he left.”
So, they left the mountain called ‘The Mount of Olives’, and returned to Jerusalem. It was a little over a half mile. They went to the upper room they had been using as a meeting place: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon the Zealot, and Judas (son of James).
They agreed that they were in this for good, completely together in prayer, the women included. Also, Jesus’ mother, Mary, and his brothers.

First Peter 5.6-7,9-11
Our second reading this morning is from the First Letter of Peter. We read from Chapter Five, verses six and seven, and nine through eleven.
5.6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that you may be exalted in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on God, because the Holy One cares for you.
9 Resist evil, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to eternal glory in Christ, will restore, support, strengthen and establish you. 11 To God be the power forever and ever. Amen.

“Something Bigger in Mind”

For the most part, we who are part of the United Church of Canada, take the Bible seriously, but not literally.
So it is that we might wonder about this strange tale of Jesus’ Ascension. Whatever happened that day on that hillside outside Jerusalem, we can be pretty sure that Jesus didn’t shoot off the planet as Superman might have done.
Of course, for the author of The Book of Acts, and for the disciples gathered with Jesus that day, their world view was in keeping with the description of the event. These people believed in a three-layer universe. The earth was basically like a plate. The sky was like a bowl over the earth. The sun, moon and stars were on the inside of that bowl. Above the dome of the sky was heaven.  In our own 21st Century, in the age of the Hubble Telescope, in the age satellites that have travelled to the outer edges of our solar system and beyond, in our scientific understanding that there are billions of galaxies, the description as we have it in Acts makes little sense.  I am reminded of Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev who said in a speech after the first human space flight: “Yuri Gagarin flew into space but didn’t see any god there.” Apparently, no one ever told him that the Bible was never meant to be a science textbook.  But what we know is that the disciples experienced Jesus being present with them as the Risen Christ – and then he was gone. In seeking to understand this mystery, and given their understanding of earth, sky and heaven, it made sense to speak of Jesus ascending to heaven, from which he would return at some future time in the same way. There are Christians – fundamentalists/biblical literalists – who believe that when Christ returns, he will literally drop out of the clouds.
Personally, I am grateful, that my faith does not depend on a literal interpretation of such stories.  So, what are we 21st Century people to make of this ancient story?
This week I received a Facebook Post that seems particularly appropriate for us in this current COVID-19 circumstance. Some wag explained the Ascension – celebrated by Christians 40 days after Easter – as being: “The day Jesus started working from home.”
Our reading from Acts begins with the disciples asking Jesus whether this is the time when he will restore the kingdom to Israel. What they had in mind was for Jesus the Messiah – the Christ in Greek – to call down an army of angels who would throw out the hated Romans and re-establish the kingdom of their great King David.
The disciples, even after all the time they had spent in the company of Jesus, still had a very narrow view of his purpose. They were possessed of a nationalistic faith that was tied to their daily existence in Palestine.  But God embodied in the Risen Christ had something bigger in mind.
Jesus responded to the disciples by reminding them that they weren’t to know the day or hour when God’s reign would ultimately be established. But Jesus promise to them was that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. When they had received the Holy Spirit, they would be witnesses to the universal love of God: “In Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
If we are honest, it seems to me that the Church of Jesus Christ has sometimes had a pretty narrow understanding of God’s ultimate will and purpose, for the church and for the world.  A few decades ago, in the 1970’s, Toronto Conference of our United Church had as a mission theme: “God is Concerned for Justice, not Just Us”
Have we at times lost sight of the truth in the first chapter of the Bible, where, in the process of creation, God declared that it was all very good. The human ones are made in God’s own image – male & female. The ancient text gives us the metaphor of the human family, all proceeding from the same parents.
The prophet Isaiah in the 8th Century before the common era declared (25.6-9):
“. . .the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples. . .the sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces. .”
Notice the inclusive words: “peoples” and “all”. No nations are to be excluded. No persons are outside the realm of God’s redeeming love.
And how could we ignore the words of St. Paul in the Letter to the Romans:
“The whole creation waits with eager longing.”
It is God’s will and intention to redeem the whole creation. God’s heart breaks when human activity and abuse result in the destruction and degradation of our planet that we share with an estimated trillion other species. God’s heart is moved with compassion at the plight of little “Baby Longlegs” – the Giraffe born at the Toronto Zoo recently. One of only 25,000 of these magnificent creatures remaining on our planet.
Our Creed calls us “To live with respect in creation.”
God calls us to the ongoing work of caring for this world that God loves.
The glory of the Ascension story is that God has something bigger in mind!
Again, St. Paul proclaims in Second Corinthians:
“In Christ God was reconciling the world to Godself. . .and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” (5.19)
In the story, when Jesus has departed from them, the disciples are suddenly addressed by “two men, dressed in white robes” who demand: “Galileans! Why are you standing here staring up into an empty sky?”
Its as though the angels said to them: “Don’t just stand there! Do something!”
The last verse tells us:
“They agreed that they were in this for good, completely together in prayer, the women included. Also, Jesus’ mother, Mary, and his brothers.”
In the Letter of First Peter, Chapter 5, the author, in concluding his letter gives these two hopeful statements that seem particularly pertinent to us here in the world of COVID-19:
“Cast all your anxiety on God because you are beloved.”
“God in Christ will restore, support, strengthen and establish you.”
May God help us to take these words to heart, and to take up our ministries daily to love the world in Jesus’ name – witnesses in Prince Edward County, in Ontario and to the ends of the earth!
Amen.

Response to God’s Grace

When we gather for worship Sunday by Sunday, at this point in the Service we offer our monetary gifts for the work of the Church. Over these months of isolation, the work of the Church has continued. We need your support to allow this ministry and mission to move forward. At South Bay, if you wish, you may arrange to give your offering through PAR, or you can mail it to the Church Treasurer, PO Box 102 Milford, ON K0K 2P0. At Picton United you can visit the Church website and touch the “Donate” button to give on-line. Or you can mail your donation to the Church Office, 12 Chapel St. Picton K0K 2T0.
God bless you for your generosity.

Prayer of Gratitude and Concern

Holy One – known to us as Kind Creator, Compassionate Friend, Ever-Present Spirit; you are the Source of every blessing.
We thank you for the blessings of life, for those who are dear to us, for those who have died, and for all who have helped and influenced us.
Most of all we thank you for the faith that is in us, for our awareness of you, and for our hope in you. Keep us, we pray, thankful, faithful, and hopeful. Help us to take up our ministries as we work to fulfill your intent and purpose for all the world. In Christ’s name we pray:

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily break; and forgive us our trespasses and we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever; Amen.

Parting Hymn

Voices United #424 “May the God of Hope Go with Us”
1. May the God of hope go with us every day, filling all our lives with love and joy and peace. May the God of justice speed us on our way, bringing light and hope to every land and race.
Refrain: Praying, let us work for peace, singing, share our joy with all, working for a world made new, faithful when we hear Christ’s call.
2. May the God of healing free the earth from fear, freeing us for peace, both treasured and pursued. May the God of love keep our commitment clear to a world restored, to human life renewed.
Refrain: Praying, let us work for peace, singing, share our joy with all, working for a world made new, faithful when we hear Christ’s call.