Sermon for the Feast of The Ascension

So much has happened. We have now walked through the story of His life, death, and resurrection. Now, with the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, so much more is promised – but not yet fully given.

Jesus’ last words in The Gospel According to Matthew restate the promise, “Remember: I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Yet, before we receive this gift in its fullness, we will pass through a time when it feels as if we’ve been left to our own devices. What is there to be learned in that time?

In our collect for this feast day of the Ascension, we recite that “that when Christ returns in glory all nations may be gathered into the kingdom.”

We may have thought that Jesus came just for some of us, to redeem only a portion of God’s creation. Those who first followed Jesus and were blessed to be personally reconciled with the Risen Lord, face to face, and who returned to rejoin the fold – they probably believed that at first.

But in this magnificent mystery of Jesus’ Ascension, the glory shared so far with but a few radiates out to fill every corner of creation – including those places we may have presumed were irredeemable.

The Ascension is essentially a festival of the future. By it, we see that the life we receive by faith has a destiny, and that destiny includes far more than we have yet asked or imagined. We are called to move with God in the power of the Spirit as it is being given, to move outside our usual circle to seek and serve God’s presence and life in every corner of creation. This will be for us both a struggle and a delight.

Of course, we need to believe we share this calling and give ourselves to be lifted up by Christ and with Christ, allowing God to forgive and heal us, to send us forth empowered, just as Jesus was sent into the world. With Jesus, we are to be incarnate in daily life, to speak truth to power, to extend a healing touch to those from whom others would flee, and to be ready to take up the cross we are given daily. We are to follow Jesus, even through death, into new life.

Are we ready to embrace so full a calling for ourselves?

Jesus gave us what came to be called ‘the Great Commission’, “go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

And that’s it... there is no back-up plan.

No back-up plan because the grace set free by the Resurrection, the Ascension, and ultimately the gift of the Holy Spirit is sufficient to affect God’s plan of salvation. The abiding question is whether and how we will choose to join in that work. Will we participate fully in the mending of creation, or will we choose to stand back and watch from a comfortable distance? And what a tragedy that would be, a choice to refuse the invitation to be fully alive.

It is a gift of love, this calling we have received to be as Jesus was and do as Jesus did, as members of Christ’s body. By baptism, we are embraced and challenged to receive the love God offers us in Jesus, and then to move out to share that love unconditionally.

We can choose not to move with God as the life of God radiates out to fill all of creation. We can choose to turn inward and cling to what we have previously recognized as signs of God’s presence among us. Or we can turn in our circles of faith and face outward, rejoicing to recognize and celebrate where God is present and active, even with many who will continue to serve God’s purpose while totally unaware of it.

There is a word in this for each of us personally. Most of us gravitate toward a limited circle of acquaintances, a comfort zone, to which we stay near. So much of our life energy goes into maintaining the borders of that comfort zone, and keeping close to that safe place. And that is a shame. For we know in our hearts that when fully alive, we will find ourselves stepping out of that circle again and again, to discover the Reign of God in ever new ways.

There is a word in this for us as a church and as congregations as well. In these most challenging and difficult times, with great change underway in our finances, our culture, and our global relationships, most will try to keep steering church life back to our personal comfort zones, to hold on dearly to church life as we’ve always known it. But the Risen and Ascended Lord, who is filling all things, calls us to step out of our comfort zone and discover new ways to celebrate life and love, and to share boldly in the work of reconciling the whole world to God.

All of creation is being filled with the life and healing power of God. When we remember this, it changes how we experience everything. For then we will have confidence that whatever we are called to endure now will lead us in God’s time and in God’s way to be raised and lifted up with Jesus to draw the whole world into deeper companionship with God and one another in Christ.

Amen.

To comment on this posting please email... fr.gareth@priest.com

Racist politics - why should Christians be concerned?

This has been taken from a paper published by The Diocese of Southwark Social Responsibility & Regeneration Working Group and Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns Committee (MEACC). It is reproduced here with permission.

Racist politics - why should Christians be concerned?

Elections to the European Parliament 4 June 2009

“In the June 2009 elections to the European Parliament it is important that all Christians vote and vote in such a way as to ensure that parties with racist views are repudiated at the polls.”
The Rt Revd Tom Butler, Bishop of Southwark

The British National Party has made gains in local elections in recent years. This paper seeks to help Christians ask important questions about racist political groups like the BNP and articulate a strong and informed response, based on the Christian belief that all people are created as one race, the human race.

Most Churches shy away from instructing people on how to vote but are agreed that the racist policies and philosophy of the British National Party are incompatible with Christian faith. Far right political groups, of which the British National Party is the prime example, often make “British-ness” a central motif in their policies, but many Christians believe there is something far more sinister underlying this emphasis.

The great majority of Christians believe such sentiments are directly opposed to the Christian view that all people are made in the image of God, and to the vision of a just community where people of all backgrounds live together in equality. The BNP protests that it does not promote racial hatred: its words often have the opposite effect.

The tactics of racist political groups
Churches opposed to this brand of politics have a double challenge: not only does the number of candidates from far-right parties fielded in local, regional and national elections continue to rise, but increasingly there are elected councillors representing those parties. The BNP will try to use their support in certain areas as a platform for winning a parliamentary or London Assembly seat or take control of a local council.

The BNP also has strong links with ‘Civil Liberty’, a lawyers’ association, and ‘Solidarity’, a trade union led by a long-time BNP activist. In local campaigns, frequent tactics include focusing on seemingly ‘race-neutral’ issues such as litter, using ‘religion’ as a shorthand for race, targeting predominantly white neighbourhoods that adjoin more mixed communities and generally exploiting dysfunctional local politics.

It has also been noted that the current focus on migration from now figures strongly in the campaigns of far-right parties, giving a new twist to the racist agenda. An emphasis reinforced by the problems of unemployment that are the result of the economic recession.

What do the Churches say?
Many denominations and other Christian leaders have expressed their concern about and their opposition to far-right political parties whose views many would consider to be racist.

In the Diocese of Southwark the Diocesan Synod passed the following statement at its meeting in November 2007 for the Greater London Assembly and Mayoral Elections 2008. The principles should be applied to the European elections.

“The Bishops and Synod of the Diocese of Southwark call upon the parishes and people of the diocese to take an active part in the election for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly in 2008. Church members are reminded of the value of casting their votes, not least because this would reduce the proportion of votes going to parties which promote racist policies incompatible with Christian discipleship. The parishes and people are urged to work with ecumenical partners to promote Christian teachings and values in all political dialogue and in particular;

To ensure that respect for all people is part of the contribution made by churches to local dialogue

To emphasise that respect for all people requires equality and justice for all people

To ensure that where churches make their buildings available for hustings meetings that any party advocating racist policies are not invited nor permitted to take part in the meeting

To ensure that no literature or promotional material from any political party which advocates racist policies is permitted in any church building nor placed on any church notice board

To co-operate with other groups and organisations working towards these goals.”

What are Christians doing?
BNP electoral success is not one-way traffic. In several places churches have joined forces with other local groups to reverse far-right gains in council elections. A briefing note released by the Church of England in February 2007 makes a number of suggestions. “Be aware of the beliefs and activities of parties that promote racism… Be aware of the way such parties mis-use and distort claims for the word ‘Christian’ in their campaigns and literature… Get advice from those with long experience in dealing with such parties… This is not an area where individuals should work on their own: experience indicates that locally based alliances and strategies are the most effective.”

Questions to wrestle with
Church leaders are unanimous in condemning political views that have racist overtones, but local clergy and members of congregations are in the front-line when it comes to dealing with community issues. The following are some of the questions that churches at a local level may wish to address in order to develop a response to far-right political parties both at election times and also where councillors with a racist agenda have been elected.

What is the level of support for racist political groups in your area and what position, if any, do they have on the local council?

What are the biblical and theological objections to racist political policies?

How is it possible to oppose racist politics without telling people how to vote?

How can Christians support a positive and inclusive vision rather than taking a negative stance against views of which they disapprove?

How should local clergy respond when they find themselves attending functions where candidates or elected members from racist parties may be present?

What local alliances can churches form to promote unity in the community and oppose racist politics?

What can we do to tackle the reasons why people vote BNP?

How can we encourage local church folk to be more engaged in local non-party and party political life?

How can we play a part in telling positive stories to counter the negative stories of the BNP?

How can education for racial justice be built into the year-round programme of a local church?

Useful web links
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/

www.ctbi.org.uk/CB/14

http://www.methodist.org.uk/ - contains background information, suggestions for action and resources for churches. Look for “political extremism” under the A-Z

www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/pi_extremistparties_guidelines_0407.doc

For further information:
Terry Drummond 020 8769 3256 terry.drummond@southwark.anglican.org
Lola Brown 020 7939 9418 lola.brown@southwark.anglican.org
With thanks to The Diocese of Southwark, CTBI Racial Justice Team and the Barking Episcopal Area.