Sunday sermon - 24 May 2020, Acts 1:6-14, John 17:1-11

When we first went into lockdown, someone lent me a jigsaw. I’ve always liked jigsaws. Nowadays you can get jigsaws on your computer or tablet. I’ve tried them but it isn’t the same as a real jigsaw. I think there’s something special about having real pieces of jigsaw that you can hold in your hand. Real physical pieces that fit together. There’s something satisfying about finding the right piece and gradually seeing the fuller picture appear. Especially putting that final piece of the jigsaw in place that makes the picture complete. There’s nothing worse, is there…getting to the end of the jigsaw only to discover that a piece is missing? 

Today is the last Sunday of the Easter season and then we go into Ordinary time. Ordinary Time…Doesn’t sound quite as exciting as Easter does it? Well…for me, coming to the end of the Easter season is like putting yet another piece in the right place in that jigsaw and forming part of the bigger picture. Thursday was Ascension Day and it helps us to make sense of all that has happened up to that point. Seeing Jesus rise in triumph, going to his rightful place in heaven helps us to fill in the gaps… to build up that bigger picture.  

The Ascension was a transitional time for those first disciples. If we think about it, we’re not that unlike them. We know all about transitional times, don’t we? This time last year our parishes here were in vacancy. That vacancy lasted for 20 months…that’s a long vacancy…and it only finished 6 months ago, when I was licensed. And here we are in yet another transitional time as we wait for the next chapter of post-covid to begin.

Waiting is something that most of us do not do well. I well remember, as a child, waiting for my birthday and Christmas. Nowadays its things like standing in a long queue waiting to go into a supermarket (socially distanced, of course). But what we need to remember somehow is that times of waiting are not times of inactivity. They are times of preparing ourselves for what lies ahead. They are times in which we work at what needs to be done …right now!

Our call as Christians is always to live now in the way God intends us to live. Right now! Being in lockdown doesn’t mean that the pause button has been pressed on our lives. The outside world goes on, regardless of us living within our own four walls.

Just imagine for a moment that you are one of those first disciples. You’ve journeyed with Jesus from the early days. You’ve seen him do some amazing things. But you’ve also seen him suffer and die on a cross. Then unbelievably, he’s back with you again. And now you watch as Jesus, once again is taken away but this time there is a finality about it. How do you feel? Afraid…excited…anxious… bereft…sad…happy… nervous? brave? Disbelieving? We can only speculate about how those disciples were feeling.

We are told that two men in white … obviously angels …had appeared to them

and told them that Jesus will return again one day. The disciples faced a harsh reality. Jesus was gone. They saw him go. He was no longer physically with them. They looked back on what Jesus

had told them and for the first time, they could see the bigger picture and could fully grasp that he was one with God. They remembered his promises and looked forward to the time that they would be fulfilled. In the meantime, they headed back to that upper room where they were staying and they used their time of waiting as an opportunity to pray.

They prayed for one another. They prayed for the needs that they saw in the world around them.

They prayed for strength and courage to face the future. They spent their time preparing to be witnesses and to take their story out to the wider world… to Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria,

and to the ends of the earth. And you know what? They did!  And that’s why we are worshipping together today.

They didn’t do it in their own strength though. They had a bit of help. That helper, the Holy Spirit,

was with those disciples throughout, supporting, strengthening, enabling. And he’s with each one of us too. God is with us when we need a friend, someone to talk to, or even someone to have a good moan to. We sometimes forget that he is with us too when things are going well…he wants to be part of our whole life, not just bits of it.

So, how does today’s gospel reading fit in? It may seem a bit out of sync to you because if you know your Bible, you will know that Jesus’ prayer in John’s gospel comes just before the Last Supper. And a lot has happened between that time and the ascension of our Lord.

The gospel gives us the heartfelt prayer of Jesus. God interceding for each one of us. It doesn’t get any bigger than that. Those disciples were entering into a new relationship with God and their ministry was only just beginning. Little did they know that they would be instrumental in helping to change the world.

The power of Jesus’ prayer hasn’t diminished over the years and I encourage each one of you

to read it through at some time over the coming days…read it slowly…really let it sink in…

the prayer is talking about us all…each and every one of us. It is incredibly powerful. Jesus’ prayer demonstrates the unity between himself and God showing us that they are eternally one. Jesus’ prayer includes all of us. How mind-blowing is that?

We have the same unity with God as those very first disciples and his promise is ours too. You see, it’s all part of God’s plan …His bigger picture …the full jigsaw. Amen

"He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.Acts 1:7-9