Bridge Street United Church

In the United Church, we have not given much attention to Jesus’ Ascension, unlike, for example, either the Roman Catholic Church or any of the major Lutheran denominations. In some parts of Europe, Ascension Day (this coming Thursday) is a public holiday. While Jesus’ Ascension has not been given that level of attention in the United Church down through the years, it is not without importance. Luke’s Gospel concludes with an account of that event, and of the disciples’ reaction to it. The first part of Acts, chapter 1, also includes an account of Jesus’ Ascension. Mark’ Gospel also has a reference to the Ascension in its final chapter.

What I find particularly interesting is the reaction of the disciples to Jesus’ Ascension and what that Ascension means for them as they prepare to go out and spread the news about whom they believe Jesus to be, namely, the long-promised Messiah of the Jewish tradition. It is the reception of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, some days after Jesus’ Ascension, that becomes the point where Jesus’ followers begin to spread out beyond Jerusalem and to share that “good news” about who Jesus was. But the Ascension represents the beginning of an “in-between time.” Jesus is no longer with them, having left them in rather dramatic fashion, by ascending to heaven. Yet the gift of the coming of the Holy Spirit on them at the feast of Pentecost has not yet happened. So, they live in this “in-between time,” with one event having happened but the next step still lying in the future. I want to explore that concept of an “in-between time” for us as something we know at points both in our lives as individuals and also as a church.

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The passage from Acts tells the story of an encounter between Philip, an early church leader, and an Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch has a key position in the court of the Ethiopian queen. As he is returning home from Jerusalem, he invites Philip to get up into his chariot and to help interpret to him part of the writings of the prophet Isaiah. Philip does so in a way that makes clear Philip’s belief that Jesus is the long-promised Messiah of the Jewish tradition. The eunuch asks if he can be baptized as a follower of Jesus, and Philip obliges. It looks like a perfect example of outreach and evangelism. Church growth advocates would be thrilled! But there were several potential barriers (his situation as a eunuch being a primary one) that would have worked against his inclusion in Judaism and in Christianity at a point in time when Christianity was still a party or a group within Judaism. This story from Acts can raise questions for us both about how we communicate the Christian message and about barriers in the contemporary church to inclusion. I shall try to address some of those questions in this week’s sermon.

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References to sheep and shepherds abound in both the Old and the New Testaments. In some instances, the references are to “the real things,” i.e., the woolly animals and those who care for them. Those references are not surprising given the economic importance of these herds for people in Jesus’ day, not mention for the history of the people of Israel before Jesus. References to sheep, shepherds, and aspects of their respective lives would have made sense to people who had regular interaction with both sheep and shepherds. Such references functioned as good illustrations in teaching or in story-telling in these different eras. In other Biblical references, the people are the sheep and the shepherds who cared, or failed to care, for them were the political or the religious leaders of a particular period. Finally, we have references either to Jesus or to God as shepherd and to us human beings as sheep.

The first half of the Gospel of John, chapter 10, portrays Jesus as shepherd and those for whom he cares as sheep. But this passage moves beyond the care of God for us as shepherd that we find in Psalm 23. It raises questions about such matters as “hired hands” who run away rather than care for the sheep, or “other sheep not of this fold.” This week’s sermon will explore some of the questions that come to mind when we look at this text.