SPEAKER_00: A reading from Acts.
SPEAKER_00: In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
SPEAKER_00: After his suffering, he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father.
SPEAKER_00: This, he said, is what you have heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.
SPEAKER_00: So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom of Israel?
SPEAKER_00: He replied, It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
SPEAKER_00: When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
SPEAKER_00: While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.
SPEAKER_00: They said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?
SPEAKER_00: This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.
SPEAKER_00: The word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: You, O Lord, our sovereign, you have put on splendid apparel.
SPEAKER_00: You have made the whole world so sure.
SPEAKER_00: Ever since the world began, your throne has been established.
SPEAKER_00: The waters have lifted up, O Lord, the waters have lifted up their voice.
SPEAKER_00: Mightier than the sound of many waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea.
SPEAKER_00: Your testimonies are very sure.
SPEAKER_01: I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.
SPEAKER_01: I pray that God that God of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father of glory may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him.
SPEAKER_01: So that with the eyes of your heart enlightened you may know that what is hope to which he has called you.
SPEAKER_01: What are riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for those who believe.
SPEAKER_01: According to the working of his great power.
SPEAKER_01: God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come.
SPEAKER_01: And he has put all things under his feet, and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him he fills in all the word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus said to his disciples, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
SPEAKER_02: Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, Thus it is written that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_02: You are my witnesses of these things, and so I am sending upon you what my father promised.
SPEAKER_02: So stay here in the city until you have been clothed with the power from on high.
SPEAKER_02: Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifted up his hands, he blessed them.
SPEAKER_02: While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.
SPEAKER_02: And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
SPEAKER_02: And they were continually in the temple, blessing God.
SPEAKER_02: The gospel of the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: Imagine it.
SPEAKER_02: This man who some loved and others wanted to get rid of.
SPEAKER_02: This man who seemed to hold some significant authority, who had risen from a place of poverty to a place of great power.
SPEAKER_02: This man somehow is suddenly caught up in this magical cloud, his feet no longer touching the ground.
SPEAKER_02: All who are witnessing are standing back in awe as they watch.
SPEAKER_02: Not completely sure of what is happening, or what to make of it, or what any of it means.
SPEAKER_02: Then to the surprise of most of the viewers and to the man himself, his wrists become shackled, and he finds his resting place is now inside this teeny tiny little lamp, tossed into a deep desert cave where he will be lost for generations.
SPEAKER_02: The story clearly is not the story of Jesus, but that of the villain in Disney's Aladdin.
SPEAKER_02: Jafar is a power-hungry man and is willing to do whatever it takes to gain more power.
SPEAKER_02: He goes from being a street pick pit pickpocketer to being the second in command only under the Sultan himself, all in search of more power.
SPEAKER_02: See, he started at the bottom of the heap, but he was determined to get to the top.
SPEAKER_02: Concerned at all, though, who he might step on and who he might hurt as he mated above everyone else.
SPEAKER_02: He wasn't happy even being second in command when he was under that authority of the Sultan.
SPEAKER_02: So his first wish was to become the new Sultan.
SPEAKER_02: But that was not enough power for him.
SPEAKER_02: So he wished to become an all-powerful sorcerer.
SPEAKER_02: He still wasn't happy because Aladdin pointed out to him that still the genie held more power than he held.
SPEAKER_02: And so Jafar made one final wish to become the most powerful creature on earth, to become a genie.
SPEAKER_02: But with the power of the genie comes the shackling truth that he will always have to be submissive to whoever holds the lamp.
SPEAKER_02: And when he's not out busy granting wishes, he will be imprisoned in that tiny lamp.
SPEAKER_02: Far sought power, not caring where it came from or what the implications of said power might be.
SPEAKER_02: It seems to me that earthly power often comes from ill means, from evil ways, used to oppress people, and often it doesn't last in the end.
SPEAKER_02: This power instead brings destruction to both the person holding the power and to those underneath it.
SPEAKER_02: Today, though, we celebrate the feast of the ascension.
SPEAKER_02: We celebrate a very different kind of power.
SPEAKER_02: The ascension refers to Jesus being taken up into God's presence, God's presence often being symbolized as a cloud.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus now takes his rightful place at the right hand of the Father.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus rises to a place of great power and authority, an authority by which someday all nations will recognize, all will respect, and all will bow down to.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus' ascension is the final step of his work to bring us salvation.
SPEAKER_02: It is as necessary a peace as the incarnation, the crucifixion, and the resurrection.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus' ascension is not some selfish power act, but one more act of selfless love towards the world.
SPEAKER_02: The ascension is this first step of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Without the ascension, there can be no Pentecost.
SPEAKER_02: So here's where I'd like to pause for a second, impress you all with my seminary degree, throw out a few fancy words for you you might be familiar with, and you might not.
SPEAKER_02: There are two sides of the coin of salvation: there's justification and sanctification, but working together, they bring us all salvation.
SPEAKER_02: Justification is this one-time event where we can imagine ourselves turning away from sin and turning towards God.
SPEAKER_02: It is that point where we become righteous in God's sight.
SPEAKER_02: Now we could spend hours debating when this point of justification happens.
SPEAKER_02: Does it come when we profess something?
SPEAKER_02: Does it come when we are baptized?
SPEAKER_02: I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_02: It's a fun debate.
SPEAKER_02: But we'll save that debate for another day.
SPEAKER_02: Today I want to talk about sanctification.
SPEAKER_02: Today is about Jesus' act of salvation by ascending so that He can send the Holy Spirit so that we can experience sanctification.
SPEAKER_02: Sanctification is this continual process of being made holy, of being set apart for the work of God.
SPEAKER_02: It is that change and that transformation that shapes us and shapes the world around us to be what God has designed us to be and to be what God desires us to be.
SPEAKER_02: Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in and through us.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus offers us this power even today.
SPEAKER_02: But it is nothing like the power that Jaffar was looking for.
SPEAKER_02: It is the power of the Holy Spirit to continue the work that Jesus started.
SPEAKER_02: It is a power to participate in the continually and continuing unfolding of the salvation of the world.
SPEAKER_02: We are given power so that we can participate in this ongoing work of salvation, this ongoing work of sanctification, while we are in fact under the authority and care of Jesus, our King.
SPEAKER_02: Before Jesus ascended, he was talking to his mates, and he promised him that he would return.
SPEAKER_02: I saw an image going through my Facebook feed a few times this week as we celebrated the feast.
SPEAKER_02: It was a classic image of the ascension, Jesus getting caught up in a cloud, and his disciples standing, staring, watching this, bewildered, with three letters surrounded by quotes on the bottom.
SPEAKER_02: BRB.
SPEAKER_02: Be right back.
SPEAKER_02: When I was living in India, I was so pleased to know that in Bangla, there is no word for goodbye.
SPEAKER_02: You either say Amyaschi or Abara Ashbin, which is basically I am coming, or again I will come.
SPEAKER_02: It's a sense that you're never leaving for good, but there is always a truth and a hope that someday you will return.
SPEAKER_02: And that gave me great comfort when I knew I was leaving my dear friends after living with them for three years.
SPEAKER_02: I was so glad to be able to say Amiaschi instead of goodbye.
SPEAKER_02: So, in a sense, Jesus here in this moment, too, is saying, Amiashi, I'll be right back.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus promised the disciples that he would return.
SPEAKER_02: And while we must still be waiting for this mysterious second coming, whatever it does look like, the truth is Jesus did come right back.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe this time not in the same form, but now through the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Through the Holy Spirit, we get to continue to experience Him in each of us.
SPEAKER_02: And we have that power to continue the ministry of Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: We have become the hands and feet of Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: And collectively, as a universal church, the universal body of believers of Christ, we are the body.
SPEAKER_02: We are Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus carries on in each of us.
SPEAKER_02: So I ask, how are we using this gift, this power that is given to us?
SPEAKER_02: As a church, we remember many of the saints who have gone before us, recognizing that the power of the Holy Spirit continue to work through these wonderful examples, that we may be inspired and pick up that mantle, pick up that power, and do similar works.
SPEAKER_02: One person I am often drawn to is that of Mother Teresa, or as many affectionately refer to her as Mama T.
SPEAKER_02: Mama T never seemed to be seeking power, but instead she was seeking to serve Jesus with humility.
SPEAKER_02: And through that, the transformative power of the Holy Spirit impacted many lives.
SPEAKER_02: It can be argued that this sanctifying power was passed on to her first from her parents.
SPEAKER_02: Her mother was a great activist in the ways of radical hospitality.
SPEAKER_02: Mother Teresa remembers from an early age that she seldom sat down for dinner with just her family, but there were always many more guests at the table.
SPEAKER_02: And when she asked her mother about this, her mother said, I cannot feed my family when there are so many others going without food.
SPEAKER_02: And so most days she invited many more guests to that table.
SPEAKER_02: And this form of radical hospitality, this power of the Holy Spirit moving through her mother, caught on.
SPEAKER_02: And in the end, Mother Teresa herself practiced radical practiced radical hospitality to thousands of people who she met.
SPEAKER_02: It's been 22 years since Mother Teresa died, and yet now approximately 4,500 sisters in the Order of Mission Missionaries of Charity continue on her work, continue acting in the power of the Holy Spirit to serve those who hold little power, if any, so that they can in turn experience the power of the Holy Spirit and its transforming love.
SPEAKER_02: I doubt many of us are called to the same type of radical hospitality as she was called to, but I suggest we're all called to similar acts of radical love, and we can do so through the power given to us by Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: We are part of this one power that moves in and through each of us, sanctifying each of us and moving through us so that we can be a part of the sanctifying of the world around us.
SPEAKER_02: There are powers within the world that lead to destruction.
SPEAKER_02: And then there is the power that comes from Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit that offers new life.
SPEAKER_02: Which power is it that you wish for today?