On the Way to Wonder

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)” are Matthew’s last words in his Gospel before Jesus ascended.  We call yesterday Ascension Day because Jesus disappears from sight in a cloud.  “Ascend” has a double meaning, though, that is important to see here.  Often we think of it as Jesus returning to God the Father, that is going up in a cloud.  But then we have a problem because that puts God “up in the heaven” along with Jesus and so the promise of presence becomes complicated.  I offer a second interpretation. 

         When the king dies, the son “ascends” to the thrown.  The heir assumes the title and privileges he was born to.  Jesus’ ascension is not a trip away but a return to his pre-incarnation status as God who spoke at creation, who has specific physical appearances in the Old Testament and who promises to always be with us.  We will look at two post-ascension encounters with Jesus next week.  As with most things related to faith, an element of mystery is involved.  Faith is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)”

         According to Luke in the book of Acts, as the followers are on the mountain top seeing Jesus disappear in the cloud, two angels address them, “’Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky?  This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’” For sure, people have split hairs over what the ascension means and just where Jesus is now.  Jesus says he is with us always and forever.  Perhaps the angels’ question is what we should focus on today.  Where are we looking for Jesus today, in the clouds or with us?

         Often the answer is that the living word, Jesus, is found in the spoken word, and the written word.  As we read Scripture we have holy encounters.  In church we worship.  Others find the sacred in nature as they contemplate God’s creation. They encounter in nature the God who created life.  Many love the words of music that reminds them of Jesus eternal presence with them.  Many times we are healed by the hug of a friend.  The list goes on.  Jesus has promised to be with us always so wherever we are, he is with us, seen or unseen.  This promise grounds us for facing any challenge that might face us today.  Blessings!

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)” Forty days after Easter, as Jesus finishes his farewell to his followers with these comforting words, he is taken up to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father to intercede for them and us.  We call today Ascension Day and remember with gratitude.  The promise of presence “always” was Jesus’ closing words.

         The gift of presence is one of the most wonderful gifts we can give another.  So often words are inadequate.  The pain of grief is too deep or the ecstasy of joy is beyond words. We try to capture a sunsets in paintings or sounds in music but somehow it always is a bit short and words are no better.  We cannot explain how the awareness of God’s presence is possible.  Often we use the word “miracle.”

         Romans 8: 38 expresses this presence, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus or Lord.”  This truth does not depend on my feelings.  It does not depend on my ability to see or touch or hear or taste.  Likewise it is not conditional on my good behavior.  God does not reward us if we’re good like Santa Clause does and then give us coal in our life when we are bad.  God walks with us through the ups and downs and “through the valley of the shadow of death.”  He is with us always.

         This promise is not place specific.  Many like to have designated “sacred spaces” where they focus all their attention on God and their spiritual ears open to listen.  That may be a church or a designated chair with a cup of coffee where we regularly meet with God.  Jesus does not name a place but promises to be wherever and whenever we want to meet with him.  Perhaps we are uncertain because of the silence but perhaps that is when he is listening the most intently.

         This presence is not age bound like social security.  We don’t have to qualify or wear a mask.  We do not even need an intermediary present.  God’s presence is with us “always.”  We are not alone.  We are not abandoned.  We are not forgotten.  We are not orphaned.  Jesus promises presence “always,” even to the end of the ages!  Thank you, Lord.

“Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:20)” I suspect Jesus was not encouraging his followers to teach theology, to teach information about God, the way we learn facts about the history of the United States to become citizens.  Again, obedience implies action and motion towards community not just information gathering for the edification of the learner.  “Teaching to obey” brings to my mind obedience school for pets so that they can be trusted with others, can become guide dogs, and know how to behave for the benefit of all concerned.

         So we are thrown back to ponder the commands Jesus gave his followers during his ministry on earth that we are to learn.  I think of commands like “come unto me ye who are weary,” or “love your enemy and forgive those who persecute you,” or all the teachings in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount.  We are told to teach others to follow the life of Christ who laid down his life for others.  Medical ministries, educational ministries, orphanages, and welfare have grown institutionally out of this.

         When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus agreed that it was to love God with our whole being and then love our neighbor as yourself.  So perhaps the point of reflection today is to turn the flashlight inward and ask ourselves if there is anyone in my life that I need to take the first step to repair relationship with.  There may even be someone deceased who abused me terribly or disappointed me terribly that I no longer have direct access to but to whom I could write a letter that I will then destroy after I turn that hurt over to God.  Life is not fair and we are not perfect and often misunderstandings arise because we do not walk in the other’s shoes, but forgiveness is a choice we are always free to make.

         Jesus tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.  As we “go” and “make disciples” – impact others of all types, encouraging love and forgiveness, we can become new creations, baptized in the name of the triune God.  There is hope for the future no matter how dismal the present may seem.  And best of all, God walks with us and we are not alone.  Thank you, Lord.

“Teaching. (Matthew 28:20)” One of the popular sayings encourages us to share the love of Jesus “and use words if necessary.”  Jesus in his farewell sends his followers forward, “go and make disciples of all nations.”  He makes it clear that this involves baptism, a cleansing of the soul by God giving a new start in life and it involves teaching, learning the rules of the game.  Observation is a slow tedious way to learn a new language, a new game, a new culture but having a friend who explains, who walks with you, who does not criticize, speeds up the learning process. 

         Teaching implies also that the student in learning will sometimes make mistakes and will not always be perfect.  The student does not have the expertise of the teacher and has not mastered the skills and knowledge.  I fear we often think that a profession of faith should be followed by a life that immediately changes and is perfect.  But in-fact making disciples involves teaching and it is a process.

         Teaching is relational, takes time, and involves growth.  Perhaps reflecting on where you want to be growing in your faith right now would be a good exercise.  How might you grow?  Seek our a friend to teach you?  Find a book on the subject?  Go to a retreat center where you could be involved with a spiritual director?  Find an older saint to share with.  As we have gone through this season of Covid and quarantine, it could be that certain spiritual disciples have been neglected while other disciples have found new expressions.  I’m continually amazed at the virtual choirs and instrumental videos coming out involving people from around the world putting their talents together. As a grandparent, I try to pray for specific character traits I would like to be growing in my grandchildren.  We are never too old or too young to be impacting lives of another.  Who are you wanting to teach and who are you learning from today?

This Thursday we will celebrate the Ascension of Jesus but for now we still continue pondering his farewell speech to his followers.  From the position of having all authority on earth and in heaven, he pointed to faith as a dynamic that is not to be just inward focused for the improvement of their lives but was intended to reach out, “go”, to make a better world.  “Making disciples” we pondered as a two sided coin.  A teacher has not taught until a student has learned.  Making a disciple or follower requires being a person worth following.  Perhaps integrity is the word we use to talk about congruency between belief and life style. 

         Jesus continues, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19)” Merriam-Webster defines baptize as “to purify or cleanse spiritually especially by a purging experience or ordeal.”  When we are baptized, we are washed in water, symbolizing the washing of the soul or the cleansing of the soul by accepting the death of Christ as the payment for sin.  The baptized person is considered cleansed in God’s eyes.  It is the rite of initiation.

         It is interesting to note that the Trinity is mentioned here as a unity.  Now we have the mystery named of the three-in-one God.  God, by nature is communal, and the initiation is communal representing a reorientation of origin, reorientation of values, and reorientation of source of wisdom.  What a mouth full!  It is not joining a club by paying fees and learning secret codes.  It is not a reward for having achieved a level of intelligence or gathering of good deeds, and is not like having killed a lion so now you have proved yourself a man.  It is a reorientation of reality.

         Religious wars have been fought over the meaning of these words and just what is implied and required.  I cannot answer all those debates but I can testify that the cleansing of one’s soul is a significant moment, whether as an infant or an adult, whether dipped or dunked, whether public or private.  Being cleansed and being given a fresh start in life is a gift worth celebrating.  Jesus charges his followers to go to others and bring health, cleanness, in relationships with God and world. It is possible to start over, to wake up refreshed, and to experience forgiveness.  That for sure is good news.   

This week we have been pondering the last post-resurrection appearance on the mountaintop in Galilee where Jesus gave his final talk to his followers.  He reinforced that as true man, he is also true God, he has all authority in heaven and on earth.  He charged them to “Go and make disciples.”  These words have inspired millions and deeply impacted the trajectory of Christianity and how we understand our faith today.  It is not passive but active, reaching out to others, and the flip side of that coin is that we are to live a life worth emanating. 

         Saturdays I like to end the week by pondering a song that seems to carry some of the flavor of our thinking for the week.  I have chosen “I Will Follow Him” which went to the top of the pop list in the early sixties during my high school years.  It was written as an instrumental about 1961 in Europe but went to the top in 1963 when sung by Little Peggy March who at age 15 became “the youngest female artist to have a U.S. chart-topping single.”

         But it was Whoopi Goldberg singing this song at the end of Sister Act 1 that solidified it as one of my most favorites.  Whoopi plays a Vegas wantabee singer who witnesses a murder and is hidden in a San Francisco convent as a nun leading the choir.  She “contextualizes” songs she sang on stage by changing the words slightly and by putting them in a Christian setting so adding texture and depth to the lyrics. Martin Luther has been criticized as some of his songs similarly were make-overs from the bar.  “I Will Follow Him” captures the love of the disciple for the mentor and I believe captures in music some of the essence of the Great Commission.

Love him, I love him, I love him
And where he goes I’ll follow, I’ll follow, I’ll follow

I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go
There isn’t an ocean too deep
A mountain so high it can keep me away

I must follow him (follow him), ever since he touched my hand I knew
That near him I always must be
And nothing can keep him from me
He is my destiny (destiny)

I love him, I love him, I love him
And where he goes I’ll follow, I’ll follow, I’ll follow
He’ll always be my true love, my true love, my true love
From now until forever, forever, forever

I will follow him (follow him), follow him wherever he may go
There isn’t an ocean too deep
A mountain so high it can keep, keep me away
Away from my love (I love him, I love him, I love him)

Jesus’ farewell, his famous last words from the mountaintop to the five hundred gathered have deeply impacted the trajectory of Christianity.  Matthew 28:19 records the speech, not as a list of thanks-yous for support and comradeship as we might do today, not as a form of blessing as the patriarch Jacob did for his twelve sons as he lay on his death bed, and not as Nathan Hale did before being hanged, “I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”  Jesus claimed all authority on heaven and earth and told his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations.”  Let’s think about that!

         A disciple is “a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosophe.”  Followers by definition follow someone and usually because that someone is a model of a life or an ideal that is admired.  Gandhi set an example that changed the world by living a life of peaceful non-violent resistance.  Martin Luther King Jr. continued in those footprints, leading the Civil Rights movement.  The mandate to make disciples must start with being a person who is believable and leads a life worth emanating.  Making disciples, I would offer, requires that I become and be a person worthy of having a follower.  I fear we often think of this passage and being a leader as being people with bold rhetoric, flaming zeal, painting a reality that gathers people around to head to the same goal as the person speaking.  Is a disciple maker is someone who gathers people to go to heaven or is the person someone who inspires others to follow the teacher, the leader, the philosophe of Jesus?  Jesus is speaking to his “disciples,” his followers who are to emanate him – healing, loving, and laying down their life and fame for the other.

         This command challenges me to reflect on the models I try to emanate and who have deeply impacted my life.  Likewise I might reflect on whether my life embodies the qualities I pray others will seek to incorporate into their lives.  Or, maybe, I am a “do as I say and not as I do” sort of person.  Making disciples requires that I am a disciple.  So whom am I emanating today?  Who are my heroes and what qualities do I appreciate in their lives?  Think of one or two people (they can be literary, historical, or other) who have deeply impacted the values of your life and spend a moment thanking God for the gift of their presence in your life. We all impact the lives of the people around us.  Let us pray that they see the Christ we love, in us “going” to all nations, not just friends.  Blessings.

Jesus opens his farewell speech to his followers from a position of power.  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18)”  “therefore…” (roll of drums in the background), “Go.”  In Genesis the mandate for humanity was to be fruitful, multiply and care for the earth. But now the mandate is “go.”

         I note that again the mandate is outward focused towards community.  Faith is not just about my happiness or getting to heaven, it is also about how I interact with others.  I also note that there is not a qualifying statement like “go to your friends” but a general “go.”  As a sociologist, I cannot help but see the communal nature of life and God’s will.  Love is not love if it sits silent in my heart but it always seeks a way to “go” towards the other.  Help may be something I ponder but it only becomes reality as I reach out to another.  All the valued characteristics that we pray are growing in our lives are interactional.  The parable Jesus told was the Good Samaritan.  A man is beaten up and left to die.  Three men pass by on the other side of the road unwilling to help the person.  But a foreigner comes along and shows mercy to the wounded.

         We “go” at the directive of God.  It is not because it feels good and we benefit but more because it is God’s will that we be his representatives, his hands and his feet, and his heart tangibly in our world today.  Surprisingly, we will often feel better afterwards.  Our modern orators would say, “It is the right thing to do.” Perhaps today you are needing something from God and so you have prayed.  Often the answer will come in the form of someone caring about you.

         Jesus continues in his farewell but his first instruction is action based on his authority.  The “other” may not appreciate our reaching out but we reach out, not to be appreciated, but in response to how Christ reached out to us.  Perhaps take a moment and think who might appreciate an unexpected act of love like a note, a phone call, a smile, a thank you.  It’s not hard, “Go!”  Blessings.

Farewell blessings are interesting.  The Swahili farewell is “Mungu akubariki.”  That means “God bless you.”  The English “good bye” also means “God be with you,” but “bye” comes from “be with you every time.”  In our reading we are looking at how Jesus is bidding farewell to his followers.  He does not say, “It’s been great.  I hope we meet again in heaven.”  Matthew writes about that moment on the mountaintop in Galilee as Jesus starts his farewell with, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28: 18)”

         Jesus starts his farewell with his trump card.  He’s the boss and what he is about to say comes from his position of authority, not as a friend and buddy.  He is not speaking as a bumper sticker on a car fender or as a mug in the cupboard to put a cup of coffee to calm your nerves when you feel stressed.  Jesus is speaking with authority.  He is not requesting or inviting or proposing.  He is not inviting comment.  He is speaking as God.

         I fear we have familiarized the spiritual world into cute cartoon fairies and Jesus has become more of a loving friend who walks with us, our good shepherd. Our tendency is to forget that the shepherd is also the one with the stick to fight the wolf and who has the responsibility to discipline the wayward.  I do not think that makes God the micromanager of reality, dictating each moment of our lives so that we are only pawns.  We have real agency but as Jesus bids farewell to friends, he reminds us that all authority is his in all realms of reality.  He is about to give his followers an impossible job, to change the world using all he has taught them.

         Perhaps today there is something in your life that is feeling impossible and insurmountable.  Perhaps you are feeling like a minority like the disciples.  Perhaps you are feeling unwanted and unpopular.  Or maybe it is just Covid, unemployment, and the ordinary problems of life.  It is good to stop and meditate on Jesus’ words, “All power is given to me in heaven and on earth.”  The situation may be beyond our ability to cope but it is not beyond his and he walks with us.  That is worth remembering.  Blessings as you journey.

Matthew continues.  The disciples have gone to their sacred space, the mountaintop, to meet with Jesus in Galilee after the resurrection.  “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (Matthew 28:17)” Ouch.  Some worshiped but some doubted.  The post resurrection experiences are watershed experiences.  The resurrection is a watershed experience today.  Some believe, we call it faith, and others doubt.

         We have those experiences in life that impact the direction we are heading.  If we say, “I do” to marriage, our life changes forever.  I often joke that I did not read the fine print in the marriage contract.  A baby is born and life changes.  We accept a job and life changes.  I love Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Less Traveled.”  Two paths in a woods lead in two different directions and the person chooses the one less traveled.  It has made all the difference.   When faced with the resurrected Christ we choose, worship or doubt.

         I like this definition of what Christians mean by worship that I found on the Internet,

          “Put simply, worship is declaring the greatness of someone or something. … It is the act of giving up your own glory to make sure everyone knows that the thing being worshiped is pretty awesome.    To put it even more succinctly, worship is bowing down to lift up.”

So doubt is questioning the greatness, the right to glory, the truth of something.  Not everyone believes or worships.  So ponder for a moment what you worship, what you think is great, what you are willing to bow down before.  I can believe Pres. Biden is president of the United States but I may not bow down to that belief.  The disciples believed the reality of the risen Christ and it led to worship, to bowing down to lift him up.

         Bowing down is a relinquishing of our rights.  I bow down and worship by going to church on Sunday rather than sleeping in.  I bow down and worship when I sing music that focuses me on eternal values.  I bow down when I respect and take care of that which has been entrusted to me by God, sharing and loving.  If you are discouraged today, think of the things, people, places, and happenings that make you forget self and bow down in awe.  The disciples when they saw Jesus, alive, worshiped.  He meets us today.  Let us not be doubters but worshipers.