Lectionary Leanings – 7th Easter – Sunday after Ascension Day
On the Paradox of Glory (Acts 1:6-14; Ps 68:1-10; 1 Pet 4:12-14, 5:6-11; Jn 17:1-11)
Note: These lectionary reflections are intended especially for working preachers/homilists, but I can attest personally that the lectionary can be a profound devotional instrument. The texts are those selected for Sunday, May 14. I follow the version of the lectionary used in the Church of England. The bold texts in the passages below are my selections. Stay tuned for why.
ACTS 1:6-14
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying: Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of[a] James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
PSALM 68:1-10
1 Let God rise up; let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.
3 But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.
4 Sing to God; sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds[a]—
his name is the Lord—
be exultant before him.
5 Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.
7 O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
10 your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
1 PETER 4:12-14, 5:6-11
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory,[a] which is the Spirit of God,[b] is resting on you.[c]
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 8 Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ,[a] will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the power[b] forever and ever. Amen.
JOHN 17:1-11
17 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all people,[a] to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
6 “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, 8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them. 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
POTENTIAL PREACHING ANGLES: SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION
In the liturgical calendar, Ascension Day is actually Thursday, May 14 this year. It is a principal feast day in the Church of England, and services will be held using specific Ascension Day texts (Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 47, Eph 1:15ff, Lk 24:44ff).
The Sunday after Ascension Day, however, also features the Acts account of Christ’s Ascension to heaven. I assume most preachers in liturgically oriented traditions will want to address the Ascension and will feature the text from Acts 1.
But is there rhyme or reason to the other texts selected by the liturgy for Sunday after Ascension? I see at least one potential thread in the texts I have placed in bold. This is the theme of glory, both the glory of divine triumph and the paradoxical glory of faithful Christian discipleship.
The word is not used in Acts, but the Ascension is, of course, a manifestation of God’s glory, which I want to shorthand here as God’s manifestation in power. God’s glory is manifested in Jesus Christ throughout his ministry but notably in his crucifixion (that ironic theme, never stronger than in the Gospel of John, including here in Jn 17), resurrection, appearances, and finally his ascension to heaven.
Psalm 68:8 describes the glorious manifestations of the presence of God in God’s mighty saving acts, and also contains a lovely line (though there are textual variants) in v. 4 – “lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds.” This has rich connective homiletical potential. Lift up a song to Ascended Jesus, who now rides upon the clouds…
1 Peter picks up the theme of Christ’s glory, and the church’s coming participation in that glory. And, in a nice connection to the text in the Gospel of John, in our participation in suffering with and for Christ we are already participating in his glory. The idea seems to be that at Christ’s return, we will experience the glory of God’s triumph, but in our current sufferings, we experience the paradoxical glory that was visible in the sufferings of Christ.
The preacher could here contrast the theology of glory with the theology of the cross (theologia gloriae and theologia crucis) and show how the NT does not really separate the two. This was a contrast/paradox I first learned in a class on Martin Luther in seminary.
This then raises ethical potential as well. Many Christians are for obvious reasons attracted to divine glory as triumph, victory, vindication – and can become hungry for triumph, victory, and vindication ourselves.
The texts before us today offer words directed to the communal behavior of Christians, but none of them are about triumph, victory, or vindication. The Acts text says the Church will receive power via the Holy Spirit, only in order to bear witness to Jesus Christ across the region and the world. Then they enter a season of private prayer.
In John, the reflected glory of Jesus has been given to the disciples and it is now their responsibility to maintain its presence through the cultivation of their unity. In 1 Peter, the Church is called to humility, trust, discipline, and resistance to the Devil while under persecution.
In a time when many Christians appear attracted to dominionist dreams of worldly glory and power, these texts instead call Christians to the paradoxical glory available only through service, mission, and faithful endurance.
At Ascension time, we catch a glimpse of God’s glory manifest, and then return to our work of glorifying God through faithful, often very difficult, lives of discipleship.