Call to Worship
O God, open our lips and we shall sing of your wonders:
open our eyes and we
shall behold your glory;
open our hearts and we shall embrace your love;
open our minds and we shall discover your wisdom;
open our hands and we shall show your generosity;
open our flesh and we
shall embody your presence.
Hymn
Words © Marnie
Barrell Tune Brunel AA 55
Great and deep the Spirit’s purpose,
hidden now in mystery,
Nature bursts with joyful promise,
ripe with what is yet to be.
In a wealth of rich invention,
still the work of art unfolds:
barely have we seen, and faintly,
what God’s great salvation holds.
Great and deep the Spirit’s purpose,
making Jesus seen and heard.
Every age of God’s creation
grasps new meaning from the Word.
Show us, Holy Spirit, show us
your new work begun today:
eyes and ears and hearts are open,
teach us what to do and say.
Great and deep the Spirit’s purpose:
all God’s children brought to birth,
freed from hunger, fear and evil
every corner of the earth,
and a million million voices
speak with joy the Saviour’s name;
every face reflects Christ’s image,
never any two the same.
Great and deep the Spirit’s purpose,
nothing shall be left to chance.
All that lives will be united
in the everlasting dance.
All fulfilled and all perfected,
each uniquely loved and known,
Christ in glory unimagined
once for all receives God’s own.
Psalm 97 A Psalm of Praise We will read the psalm
responsively.
God is the
centre, let the earth celebrate!
Let coastline
and inland shout for joy!
Our clouded eyes prevent us seeing God,
whose rule is founded on all embracing love and
justice.
Like a fire,
God’s power flows straight ahead,
and transforms
the enemies of love.
Like lightning
the world is lit up,
the land and sea
tremble.
When God is near, mountains melt and fall
in the presence of the earth’s maker.
The stars at
night pulse within God’s mystery,
everyone can
look up and see a wondrous glory.
The boasts of the image makers look foolish,
the gods we worship fall over in shame.
Your people,
God, dance and laugh,
because of the decisions
You make.
For you are not confined to the universe,
you precede and succeed all other mystery.
Those who love
God will turn away from evil,
the
faith-keepers stay safe and well.
Light will dawn on sincere minds,
and happiness will swell in sincere hearts.
Be happy in God,
all you true souls!
Give heartiest thanks to God’s holy name!
.
© B.D. Prewer 2000
Prayer of Confession based on a prayer
from David Grant in Grant Us Your Peace
We come again this Sabbath, sedate in habit to routine ritual.
We come, with cheerful greeting, to repose in customary pew, and lazy
eye scans the ordered assembly, the order of service, the ordained presence.
And you come again, Lord God, this Sabbath.
You come in triumphant procession, hidden in holy darkness, with
lightning accompanying, supported by a rigorous righteousness and justice
And we didn’t see you.
Our minds were focused on lesser things:
pale gods shadowed our vision,
battered spirits proffered despondent hopes,
invidious anxieties diverted our intentions.
And we didn’t see you.
We pause, to bow down, and in a dulled mind’s eye search for a dawning.
We imagine you at your best – lover of good, and hater of evil, one who
guards the faithful and gives them the justice denied them by the powerful.
But even our imaginings are half blind, and we only almost see you.
Holy God, resurrect this hour; bring us back from the dead, to witness
the procession of glory and so proclaim with the whole heavens, ‘God is
sovereign over all the earth.’
Then we will see you, and rejoice, and give thanks.
For you are wholly present, holy God.
Amen.
The Peace
Kia tau tonu te rangimarie o te Ariki ki a koutou;
The Peace of Christ be with you all
A ki a koe anō hoki. And also with you
we exchange a sign of peace
with each other
Youth Hymn
Words © Shirley
Murray Tune © Jillian Bray AA 123
Small things count, so Jesus said:
cups of water, crumbs of bread,
small things done because we’re kind
count as big things in God’s mind.
Small things make the big things grow:
grains of yeast inside the dough,
puffs that fill a big balloon,
notes that make a happy tune.
Every hair that’s on our head,
every sparrow, Jesus said,
God takes care of, counts and knows,
God loves us from top to toes.
Offertory Prayer
Our hearts overflow with
gratitude for the life and love in which we dwell. As a sign of our thankfulness, we bring our
gifts – and our very selves – dedicating them to the bringing of healing and
transformation for all people. We offer
these now in the name of Christ, the One on whose life we pattern our own. Amen
Bible Readings
Introduction to the Readings
Payer for
illumination: we pray Holy God, source of all light, by your Word give light to
our lives, pour out upon us wisdom and
understanding of all that you teach us in scripture is made known. Amen.
It has been forty
days since the women found the empty tomb – forty days of the continuing revelation
of the risen Christ to disciples and followers.
Next week we arrive
at Pentecost – the coming of the Holy Spirit, the power from on high that will
enable and empower the continuing witness of Jesus through those who follow
him.
And today we hear
the story of the ascension of Jesus, where he leaves the community of faith
here on earth to be with his Father.
It is understood
that the author of the Gospel of Luke and the author of the book of the Acts of
the Apostle are one and the same. And Acts
picks up where the Gospel ended – yet giving a slightly different account of
Jesus’ ascension. So it makes sense for us to hear those differences and to
also place our image of the ascension alongside.
Much art over the
centuries has depicted the ascension of Christ as containing clouds, thrones,
columns of light, an almost magical appearance and disappearance. And it is not actually very helpful to view
this moment of leaving as the literal lifting of Jesus to heaven – it becomes a
bit of a locked-in image, a ‘cage’ when there is actually so much more to
explore.
So as we hear this
first reading from Luke, as we hear the continuing story from Acts of the
Apostles, let us think about what is actually happening here – the disciples
have come to know the Jesus manifested as the risen Christ - and again he tells them that he is to leave
them – the ongoing power of the God-in-their-midst is somehow to be
withdrawn. They give glory to God as
witnesses to this moment, but the naturally explain it in a way that speaks
from their traditions – and the story of Elijah swept up into heaven would be
strong in their minds, would it not? It makes sense but let us not be captured
by it alone. And instead ask how would
we today portray this sense that the Word, flesh of our flesh is no longer
embodied in our midst and yet sit under the excitement of the promise made by
Jesus that they will not be left alone – that a new and powerful Spirit will
cloak them in power so that their witness will shake the foundations of the
world. As we hear these readings place yourself
in them, so that we may all experience the great joy that was a farewell and
the strong hope for new beginnings in faith.
Gospel Reading Luke 24:44-53
Then he said to
them, "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."
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.
You are witnesses of these things.
And see, I am
sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you
have been clothed with power from on high."
Then he led them
out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from
them and was carried up into heaven.
And they worshiped
him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the
temple blessing God.
Reader: This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ
People: Praise to Christ the Word
Second Reading Acts 1:1-11
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.
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.
While staying with
them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise
of the Father. "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."
So when they had
come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will
restore the kingdom to Israel?"
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, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were watching,
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
While he was going
and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by
them. 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."
Ascension Today….
How do we, as the
Christian Church in 21st century Aotearoa make sense of this
moment? The reason so many preachers,
myself included, struggle with this particular Sunday is, I believe, because
our world view has changed so dramatically.
While we can relate to people, relationships, even sit loosely within
cultural differences of the bible, this ascending to heaven, sitting in the
clouds, can be a real stumbling block to our engaging with the depth of meaning
of the ascension of Christ. And do you
know where I think we should go with this – I think that we should find a way
to recover the glory of God, the immensity of the narrative that is beyond
time, beyond our ken, that is holy mystery, creativity, vision, promise beyond
our imagination. And as we hear the
words of Paul in our reading from Ephesians I invite you to hold the words and
images that cause you to stumble lightly and to allow the glory of God to shine
through.
Third Reading Ephesians 1:15-23
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.
I pray that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of
wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your
heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is
the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the
working of his great power.
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.
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 who fills all in all.
Reader: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church
People: Thanks
be to God
Rediscovering the Glory of God
The ascension had
a profound impact on the disciples.
Different to the sometimes awkward, shy almost, encounters with the
risen Christ, and definitely different to the guilt ridden, bewildered farewell
at the cross, this moment of leaving brings a sense of joy and wonder; it is, you might say, a rediscovering for the
disciples of the glory of God, the Father to whom Jesus is going.
This act of ascension
allows the disciples to reconnect with their God in a new way– imagine those
who had walked with Jesus in life, met the risen Christ on the road and the
beach and the upper room. In this moment their eyes were lifted again to the
Holy, to the realisation of the oneness of Jesus with his Father, to the conviction
that in the ascended Jesus they had a new relationship with the one who they
named Yahweh.
And then there is
this – Jesus’ going made room for the Holy Spirit – bounded neither by physical
form or time, the Spirit was God active in the world in a way that the human
Jesus could not be. The promise of
baptism by the Holy Spirit, the power from on high who would guide them and
empower them and be beside them as they witnessed Jesus’ love and grace to the
world; that promise was before them and they were overjoyed and excited, and
they believed with every fibre of their being that it would be so.
For they had
encountered the glory of God, they were finally and absolutely convinced that
Jesus was the son of God, risen from death and returning to be with his Father
in heaven. They had hope in victory over
death, they trusted his promise of never being left alone, they believed in the
interceding power of Jesus and they believed that he would come again.
In this moment of
Ascension the body of Christ was empowered to follow Jesus on his mission,
confident that the light of Christ would shine through the ages, across
nations; that the glory of God would be made known and the kingdom of God would
come close.
We too go forward
with hope and joy for, like the disciples, we are confident in the sufficiency
of God, empowered by the presence of the Spirit and led by the light of the
Word present with us.
‘And they
worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually
in the temple blessing God.’ Amen. So be it.
Hymn
Words and music ©
Colin Gibson AA 57
Great ring of light, true circle with no ending;
clear beam so bright,
whose purpose knows no bending;
O Word of God, in darkness always shining out.
A man who cried upon a cross at Calvary;
for him who died an empty tomb, a mystery;
O risen Christ, all pain and loss transcending.
Immortal fire of love forever yearning
flame of desire for our salvation burning;
Spirit divine, our friend and present comforter.
The light shines still, the eternal Word has spoken;
on Calvary’s hill the power of death is broken;
and I receive the life, the joy, the loving.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
I am going to invite you to
share thoughts and situations that are on your mind at this time in the midst
of this prayer –
O God, our hearts are touched by the love of Christ for his people, for
his care for us and his hope for us. We thank you for all that was given to us
and to the world in the life which he lived.
We praise you for the loyalty and grace which you offer to ordinary
people. It lives on among us in every generation
and transforms the way we see our future and the state of the world
around us.
Christ of eternal grace, we pray that we may join you
in some small way in living bravely and justly in the world.
We will never reach the heights of your life, but we pray that the way
we bear witness to our faith and calling in you will encourage those around us to
bring new life to the community.
We pray for these situations and people now:
The people pray
Gift us with eternal values, O Christ. Help us to see the realities with
your eyes and with visions of what might be
if we commit ourselves to move for change.
For we are those whom Christ inspires and who long to be true to that
calling. This we pray in faith in the name of Jesus the Christ.
Amen.
…we sing together
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your
name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on
earth, as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver
us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory
are yours, now and forever.
Amen, amen. Amen, amen. Amen, amen. Amen,
amen.
WOV 676
Hymn
All creatures of
our God and King WOV 3 v.1,2,3,7
Blessing Song
Words Joy Cowley Alleluia Aotearoa 95
May the mystery of
God enfold us,
may the wisdom of God uphold us,
may the fragrance of God be around us,
may the brightness of God surround us.
May the wonder of God renew us,
may the loving of God flow through us,
may the peace of God deeply move us,
may the moving of God bring us peace.
