Over the past weeks we’ve been celebrating some of the greatest events in the story of our salvation. The first of these was the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. The second was his Resurrection. And today we’re celebrating the third of these great and mysterious events, our Lord’s Ascension. I must say though, that of these great events, I think that the Ascension can sometimes be treated as something of a poor relation.
I often think that the Ascension doesn’t receive the attention it deserves. Certainly, in my experience, when Ascension Day is celebrated on the Thursday of the 6th week of Easter, that is, 40 days after Easter Day, congregations are not what you’d expect for such an important event in the story of our salvation. But our Lord’s Ascension is an important event in the story. It’s an important article of our faith, as testified by the words from in the Creed;
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
When many of his disciples questioned and indeed lost their faith on account of Jesus teaching about the necessity of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, Jesus said,
“Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?”
On the eve of his death Jesus told his disciples,
In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Jesus spoke of the advantage his Ascension would bring to his disciples:
“But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”
And as our ascended Lord, Jesus acts as our mediator and advocate in heaven, defending us against accusations of sin. As we read in 1 John;
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”
As we read these things, we can’t help but see just how important an event in the story of our salvation Jesus’ Ascension really is. Having said that, we can sometimes run into a bit of a problem when it comes to Jesus’ role as mediator and advocate with the Father. By that I don’t mean Christians doubt or deny that Jesus fulfils that role but that they might argue why he has to mediate for them; what have they done wrong that he has to mediate on their behalf. And that’s because people sometimes argue about what is a sin and what isn’t.
When speaking about Jesus as our heavenly advocate, the Letter to the Hebrews says,
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
But Jesus lived a long time ago. He lived in an ancient, largely rural society. That was the world in which he was tempted to sin, and his teaching was tailored to that world, the world he lived in. We don’t live in that world. We live in a modern, technologically advanced and largely urban society. And because our worlds are so different there are many things that we have to contend with that Jesus simply didn’t speak about. Actually, there are also many things that Jesus made no pronouncement on even though they were known in his day. And this can cause us a few problems. How can we know what the Christian thing to do is if Jesus gave no, or at least no clear teaching on the subject? In that case, how can we even be sure whether something is a sin or not? How can Jesus mediate on our behalf on an issue that simply didn’t exist when he walked this earth, one that he was not tempted by himself? And if we can’t be sure about these things, how can we know whether we really are forgiven and our place in heaven prepared?
What we have to do in these cases is distinguish between the phenomena of sin, the act itself, and the phenomenology of sin, the essence of the act, why it was committed, and it’s effect on others. So, and to use an example of a temptation that certainly didn’t exist during Jesus day, is computer hacking a sin? We might immediately say ‘Yes’, but would we be right? Because it might not be, depending on the circumstances. If someone possesses the know how to hack into a computer system and uses that ability to gather evidence in a criminal case or to prevent a crime from occurring then that surely isn’t a sin. But if someone with that ability uses it to steal personal information, gain access to bank accounts and such like, in order to commit a crime, then that clearly is a sin. The phenomena, the act, would be the same but the phenomenology, the reason for the act would be very different. In the first instance the act would have been done to help others, in the second instance, it would have been done to hurt others, and that would determine whether the act was sinful or not.
That’s just one example but there are lots of others. When I was at theological college the big debate of this kind was whether genetic engineering was sinful or not. The answer most of us came up with was along the lines of, if we genetically modify crops in order to solve the problem of hunger then no, that’s not sinful because the intention is to help people. If however that’s done with no regard to the possible side effects of doing it, if it’s done and introduced into the food chain simply to make money, without any concern for the potential effects on the health of those who eat genetically modified food, then yes, that is a sin.
Genetic engineering is something Jesus never spoke about, but the temptation to use our power to change one thing into another is something he did know all about. Jesus’ first temptation in the wilderness was to change stones into bread to solve the immediate problem of his own hunger, but it was a temptation he resisted because it was contrary to God’s will and so not the right use of his power. On the other hand, Jesus also changed water into wine at a wedding in Cana and fed multitudes with a few loaves and fishes, and those things brought people to faith which is what he was sent into the world to do; bring people to faith so that they could be saved.
The phenomena in each of these cases was different, one was changing stones into bread, another, changing water into wine, and another, feeding people with a few loaves and fishes.
Those phenomena were all made possible though by the power Jesus had to change one thing into another, But the phenomenology was different in the first case than in the others. Changing stones into bread would have been a sin because it would have been a selfish act, a loveless act done in defiance of the Father’s will that would have prevented Jesus from fulfilling his ministry to bring salvation to the world. The other acts were not sins because they were done for other people and in obedience to the Father’s will to bring faith and salvation to the world.
And whenever we’re faced with a dilemma about what to do on an issue that Jesus said nothing about, we need to look at these two aspects of the case in question; the phenomena; what are we doing? And the phenomenology; why are we doing it and how is it going to affect other people? And if we’re doing something for selfish reasons, with no concern for others, or even worse, doing something at the expense of others or to exalt ourselves over others, then it should no longer be a grey area or a cause for doubt. Whether Jesus said anything about that particular act or not, becomes irrelevant; it’s a sin. It’s a sin because it’s shows a lack of love, a lack of love for our neighbour. And it shows a lack of respect for God and his ways too which also shows a lack of love for God. And when we do these things we need Jesus to act as our mediator and advocate with the Father, to be the propitiation for our sins. We need Jesus not only as our crucified Lord and risen Lord, but as our ascended Lord too.
Amen.
Propers for Ascension Sunday, 1st June 2025
Entrance Antiphon
Men of Galilee, why gaze in wonder at the heavens?
This Jesus whom you saw ascending into heaven
will return as you saw him go, alleluia.
The Collect
Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God,
and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving,
for the Ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation,
and, where the Head has gone before in glory,
the Body is called to follow in hope.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Readings
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47:2-3, 6-9
Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:19-23
Luke 24:46-53
Post Communion
Almighty ever-living God,
who allow those on earth to celebrate divine mysteries,
grant, we pray,
that Christian hope may draw us onward
to where our nature is united with you.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Parish Church of St Mark Chadderton 