Ascension Sunday + 5.21.23
M. Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(Acts 1:6-14; Ps.
68:1-10, 33-36; 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; John 17:1-11)
From Ps. 68: “God
gives the solitary a home and brings forth prisoners into freedom ….
You sent a
gracious rain, O God, upon your inheritance; *
you refreshed the land when it was weary.”
From 1
Peter:
“Discipline
yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls
around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for
you know that your [siblings] in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of
suffering.”
This scripture from 1st Peter first struck me when
I was in the monastery at Mt Calvary, praying with the monks. Perhaps some of
you have experienced this, but when stay at a convent or monastery that invites
its guests into most or all of its prayer hours, it is a kind of spiritual
workout to do all of the hours with them. The last couple of years before the
brothers left Santa Barbara, we weren’t invited to the 6am lauds prayers, but before
that, one could pray with them at 6am, 7:30am, 11:30am, 5:30pm and 8pm. And
those last prayers of the night held the above warning- “keep alert, your
adversary like a lion prowls, seeking someone to devour. Resist him.” I always
thought it was a cold splash of water in the face on a cozy night of prayers
with the monks.
And yet….
If you have spent time at a monastery or a convent, you know that at first it
is all peace and calm. You step away from day-to-day concerns. Perhaps you turn
off your phone and join the prayers and take a nap and read a spiritual or fun
book. But then you spend enough time in prayer, and enough time with yourself,
and you realize that you have a lot to work on. Or is it just me? Rather than
feeling all sweetness and light, I began to find myself a bit grumpy. The adversary
seemed to lurk, in those quiet spaces. I bumped daily against my limitations in
way that I can avoid in my normal daily life because I keep busy enough to avoid
myself. I learned that it is not a coincidence that monks need daily reminders
to resist the adversary.
They that seem closest to God in prayer also are perhaps most at risk. Because
we know that when we truly make time for God, spiritual forces will get in the
way. Obstacles arise, internally and externally. Great good is accomplished,
but also much must be overcome. When Alene and I would go into prison to do the
Spanish-language retreat called “Kairos” with the residents at Dublin, CA we
would pray beforehand. We would pray: God, don’t let anything prevent us from
going in and spreading your word. Because it was uncanny. Someone would get
sick, or something would happen to prevent them coming. The adversary did not
want to let these women out of its clutches. And yet, when we prayed, often we
did feel protected. We felt safe, even entering that scary place. And by the
end of the program, it felt like the roof had come off, so light was the air
with joy and God’s love. It was a triumph of good news! We felt the unity.
Thus it is very interesting to see what happens to the
apostles after Jesus ascends to the heavens in the passage today from Acts. Jesus
is talking with them, and they want all the details. Time and place, Jesus, we
want to know. Of course, they want to make their plans. But Jesus, very
unhelpfully I may add, says, sorry! You don’t get to know the details. But you
will still witness to me. You will do important things. In Jerusalem, Judea,
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. To the local area, and everywhere. You
will spread the message. And then he peaces out. A cloud comes up, and he’s
gone. Did he literally get swooped up into heaven, like Elijah, except perhaps
without the chariot? Who knows exactly. But he is gone. And what do they do? At
first they stare at the sky, Because why not? What goes up, must come down! But
the perhaps angelic messengers say, hey, get it together. He’s not here. You
have work to do.
So they go home. They get together, along with the women, and
they pray. This was the wisdom of the disciples. To know that Jesus has called
us to do great things! But first we must gather together, and we must pray.
That is how we get to unity. That is how we guard against the effects of the adversary.
We put on our spiritual armor. And we pray. And wow, do we need that right now.
When we see a shooting, we pray. When we see an anti-trans law, we pray. When
we see the immigrants at the border just trying to make a better life, we pray.
But we don’t stop there. We pray so that we can be strong. Strong to do
whatever it is we can do in this world to make a difference. To spread the good
news. To fight for a different world. To be present to those in need.
Because, reflecting on last week’s passages in a Facebook
post, Peter Carlson reminded us that baptism is where we are reminded that we
are the ones we are waiting for to do G-d’s work in the world, with the
Spirit’s help. They said:
“Baptism, in the prophetic work of John the Baptiser, was a call to repentance …
a promise of turning away from the glittering gods of gold-and-silver, and
turning toward our un-glittering, powerless neighbours, lying battered
alongside the road. …. Baptism WAS repentance, and a guarantee of suffering at
the hands of worldly authorities, of people who value gold and silver more than
human life and dignity. Suffering, of course, is part of everyone's life in
some way or another, but the author of Peter is reminding us that, since we’re
going to suffer, we should suffer for the right reasons: for that Divinity in
the alleys, in the back streets, in the trackless forests and craggy cliffs of
existence.”[1]
We should suffer for each other. Because that is what our
baptism means. As much as I want a cozy prayer time, my prayers are all
designed to eventually send me out. To resist the adversary.
As we remember all that Jesus did for us, and the unity for
which he prays in today’s gospel, and as we reflect on the unity that can only
be found when all of us get together and pray, let us also remember our
baptism. Our call to repent, to turn back to God, and to see those in need.
But first, let us pray. With prayer, and within community, we
can find the strength we need to fight against the adversary within and
without. To fight for a better world, a world that is more just and loving and
kind.
As we pray in this space, and as we wait in this liturgical
time between when the heavenly feet have ascended and the Spirit has descended,
let us look at our own feet, weary with dancing away the day --shout out to
those who hung in there with the line dance last Sunday - phew! Or perhaps your
feet are weary with a 10- or 12-hour shift on your feet, in a factory, or a
hospital, or doing a lecture or chasing small children. Let us touch our own
heads, which will soon feel Spirit’s flame. Let us remember the anointing of
our baptism, and the water. Let us remember receiving the flame of the Spirit,
even if the memory is one remade due to being so young active memories weren’t
being formed. Let us let the flame into our hearts again. Let us pray together,
remember our baptism and remember that God uses these poor hands, for the holy
work of the Kingdom. So that we can all experience unity with God and with each
other. Amen.
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