He went but is he gone?
Today was my last Sunday at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Grenfell. It felt odd in a way. It’s not that I’ve been there so long; rather, it’s that the times I’ve been there have been memorable. Sometimes they’ve been memorable, because I’ve made a mistake, which isn’t too surprising,what it’s a different church with a different service setup, easy to make an error or two.
So what do I do on the last Sunday at a church? At this church? I do when I always do, I preach the lectionary selections. I’ve seldom had a reason to divert from the lectionary. Time after time, it has provided what the congregation needed. What more could I ask?
Today’s lectionary texts are about the ascension. Not too surprising, today is Ascension Sunday. So what does that mean? What it means is that Jesus ascended as he said he would, and this Sunday is the Sunday we recognize it. As I was pondering what that might mean, I ended up with this sermon title: “He’s gone but is he really?” I think it’s a worthy question, obviously, I think all my sermon title questions are worthy questions, but I think this is a good one because what do we do with the Ascension?
What I was trying to get at is we don’t have Jesus’ corporeal person to be around nor did the disciples. They had to learn how to do without having Jesus around, not the easiest thing in the world and hard for us to imagine. I tried to put it in perspective by saying we all have people in our lives who are no longer in our lives for whatever reason . . . are they gone really? No, they’re not. I borrowed the quotation; I have no idea where it came from, that no one is really gone as long as at least one person remembers them. If that’s true for human things, it’s even more true with Jesus. Jesus left so the Holy Spirit could come, and that’s where I spent most of my time.
What was interesting is that it seemed to really connect with the congregation. I wouldn’t have planned intentionally to use Ascension Sunday for a last Sunday, but it was there on the church calendar, and I think it spoke to the congregation. I hope it speaks to you, and if it does, as always, you’re able and willing to comment,as I’d love to hear what you have to say.
Blessings,
