Luke 24: 44-53
Sermon Title: “Presence”
SCRIPTURE:
Ephesians 1:15-23 [MSG]
That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
INTRODUCTION:
In case you’re not up on the intricacies of the church calendar, this is Ascension Sunday, when we acknowledge and reflect on the significance of Jesus ascending back to heaven forty days after his resurrection from the dead, and thankfully, my sermon preparation buddy, Google AI, hasn’t let me down.
This is a time of transition between Easter and Pentecost, marked by five major themes we could contemplate:
1. The Lordship of Christ
2. The Mission of the Church
3. The Promise of the Holy Spirit
4. Hope and Human Dignity
5. Transition from Sight to Faith
And fortunately, the four most common scriptures reflecting these themes are our readings this morning:
Acts 1:1-11: The ascension story and promise of the Spirit.
Luke 24:44-53: The blessing of the disciples.
Ephesians 1:15-23: Christ exalted over all authority.
Psalm 47: A hymn of joy for the ascending God.
But you know me, Google AI notwithstanding, I always see things a bit differently.
Through this Easter season, Jesus dies, is risen and makes a few startling appearances, but doesn’t stay, and then leaves, we might say, for a long time with a promise to return, but also promises to send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, which He does on the day of Pentecost. If Jesus has ascended and, as attested in several scriptures (Mk 16:19; Heb 1:3; Rm 8:34; 1 Pt 3:22), is established at the right hand of God the Father, I am curious about Paul’s words in the letter to the Ephesians that we will read this morning, that Jesus “fills everything with His presence.”
So rather than dwelling on Jesus ‘up there,’ I’d like us to consider how we can know and experience now in this world His “Presence.”
SERMON:
In case you’re worried, I’m not going to go reeling off into a galaxy far, far away on some metaphysical trek explaining the intricacies of the Triune God and Jesus’ transmuted body. As mystical as Paul can be at times, in the letter to the Ephesians, he is relatively practical and straightforward, which is where we will stay as well. He begins saying, “That’s why,” which, if you were reading this at home, should immediately prompt you to look back at least a paragraph or two to understand what the ‘that’ is, which is what we will do to get this out of the way immediately.
That’ is the following in verse 13, “It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it …, found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit.” They had not only heard the truth, but had believed the truth, and more than that, even, they were signed, sealed and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This is crucial to what Paul asserts in our passage. Hearing and believing is only the first step, but this being sealed by the Holy Spirit comes up often in Paul’s writings. It is not something you do; it is the Holy Spirit certifying that you truly have believed and that what you have believed is, in fact, the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the Acts of the Apostles, we have the account of Paul’s work in Ephesus (Acts 18:19-21; 19:1-41; 20:16-37), in which he is surprised to encounter some disciples, although he had not yet been there to preach the Gospel. They informed him that they had been baptized into the baptism of John and didn’t know anything about the Holy Spirit. Something Paul quickly corrected, instructing them in the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus and baptizing them by the laying on of his hands.
Paul spent two productive years in Ephesus and gathered a substantial society of believers, garnering equally substantial opposition from persons in the religious trade, particularly from those serving Artemis, the goddess of Ephesus. So writing this letter from prison in Rome, Paul is understandably encouraged and encouraging upon hearing news of the steadfast faith that this community has maintained. His parting words to them, recorded in Acts 20:32, express his hope and reflect his fear, “Now I’m turning you over to God, our marvellous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends.” And here in this letter, we see his faith is rewarded.
This is why we read in our passage this morning of Paul’s exuberant thanks for their “solid trust … in the Master Jesus and … outpouring of love to all the followers.” But Paul says, “I do more than thank.” He asks God “to make [them] intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally.” Intelligent and discerning. These are activities of the mind and judgment, not mystical, meditative seeking after an emotional experience. Paul’s not telling them to contemplate their katra and ascend to a higher plane of consciousness where they may encounter the ascended Christ.
Intelligence and discernment are what you do here and now in this reality with the resources right in front of you. “Your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do.” When I encourage you to read your Bible at home, this is what I’m talking about. Not seeking some magical transcendental experience but a concrete understanding, albeit with the help of prayer and reflection, of what Jesus is asking you to be and do in your life; your work, your family, your friends, neighbours and especially the fellowship of faith.
It’s not magic, it’s discernment. It requires time, prayer, and work—an exercise of intelligence. If you stop to think about it for a moment, it’s the same requirements needed for any relationship. Getting to know another person, well, requires deep, intelligent reflection and truly sympathetic discernment. Whether it’s your child, your spouse, or a friend, the needs are the same and exigent. It takes time, perseverance, and focus, but it always produces a reward.
I’m really taken that of all the things Paul could ask God for on behalf of the Ephesians, it was this, and significantly, only this one thing, for them to be equipped with everything they need for a full personal relationship with Jesus Christ. A relationship he describes as “this glorious way of life he has for his followers [and] the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him.” The reward? “endless energy, boundless strength!”
Ok, so how many here have endless energy, boundless strength? It’s not a trick question, but I’m not surprised if no one raises their hand. If Nash were here, there might be one, which possibly speaks to why we are to become like little children. Nevertheless, even Paul, as we read about his activities in the book of Acts and in his own testimonies in his letters, was often weary, taxed to his limits, and knew the value of rest. So what is he referring to?
“All this energy issues from Christ.” Which at first glance may strike you as trite rhetoric and a return to metaphysical mysticism, like ‘The Force’ or ‘Chakras’. However, Paul is not talking about your resources, but God’s. The same power in the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and sets him “on a throne in deep heaven” and puts him in charge of “running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments” is there, forever, in us, in His church. Not for you to tap into when you want, so you can do that extra bit for church, family, God or whatever good cause you spend your time in.
This is the “endless energy [and] boundless strength” of the Holy Spirit that Jesus claims to accomplish His work. After all, “He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything,” as Paul says. And here is the really mind-boggling attitude-changing revelation we need to grasp. We are not the outsiders. This world, this universe and all the authority and power in it are God’s creation and under the rule of Jesus Christ, who is the authoritative center of the fellowship of believers, the body of Christ, as we are called, the church.
It is not we who are outside creation, hoping to draw a few worthy souls into fellowship. If we trust Jesus and what he did for us, what we celebrate at Christmas and Easter, then we are welcomed by Him into the presence of God the Father by the same life-giving power that raised Him from the dead and brought Him to the throne of power and authority at the right hand of His Father. We are brought into life, as Jesus was, not by earthly temporal means, but by the life-changing power of God in the Holy Spirit.
We become His voice and His hands in this creation over which He rules, the “body, in which he speaks and acts,” because He wants to invite others, through us, to come and be part of His marvellous creation. We do this by allowing Him to make us “intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally.”
It’s not about religion, it’s about relationship.
Not rules you live by, but in whose presence you live.
Jesus invites you into his presence, offering you the same endless energy and boundless strength that brought Him to His Father’s throne, to sustain you as you seek a focused, clear knowledge of who He is, in scripture and prayer.
Note that Paul doesn’t just say that Jesus fills everything with his presence. There is a means by which He does this. It is through His body, as He has chosen it in creation, the church, us. Jesus speaks and acts through us to the world. But Paul asks God to make us intelligent and discerning in knowing Jesus personally, because unless His presence is in us, He cannot fill everything around us with His presence. We won’t know what He is calling us to do, nor grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for us. We won’t be able to speak and act to show His presence to the world.
From the center of the universe, Jesus rules over all creation, and although He sits, ascended, on the throne at the right hand of God the Father, His ruling presence remains with us at the heart of this world so that He can fulfill His work of salvation for the world. All we need is God to make us intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, in other words, asking for it, desiring it, making it a priority in our lives, and, for goodness’ sake, just doing it, making getting to know Jesus personally, by all means possible, your raison d’etre, your goal and fondest wish; by which He will fill everything in your life, and the lives of those around you, with His presence.
Amen