“THE THRONE
AND THE MOUNTAIN”
|
|
A sermon preached Readings: Revelation
4:1-11, Luke 24:44-53
|
Today
we think about the ascension.
What
actually happened?
If you
had been hovering in a helicopter
over the mount of ascension on the day in question,
what would you have seen?
Jesus
going upwards like a hot air balloon into the
stratosphere?
Put
that way, for most of us at least,
we realise we are asking a silly question.
The
ascension story is written the language of poetic symbolism.
To
ask how far up Jesus went is like asking Tony Bennett –
who famously left his heart in San Francisco –
when the transplant operation took place.
This
is symbolic – or if you prefer mythical – language –
But
what then does the ascension story symbolise?
What
is the truth behind the symbol?
The
ascension is often seen as symbolising Jesus’ withdrawal –
his going “up up and away”
But
going up more normally has connotations of power and authority –
of going “up and over”.
Often
we speak of people “going up in the world”,
of rising to power, of overseeing a job or ascending to a throne.
Yesterday
someone told me it was good to have a minister to look up to –
unfortunately I fear they were only referring to my 6’1” physical height
and not to my moral and spiritual stature –
But
we often speak seriously about those we respect as those we look up to.
It
is surely in this sense that Jesus ascended on high –
ascending to the ultimate throne of power,
to that position of authority over the whole world,
indeed the whole cosmos.
The
ascension says
“This Jesus was not just a rabbi and a martyr,
he was is and ever shall be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords,
the King of heaven and Earth.
This
year ascensiontide coincides with the 50th
Anniversary of the Coronation.
And
it is interesting to recall that at her coronation,
our Queen swore a solemn oath to do her
utmost
“…to maintain
the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel”
In fact
the whole coronation service explicitly recognizes
the power and authority of the sovereign as being dependent upon, and
subservient to,
the ultimate kingship of Christ.
Now
there are those who would say that this is no longer appropriate language
for a post Christian multi cultural state –
and that is an important and significant debate.
What
is clear for us as Christian is that we
(whatever the British constitution may or may not say)
should always look for rulers who see their authority as coming from God
And
Tony Blair in his famous speech at the end of the Iraq war,
said that he was content that his policies
and the innocent blood shed in the war
should be judged by his maker on judgment day.
Now
again there are those who would be worried about Tony Blair’s judgement
(in both senses of the phrase) –
and that is an important issue
as we continue to chase phantom weapons of mass destruction -
But
the key underlying point is this –
whether the monarch or the Prime Minister,
our leaders have authority vested in them,
but ultimately they will be called to the throne of heaven
to answer for their actions.
The Queen has in fact been called to task for not
keeping her coronation oath –
not by God,
but by an organisation called the National Council for Christian Standards –
they wrote to the Queen in 1999
complaining that she had broken her vow to uphold the laws of God
when she signed acts of parliament which legalised abortion
and liberalised the laws on censorship, divorce and gambling.
They received a polite
reply from the Home Office
which stated cheerfully that all was well, because
“The Queen… acts on the advice of Her Ministers,
who would not wish to advise Her Majesty to sign into law any provision
which contradicted the [coronation] oath”
[cf Ian Bradley, “God Save
the Queen – the Spiritual Dimension of Monarchy” London, DLT, 2002, p.167]
Now
there is another big can of worms here –
what is God’s will about legislation on divorce and abortion and so on?
Many of us would not be as self confident about knowing God’s mind
as apparently the NCCS.
But
the key point is this –
ultimate authority is not vested in Kings or Queens,
Prime Ministers or Presidents, Bishops or Ministers –
it is vested in the one who has ascended to the throne of heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father.
And though we may struggle to know what God wants of us in every situation,
we cannot avoid the struggle to discern his will,
for he is the ultimate King of Kings.
At a meeting the other week, we were going to
have a vote
and someone said that it was important as a Church that we acted as a
democracy.
Someone replied “we are not a democracy – we are a theocracy –
an organization ruled not by the will of the people but by the will of God –
and when we vote in church meetings and synods
we are not doing so in order or impose our will on the Church
but in order that after prayer and thought we might discern the will of God.
And
all of us – not just the Tony Blairs of this world –
have power and authority in the world –
and all of us – not just kings and princes-
have the opportunity to use or abuse that power.
We’ve all seen loads of TV footage of Everest this
week.
Something amazing about
standing on top of the world,
looking down on everyone and everything at your feet.
And
I was reminded of the temptation of Jesus –
you remember how (in another poetic sequence)
Satan took him to the top of a high mountain
and showed him all the kingdoms of the earth spread out below him.
We
are all shown some small part of the world at our feet –
some territory, some community, some person,
over whom we can exercise power and authority.
In
whose name do we do it?
Get
thee behind me Satan –
Man
shall worship God alone.
Next
Sunday is our Church Anniversary –
when we will thank God for those who have gone before us in this place,
and ask his blessing on our future work.
Those
who built this Church have long gone home to glory,
and as we sit here, they are gathered around the heavenly throne.
Let
us pray this day that we in this life may serve the King of Kings –
and in all we do in his Church below,
always use our God given power and authority to serve him –
So that the Church here below may be nothing less than a colony of
heaven,
and we ambassadors of the King.