HOMILY – ASCENSION SUNDAY

FURMAN UNIVERSITY

GREENVILLE, SC – 6:30PM

May our Ascended Lord give us His peace.

What choo lookin at?  The hope in His call.  Making disciples.

What choo lookin at?  The disciples are gathered with Jesus, they had seen and heard the Risen Jesus many times over forty days, and now He was speaking to them about the coming baptism in the Holy Spirit.  They ask Him, “Lord is this the time when you will restore all of Israel?”  “You are not to know when, but you will be given power to be my witnesses in this region.”

As they looked to Him, He was lifted up into the sky.

Two men dressed in white say, “What choo lookin at?  Jesus who has left you will come back.”  They are like children watching their parents drive away, leaving them all alone.  The angels comfort them.  Don’t worry, they’ll be back.  Jesus will be back.  He promised.

The hope in His call.  Ever meet someone who has lost hope?  It is flat out scary.  Each of us hangs our lives on some hope or other.  We’ll be able to make some money, we’ll be able to get hired, recruited, recognized.  We hang our attitude on beliefs like, I am a good person.  My family, friends love me, I am good looking, good in music, sports, business, science, leadership.  I am called to help people – I must be valuable.  These feed my hope.  But do you know real hope?  Hope that will not disappoint? 

It comes from His call to you, to each of us, to me.

His call to us goes like this…

You know me.  You know I suffered worse than you.  You know I was brutally killed after being rejected by religion and government.  You know that I have been bodily with my people after death, they saw me, then ascended to my Father.  But do you know that I have gone where you will go? Do you know that I have gone to prepare a place for you?  Do you know that in Me, sin and death don’t win?  How’s that for hope?

Your place is not here.  Here, you learn about there.  Your citizenship is in heaven and I will come back and take you to myself.  That enough?

The hope is not in a good game, a successful grade, your mirror.  It is in Him who offers the ultimate gift.  A life everlasting that sin and death cannot frustrate as you follow Him.  Our hope is in His call.  Follow Me.

Making discples.  So, what to do, what to do.  Make disciples!

How?  Why?  By your grateful life, because His gift is for all and His gift will now come through you in the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you receive such a gift, can you really keep it to yourself?

I remember as a boy of 10 getting a yellow Tonka bucket loader.  Yes, I did in fact keep it to myself, digging up our entire back yard.  But I soon wanted to show it to friends and play with them, creating a whole town.

I had to share the good.  Make disciples?  Of course, unless you have nothing to learn, nothing to share, nothing to give.  But oh you DO have something to give.  His gift, His life, His offer. 

They may say, “what choo lookin at?”  You can respond, “A gift.”

They may say, “Why do you sing?  Dance?  Laugh?  You fool!” 

You can respond. “I sing because I’m happy, I dance because I am free,

I laugh because I used to think it was all about me.”  Hah hah hah. 

And as we live and laugh and love, full of Hope because of Him,

we make disciples, and please Jesus, and are found ready for Him to come.