Saying Goodbye & Moving Forward: A Sermon for 7 Easter

It’s hard to believe that last Thursday marked forty days after Easter Sunday. To me, it seems like just yesterday that we were celebrating Jesus’ resurrection from the dead with all of the festive trappings of Easter Sunday. The 10-day period between the feasts of the Ascension and Pentecost used to be officially known as Ascensiontide. For some reason, the period of time known as Ascensiontide has taken a seat in the way, way back on the church bus and is all but forgotten in churches these days. But I think that we would do well to reclaim this period of significance in the Church’s tradition.

Among the many meanings that Christ’s ascension into heaven bears for us, I think that one of the most rich has to do with leaving. After forty days of being with the risen Christ, the disciples were probably beginning to think that he would never leave them. Perhaps they were even getting a bit comfortable. But the time came when Jesus was called to return to his Father in heaven. But when he left his disciples, he promised that he would be sending an Advocate (the Holy Spirit) to lead and guide them as missionaries of the Good News. 

Christ’s leaving is an incredibly significant part of his story and ours. No doubt his mother, his disciples, and the others who were in his wider circle of followers were not ready - even grieved - to see him go. And who could blame them? What would a life of discipleship look like going forward without Jesus in their midst? What identity would their community of believers take on once Jesus was gone? Who would be their leader and guide?

Christ’s ascension into heaven begs the question - What if one of the primary pillars of Christian discipleship is learning how to say goodbye to those we love, as well as how to move forward in a healthy, faithful manner? If we look at the stories in the Bible, so much of these stories involve the people of God saying goodbye to significant people in their community of faith - whether it was Moses, David, Elijah, or Jesus. The reality of life is - regardless of our context - we will have to say goodbye to those we love at some point. And as people of faith, we are called to do a good job of saying goodbye - as well as to do a good job of carrying on afterwards. 

In the past year or so, we at Christ the King have had to say a number of difficult goodbyes. We have had what feels like an inordinate number of our parishioners move away for one reason or another - most of whom were long-time pillars of this parish in terms of steadfast commitment and leadership. In addition to that, the covid-19 pandemic forced us to say goodbye to worship, formation, and fellowship as we knew and loved it. And sadly, we have had some of our beloved parishioners die in the past year or so, and due to covid, many of us were not even able to say goodbye how we would have liked to. 

For those who have been away for a while, when they return, it might, in many ways, feel like a very different parish than it did just two years ago. A lot of that has to do with some of the difficult goodbyes we have had to say. But goodbyes are an inevitable part of being a community. It is the communities that do this well that are able to move forward in a healthy, hopeful way. And I think that the brief season of Ascensiontide can help us live in the healthy, faithful tension between saying tearful goodbyes and welcoming with hope what God has in store for us next.

This coming Wednesday, we will have a celebration ceremony for our kindergarteners at the Tree House Episcopal Montessori School. And while I am proud of our graduating class, I will be sad to see them go. I have now been here long enough to see a group of 18-month old kids begin in the pre-primary class and make it all the way through kindergarten. And the transformation is nothing short of God’s many miracles. 

This is the sort of tension many of us have been and will continue to feel as this is the season of graduation ceremonies for our children, relatives, and friends. Part of us wants these young folks to stay around forever. But we know that it is time for them to move to the next phase of their journey. And I’ll chalk it up to God’s providence that these departures are happening during the season of Ascensiontide. Our scriptures and traditions of the Church give us the models and tools for saying goodbye and for moving forward. 

Our reading from the Acts of the Apostles today addresses one aspect of saying goodbye and moving forward - the commissioning of new leaders. The story of Peter and the other ten disciples praying to God - and then rolling dice- to determine who would join them as a new leader is simultaneously spiritual and pragmatic. I think that this story shows us that we can pray for God’s intervention to give us clarity and to raise up new leaders, and that is part of the process. But there also involves our initiative. I think this story tells us that the Holy Spirit helped them discern that both Justuss and Matthias were duly qualified to be the twelfth disciple. From there, they simply had to choose, and for them, they chose to cast lots, or roll the dice, to make their final decision. 

Jesus gives us a model for leaving and for “saying goodbye” because in the Ascension, he promises that though he is physically moving on, he will never truly leave his disciples. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he is always with us, and we are never alone. So as our young folks begin to move on to new schools, new jobs, new cities, and new chapters in their lives, let us rest assured that they will never be alone, and neither will we. 

And as the beloved pillars of our parish family move on to new chapters in their journeys, let us rest assured that they will never be alone, and neither will we.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ never leaves us alone. The disciples had to form what we now know as the Christian Church without Jesus physically by their side to lead and guide them. Our being here today is living proof that they were up to the task. And my friends, so are we. 

But the disciples couldn’t do, and neither can we, without the power of the Holy Spirit. And that is who we wait for between the Feast of the Ascension and the Feast of Pentecost. Let us wait in faith and hope, trusting that Christ will be with us is his absence and in his presence.