Pastoral Letter 166

Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,

Grace and Peace to you all.

I hope you are all doing well.

This Sunday we celebrate Ascension and next Sunday Pentecost. Ascension occurred 40 days after the Resurrection when Jesus ascended to have after giving His instructions to His disciples. And Pentecost, on the 50^th day, ten days after Ascension, is the day when the Church was established by the coming of the Holy Spirit and the power of God, to represent and to be the body of Christ. We are the members of His body in this world until He comes back. Jesus instructed His disciples to wait and pray after He ascended until the Holy Spirit was given to them as He promised. With the coming of the Spirit, the era of Christian’s ministry started with the birth of the church of Christ. Following Pentecost Sunday, we start the After Pentecost period, a period of time that varies in length depending on whether Easter is early or late. In this period, the church recalls its faith in the Holy Trinity. It seeks to relate its faith as a people of God to Christ’s mission in the world. It commences with Trinity Sunday and concludes with the feast of Christ the King, which follows by Advent.

On Monday, a small group of us will be heading towards Narrabri for a week trip. We are glad that next Sunday, on Pentecost Sunday our small group will worship with the Narrabri Uniting Church, while those who will not be joining us, will celebrate with St. Aidan’s Anglican Church. Please note that, next Sunday the Service at St. Aidan’s is at 9:00 am and not 10:00 am. We were informed about this change this week. I will send around my Pastoral Letter next Saturday as usual, with the Order of Service that we will have with Narrabri Church, for those who will worship from home.

As I have mentioned last week that on Sunday, 7 May 2023, early morning a devastating fire ravaged the Armenian Evangelical Church of Ainjar, Lebanon, causing substantial material damage. The fire began in the church’s heaters, damaging equipment, incinerating church records in the pastor’s office, and causing severe smoke damage throughout the structure. The floor tiles have to be replaced and new office equipment will be needed. A lot has to be done to restore the church, so the congregation can resume worship and community service in the church building. Please pray for the congregation and if you can, help them financially. The AMAA is raising funds to assist them.

If you will not be able to be with us tomorrow morning Worship Service, please light a candle and join us following the attached Order of Service.

Be safe and well, continue to pray, remembering those who need care, support and love. Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.

Here are some prayer points for this week:

1. Pray for the people of Ukraine, Armenia and Artsakh.
2. Pray for the Ainjar Church as they endeavour to restore their church building.
3. Pray for the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, the struggling and the stressed.
4. Pray for those who are unwell and struggling with different kinds of medical issues.
5. Pray for those who are facing natural disasters causing death, loss and pain.
6. Pray for world peace and ask for God’s blessings.
7. Pray for our trip to Narrabri for a safe journey.

Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.

Best Regards,

Krikor

MESSAGE

His Witnesses Until He Comes

Luke 24:44-53, Acts 1:1-11

Our second reading today suggests that Ascension occurred shortly after the Resurrection; according to the author Luke, 40 days after. We read that Jesus took the disciples to the Mount of Olives, blessed them and then He was lifted out of their sight. Therefore, the Ascension story was critical at that time, and it is still critical for us today. Otherwise, His few appearances during the post resurrection forty days would have simply faded in occurrence and significance and perhaps in their memory too.

But the Ascension lifts Jesus up again as God and on this occasion into Heaven and in a way that endorses His resurrection and creates the application of His return again in the future. As well as His ascension affirms His position at the right-hand side of God the Father, from where He supervises His operations world-wide.

In the opening verse of Acts, Luke tells us that this second book is a sequel to his first book which was about the life of Christ written to his friend Theophilus. Here he gives an important clue to the theme of the book when he says that his Gospel was about all what Jesus began to do and teach. The very clear indication here is that Acts will detail Jesus’ continued ministry.

Jesus was seen alive for forty days before the Ascension. Then He took His disciples to the Mount of Olives where He ascended to Heaven. This was in reality His crowning after His victory over death. The disciples saw with their own eyes how He was taken up to Heaven, to go there and get His lawful place at the right-hand side of the Father.

Before Jesus was ascended to heaven the disciples brought up a question that they have asked several times before. “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the Kingdom of Israel?” Is this the time for the Kingdom of God? Jesus had spoken much about the Kingdom during His ministry and many people, including the disciples, were expecting a dramatic change and the establishment of the Jewish Monarchy. The Pharisees also had asked when the Kingdom of God was coming (Luke 17:20). It was enough to know that His power over Satan was sufficient proof that the Kingdom had come upon them. But here He replied to the disciples saying that knowing the time was not theirs but God’s. The thing they had to do at that time was to go to Jerusalem and wait to receive power and be witnesses to the ends of the world until He comes back.

His disciples did as they were instructed to do. They gathered in the Upper Room with the family of Jesus and a group of faithful women, altogether about 120 in number. This was the pre-church group, which was established ten days later on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of God came upon them in the form of tongues of fire. Interestingly we see here Jesus going up and the Spirit coming down. There is always the idea of God being up there and we, the sinners down here.

The Gospel represents the power of the Son of God and His task. A task which comes to its conclusion for Jesus, but at the same time that same task remains to be an unaccomplished task for the church and the body of Christ. If the church is the church it is supposed to be and if the disciples are really His disciples, they should follow in the footsteps of their Master and Teacher. He gave them a clear command for a job to be done. And the church should do that specific job, which is to be His witness.

But the question we ask today is:

Why should the church continue to witness and labour?

There are four simple reasons for the role that the church has to play:

1. It has a Blessing – His Blessing

Jesus blesses all His disciples and followers. As the church to play our role we need His blessing. We find several examples in the Bible where people bless others, like their children. Isaac blessed Jacob. A father blessed his son and gives specific commandments and directives. The greatest disgrace is rejecting a father’s blessing. Jesus blessed the church, His body, which was going to be established and was supposed to continue His legacy.

2. It has a Promise – His Promise

The given promise is the Holy Spirit. The disciples with Christ had represented no power. The simple proof was their state when He was captured, tortured and crucified. And now as Jesus was being separated from them, what was supposed to be their state? The Holy Spirit not only would comfort them, but it would give strength; a power to function as the body of Christ.

3. It has a Command – His Command

The command was to be a witness for the Lord. Until that time, they were not witnesses for Him; though they were following Him and at some point, going from town to town, from village to village to share the Good News. But they did not have the zeal to be perfect and their faith was weak, and they needed the power of the Spirit. They were the remnant of the old and the core of the new. The given command was to go out in the entire world and to testify and preach the gospel. And the disciples did that with the power of the Spirit. Is the church doing the same today? As the church we are called to be His witnesses until He comes. This is our holy duty.

4. It has Support – His support

The Lord has promised to be with them and with the church, till the end of time. He works with all those who are willing to obey His commands. “Now I go, but I am with you always. You labour, take care, water, but I make it grow”. We are the labourers, but the Lord is the one who makes it grow. He is our helper in our endeavour.

The church has to go forward with the help of the Lord. In this way a new era starts for the Christians. It is the responsibility of every Christian to be a witness. The Word of God should be spread by the church which is filled with the Spirit. We have to preach about salvation, if we don’t, then we are not the church and cannot be a living witness for God. And if we don’t want to be a living witness, we are not supposed to be here and part of the body of Christ.

Let us testify and preach about the resurrected Christ, who ascended to Heaven as He is the only means of our salvation.

Come, let us continue to do what we are supposed to do with the grace of our Lord and Saviour.

Amen!