As Far as Bethany
Luke 24:44-53
A priest was warning his listeners about the suddenness of death. “Before another day is ended,” he thundered, “somebody in this parish will die.” Seated in the front row was an old man who laughed out loud at this statement. Very angry, the priest said to this man, “What’s so funny? Aren’t you afraid that you could be the one who will die?”“Not at all,” replied the old man. “And why not?” asked the priest. “Well!” spoke up the oldster, “I’m not a member of this parish.”
Here in America, where anyone can belong to any church, and there can be a church on every corner, we are not used to thinking about being members of a parish. If we think of parishes at all, it is usually when we hear reports from the state of Louisiana, where what they call a parish is what we would call here a township.
In the time of John Wesley, a parish was a geographical area served by one parish priest. This priest, sometimes called the vicar or the rector, held all the sacramental and administrative authority in the parish. Since the Church of England was a state church, the parish priest was practically the equivalent of the county clerk, responsible for all the records of the people.
As it is today, it was considered then bad form to interfere in another priest’s parish. Wesley was officially a priest of the university, so he didn’t have a parish. Under the rules of the day, he could only preach somewhere at the invitation of the parish priest. So when he took up field preaching, it raised some concerns with the parish priests.
His first field preaching was in the coal fields, which were beyond any parish lines. And everything beyond the parish lines was called “the world.” So when they asked him by what authority he could preach to coal miners, he replied for the first time, “The world is my parish.” This was a technical defense, because it indicated that he was not interfering with another priest’s area of responsibility.
We know, however, that John Wesley didn’t limit himself to the coal fields. He soon would open a preaching house in Bristol, and then another inLondon, and then he opened preaching houses throughout England. He was now obviously interfering with other parishes, so he needed to explain how he could do this in good conscience.
So he wrote in his journal, which he regularly published, this explanation: “I look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation. This is the work which I know God has called me to; and sure I am that His blessing attends it. Great encouragement have I, therefore, to be faithful in fulfilling the work He hath given me to do. His servant I am, and, as such, am employed according to the plain direction of His Word, ‘As I have opportunity, doing good unto all men’; and His providence clearly concurs with his Word; which has disengaged me from all things else, that I might singly attend on this very thing, ‘and go about doing good.’”
Wesley was, of course, quoting Galatians 6:10, about doing good unto all men. In his mind, if there was a conflict between what proper people wanted and what sinful people needed, Wesley would chose the gospel option. But Wesley didn’t just wake up one day and say, “This is a good day to upset the parish priests and break the rules of the Church.” It was a progression of moving forward as the Spirit led him, taking the next step, even if that next step was a bit scary.
It reminds me of a scene that occurs early in the Lord of the Rings, written by J. R. R. Tolkien. Frodo Baggins is headed out to find the elves, and his traveling companion is Samwise Gamgee. They have arrived at the edge of the Shire, the land where they both lived, and Sam hesitates.
Sam says,“This is it.” Frodo asks,“This is what?” Sam takes a deep breath and explains: “If I take one more step, it'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been.” While some people look forward to going on adventures, and leaving home behind in order to find themselves, home is what grounds Sam. Home is where he knows who he is and where he fits in, and how he belongs. Home is valuable for Sam, and as much ashe would like to see the elves, he doesn’t want to walk away from home. He has been brought to the edge of what he knows and what is comfortable, and has been asked to take one more step. But if he takes it, he knows there will be more steps to follow.
I understand the appeal of living in a small world. I have earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a doctorate in ministry – and I did it all within 20 miles of where I went to kindergarten through high school. And if the Methodists didn’t ask their ministers to itinerate, I might still be within 20 miles of where I grew up. But I got asked to go on an adventure, to take that next step in following Jesus, and it has led me to places I might never have gone to on my own. And that has made all the difference.
Today, we celebrate the ascension of Jesus. This was once a major festival in the church, a celebration of Jesus returning to heaven after his resurrection. But in the last couple of centuries, we have been embarrassed by the idea that a physical human being can rise up in the air and then disappear in the clouds. We don’t know how to explain it scientifically, and we have forgotten what it means theologically. So we just kind of ignored it.
Even as we believe in Jesus, we would rather stay comfortably at home. Weknow that Jesus has conquered sin and death for us, and that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves except believe. We don’t want to stray too far from this belief, hesitating to take the next step to follow Jesus on this great adventure of faith. Yet the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles thought it so important that he reported the ascension twice.
We can be distracted by wondering “where did Jesus go?” Instead of affirming that Jesus returned to his Father to sit at God’s right hand, we may wonder if we can get to heaven the same way Jesus did. We may wonder if there is a place where, if we could just rise up high enough, Jesus will be waiting for us, hanging out on a cloud. But that is missing the point.
Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus took his disciples to the place where his ride on Palm Sunday began. It was also the place where Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. In this place, Jesus opened their minds about the scriptures and how he had fulfilled them. And then he gave his disciples the next step on their great adventure of faith. Jesus tells them that life in the kingdom of God is about repentance and forgiveness.
As far as that goes, it sounds good to the disciples – particularly if they can keep their world very small. Sometimes, the world is a very small place. It can seem that everything that is important happens here, not out there. That had been the experience of the disciples. Before the crucifixion, the disciples had traveled with Jesus, but they were never too far away from home. They had witnessed the miracles, the healings, the teachings, the triumphal ride, the cleansing of the Temple, the arrest and crucifixion, and the resurrection appearances – and it had all taken place in their small little world.
On the day of our reading, Jesus takes them from Jerusalem as far as Bethany. This was the distance that someone could walk and not violate the laws about working on the Sabbath. They were still in their small world. But then Jesus did something they did not expect. Jesus ascended into heaven.
The Ascension means that Jesus is not with them anymore. It means thatif Jesus is to be in the world, he must be in the world through us as the Body of Christ. And now, “Where did Jesus go?” is the right question to ask. As they wondered about this question, the answer came to them.
Jesus went to outcast Samaritan villages and talked with outcast women, and welcomed them in. He went to leper colonies and offered the lepers healing and new life. He went to fishing villages, like Capernaum, and found apostles, like Peter, John, and James. He went to mountainsides and fed both the bodies and spirits of the people. He went to resort villages, like Jericho, and ate dinner with those who, like Zacchaeus, hung out in trees. He went to weddings, like at Cana, and helped the people celebrate. He went to funerals, like at Nain and Bethany, and brought new life and hope to those who grieved. After his resurrection, Jesus went as far as Bethany and said, “It’s time to take the next step, to go the farthest you have ever gone from home. One more step, and you will be doing work – my work. Go into the world, preach repentance and forgiveness, and build my kingdom.”
Before sending them out to be the Body of Christ, Jesus pointed them to the scriptures. Like most of us here, the disciples had read the scriptures before. They knew the stories and laws; they had sung the psalms. Yet, Jesus tells them to go to the scriptures again. Open your minds, and read them again knowing what you know now about the resurrection. Open your minds, and read them again knowing what Jesus has done among the lepers and the outcasts. Open your minds, and read them again, knowing that Jesus is the one who fulfills the scriptures. Open your minds and know that there is a difference between proof-texting the scriptures to support your viewpoint, and having the scriptures interpret your life story from God’s point of view.
Before sending them out to be the Body of Christ, Jesus showed them the path that brings the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. The kingdom comes, Jesus said, when repentance and forgiveness of sins are proclaimed to all nations.
Repentance means we know that we are not blameless in the broken relationships, and animosity, and fear that exists between peoples and nations. Repentance means we know we have to change our way of thinking, and our way of acting, and our way of dealing with others, if we are to be like Jesus.
Forgiveness of sins means that we know that the past is past. Forgiveness of sins means that we will not allow the past to control and define how we see others, but instead we choose to see those who have harmed us, and failed us, as those who stand with us at the foot of the cross. Forgiveness of sins means living out our belief that Jesus’ death on the cross atoned for all our sins, and not just for mine.
At his ascension, Jesus called his disciples to be the Body of Christ. We are the witnesses. We are the ones who have to step up, and step out, in faith. This is our mission to the world that still groans under the sentence of death for their sins. We are the missionaries who have been called to model repentance in a world that chooses power over justice. We are the ones who have been called to forgive others in a world that chooses revenge over mercy. We are the ones who have been called to model generosity in a world that chooses greed over helping the least and the lost. We are the ones who have been called to model hospitality in a world that chooses confrontation over community. Jesus says to us, “I have gone to be with my Father. Go, and be with my people.”
History is littered with people and movements and philosophies that sought to build utopias, to create new Gardens of Eden, only to fail. They failed because their hope was grounded in limited ideas, rather than in the omniscient mind of God. They failed because their vision was grounded in human desires, instead of divine needs. They failed because they believed the power of sin could be defeated by willpower, when sin can only be defeated by the blood of Jesus Christ. The ascension means that the kingdom comes when we are the Body of Christ, proclaiming repentance and forgiveness for the redeeming of the world.
The world is still our parish. Let us live together as the Body of Christ, taking the next step on our great adventure of faith, so that the day will come when all the world can sing with us “Jesus shall reign!”