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Kia ora, and welcome to the St. Francis Church

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Sermon Podcast. We're so glad that you've joined

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us. Our prayer is that as you listen, you would

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encounter God's presence, be refreshed in your

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faith, and equipped for everyday life with Jesus.

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As a church, we are learning to faithfully follow

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Jesus by practicing His way at His pace. For

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more info about who we are and what God is doing

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among us, head to stfrancis .co .nz. Grace and

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peace. Good morning, everybody. I have to confess

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that I recall with some emotion the day some

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25 years ago when my son left home to study in

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Scotland. And at the airport when the time came

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for him to go, his young sister, who had a very

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close relationship with him, sobbed uncontrollably.

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And we saw our son putting one foot in front

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of the other, sadly walking away from us. And

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as he departed across the clouds, we knew that

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his life and ours would never be the same again.

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And it's said that separation can be harder for

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those left behind than for the one who leaves.

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The one who leaves has a new future to focus

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on. Those remaining behind are left with the

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silence and the absence. And a Philippine poet

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once said, sometimes people we love leave before

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we are ready. They walk away in the middle of

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our story. and we are left with the blank pages,

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wondering how to fill them. So my experience

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makes me link in a very personal way with today's

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story of Jesus leaving his disciples on the Mount

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of Olives and descending into heaven. As I have

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with my son, the disciples had a very close and

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loving relationship with Jesus, and they would

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have been heartbroken when he left them behind.

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And this is conveyed in the words of Acts. As

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they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud

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took him out of their sight. While he was going,

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they were gazing intently towards heaven. And

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looking intently at the sky expresses the disciples'

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sense of trying in vain to bring Jesus back.

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and their sense of shock and bewilderment and

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loss at the love of such a dear one. So what

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lessons can we, the people left behind on this

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earth, learn from the account of Jesus' ascension

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from his disciples? I think the first lesson

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is conveyed by what followed after Jesus' departure.

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Suddenly, two men in white robes stood by them.

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They said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking

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up towards heaven? So the disciples were now

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being challenged to direct their focus away from

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their loss. They were specifically called back

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to the place from which they came, Galilee. They

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called back to action, to living in the present

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world. to carry on Jesus' active mission. And

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the serious nature of that mission is indicated

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by the fact that two men in white robes addressed

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the apostles. Two witnesses were required in

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Jewish law for special events, and their white

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robes indicated their integrity, that they were

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telling the truth. And after all, just before

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Jesus' departure, Jesus had given his disciples

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a clear direction. You will be my witnesses in

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Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the

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ends of the earth. And we live at the ends of

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the earth, don't we? So the message for us is

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that we need to continue Jesus' mission in our

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here and now. And St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

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gives a very practical illustration of our mission.

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Let no one ever come away from you without leaving

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better and happier. Be the living expression

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of God's kindness. Kindness in your face, kindness

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in your eyes, kindness in your smile. and easy

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to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.

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I think the second lesson that we can learn from

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the ascension is conveyed by what else those

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two men in white had to say to the disciples.

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This Jesus, who's been taken up from you into

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heaven, will come in the same way as you saw

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him go to heaven. And this means that we, like

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the disciples, continue to have a relationship

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with a living God, though absent in body. Because

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the ascension is linked with the resurrection,

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that Jesus rose above death, continues to live

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in God's presence. So Jesus' resurrection and

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ascension mean that our physical, earthly life

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is linked with a spiritual life. Greater than

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the here and now. So therefore, we have the opportunity

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to continue to be uplifted through our relationship

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with Jesus, though he's in a different place.

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And Pope Emeritus Benedict said of the ascended

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Jesus, Jesus has a continuing relationship to

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his disciples, to the world. In departing, he

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comes to us. And in order to raise us up above

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ourselves and to open up the world to God. Raise

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us up above ourselves. So especially when we

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feel alone and rather dispirited, we call to

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remember our mission to others. We call to remember

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that Jesus will always be there to raise us up

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to more. than we would otherwise be.