Sermon May 17^th 2026
Easter 7 following Ascension Day

On Thursday May 14^th the church celebrated Ascension Day.

In our modern five day working week these midweek festivals tend to get overlooked which is a shame especially for something as important as the Ascension. In days gone by Ascension Day would have been important enough for the Derby Telegraph to have had a front page spread showing the Bishop blessing the wells at Tissington. The well dressing continues every Ascension Day but the Derby Telegraph’s attentions are now elsewhere.

When I was a chorister our practices were held on a Thursday and so we did have an Ascension service. Inevitably we would sing “God is Gone Up with a merry noise (and the Lord with the sound of the Trumpet)”. There are two excellent versions by Gerald Finzi and Arthur Hutchins.

For us Ascension is a positive experience. Our saviour has not only risen from the dead he has visibly ascended into heaven to return to the Father. We have read the book, seen the trailer and watched the full length feature film. Yet how confusing it must have been for the disciples, their emotions must have been conflicted despite what Jesus had already told them. On the night before he died in John 16 vs 16 he had told them “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”  In vs 18 in the same chapter we are told that the disciples “kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

In the gospel reading from chapter 17 Jesus had prayed to the Father in front of the disciples and in vs 11 he had pointed towards his resurrection and ascension in his prayer “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.” He then prayed for the father to protect them.

Even if the disciples had fully grasped all of this their emotions must have been all over the place. They had gone through the pain and despair of the crucifixion. They had felt abandoned. Then they had enjoyed the euphoria of the empty tomb, the Emmaus Road appearance and the appearance at breakfast on the shores of Galilee. And now? Just when they thought they had got him back for good, He’s gone again. Or at least he’s gone physically. One commentator described the Ascension in terms of Jesus becoming the first person to invent working from home as! Perhaps at that point the disciples were beginning to understand what Jesus had told them in those hours leading to his arrest and crucifixion, but it was not yet fully clear to them.

We know that they still did not fully understand because in Acts 1 vs 6 they ask him “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus quickly moves them on from this narrow political view and instead refocuses them on being witnesses from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, empowered by the Spirit rather than focused on timing. Jesus commands the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the “Promise of the Father” (the Holy Spirit). This highlights that ministry success relies on God’s power rather than human ability. Waiting times are necessary preparation, not wasted time.

The disciples were at that point in danger of wasting time. They kept their gaze heavenward. They have been doing so for some time had they not been interrupted. In verses 10 and 11 we are told: “They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. Men of Galilee, “they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” The disciples had been given a commission which was more than just standing, staring and waiting.

That, of course is an important lesson for all of us- not to be passive but to take on the commission given to us by God through the Holy Spirit.

When they were ‘woken up’ and their minds brought back to earth they returned to Jerusalem to begin their work. The believers—including the apostles, women, and Jesus’ brothers—meet in an upper room. They are described as being “continually united in prayer”. This unity in prayer is seen as a model for the church, seeking God’s guidance for what is to come.

It is at that point that Peter takes leadership.  If we look just beyond the set reading to verses 15 to the end of the chapter we see that Peter uses scripture to explain that Judas’ betrayal was part of a larger plan foretold by the Holy Spirit through David.

What can we take away from the account of the Ascension in Acts 1 4-14?

• Dependency: The church’s work must be done in the power of the Holy Spirit, not human strength.
• Prayer: Active, unified prayer is the necessary precursor to doing God’s work.
• Scripture: Peter uses the Old Testament to understand the events unfolding around him, highlighting the importance of Bible knowledge.

Are we going to be one of those who stand and stare upwards or are we going to be one who Acts in the name of the risen and ascended Jesus, in the power of the Spirit through prayer and scripture?

John Foxon