Sermon for the Sunday after Ascension
Primary Text: 1 Peter 4:7-11
Even those who have not read The Odyssey know the story of Polyphemos, the Cyclops. Odysseus and his men wander into the cave of the one-eyed monster. After eating several of the men raw, Odysseus pokes out the cyclop’s eye and escapes by disguising himself as a sheep. But the Odyssey is not just a series of episodes meant to keep you on the edge of your seat. There are deep themes running throughout. One of the central themes in the story of the Odyssey is “hospitality.” Even the story of the Cyclops is an example of the opposite of hospitality. Many times throughout the poem, Odysseus and his men are clothed, sheltered, feasted, and given gifts, even before his hosts knew his name. You see, for the Greeks, hospitality was all important.
Hospitality is a lost art. Yet, not completely lost. We know people, people here, who retain the art of hospitality. Some are introverts, some are extroverts, some are single, some have several children. Yet, on the whole, our culture struggles to be hospitable. Yet on this Sunday after the Feast of the Ascension, St. Peter commands us to “have fervent charity among yourselves…Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another.” Charity, hospitality, gift-giving. These are lost arts, and there is something about the Ascension of Jesus that beckons us to reclaim them.
Our subject today is “what the Ascension of Jesus means, and what it means for us.” The outline of this homily is simple. First, we will focus on that great Ascension passage of Daniel 7, where it is prophesied that Jesus would take His kingly throne and dominion at the Ascension, and then we’ll turn our attention to our Epistle reading from 1 Peter 4, which applies the kingship of Jesus to our daily lives.
In short, fervent charity, courageous hospitality, and generous gift-giving bring honor to King Jesus. Let’s dive in.
Open your Bibles to Daniel 7. We are going to walk verse by verse through Daniel, chapter 7, verses 9-14.
“9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.”
This is the setting. Daniel is seeing a prophetic vision or dream. Four beasts rise up, representing the kingdoms of the earth and the power behind them. But in this dream they are cast down. The Ancient of Days sits in judgment. This is God the Father, whose garment and hair were pure white in the glory cloud, surrounded by fire, steam, flashing wheels, and the host of heaven.
“11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. 12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.”
These are, no doubt, confusing passages. In fact, these are some of the most misinterpreted passages in the Old Testament. But what is clear from the text? God the Father sits on His throne. The main beast is destroyed and given to the fire, yet the others, the underlings, are spared for a while. With me so far?
“13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”
These are the key verses that tell us when the preceding events will come to pass. The judgment over the powers of the world will happen when “one like the Son of man comes with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and is brought near before him.” At that time will He be given “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom.” Entire systems of theology and denominations have formed because they miss that all these judgments and declarations occur when Jesus ascends into Heaven. So many have read the "Son of Man on the clouds” and taught, “this is the Second Coming." They forget that Jesus has already been on the clouds of heaven, and not coming to earth, as they say, but to God the Father. The crucial difference is that Jesus is already King of the Universe. The reality of His dominion is already established; we are not waiting for Him to be declared our King when He returns, as so many teach. We live in the Kingdom of Jesus now, and this world properly belongs to Him. The Ascension means that Jesus is King. Amen?
This is really important in understanding our passage from 1 Peter 4. So turn in our Bibles to 1 Peter 4:7. If you only have a Prayer Book, turn to page 179.
Peter says, “The end of all things is at hand.” Why does he say this? It is true that Peter believed like the whole early Church that Jesus would return very soon, but this is not the main reason why he says, “the end of all things is at hand.” He is affirming the kingship of Jesus. Recall from Daniel 7 that after the Ascension of the Son of Man, the lives of the beasts were prolonged for a season and a time. Peter was living in that season and a time, and so are we. Peter believed that when Jesus ascended, He took His throne and was given dominion. So it was appropriate for Peter to speak of himself as in the “last days” and it is appropriate for us, too. We are living post-Ascension, in the year of our Lord, Anno Domini, so Peter says, “The end of all things is at hand.”
“…be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” He is drawing here on the parable of Jesus of the Ten Virgins, who are to watch for the return of the Bridegroom. The kingly return of Jesus is very much in view here. We are to watch for King Jesus, and expect him to return, and behave how He would want us to.
Verse 8, “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” The Kingdom of God should “above all things” be marked by charity. Fervent charity. The Greek word for “fervent” is ἐκτενής from the words ἐκ meaning “all the way out” and teinō meaning “stretched”. We get our words tension and tendon from this word. So ἐκτενής, or fervent charity, means an active love towards the other that is fully stretched, at maximum capacity, far beyond the point of comfort, where it burns a little. This “fervent charity” is what our King desires from us. When He returns, it is our love for others, our charity, which He will judge us by. This is why Peter says, “charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”
Verse 9, “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” Hospitality. The Greek word that Peter uses is φιλόξενοι, φιλό means “love” and ξενοι is the same words as xeno, meaning stranger. Hospitality means the “love of the stranger.” And Peter moves next into gift-giving. “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” He affirms that everyone has received a gift, and everyone should use their gifts to minister to others. Hospitality and gift-givings—these are essential parts of the Greek culture that we see in the Odyssey. So, in as much as Peter is speaking to the Greek culture, he is saying that Christians are to be more hospitable than the Greeks!
But there is another context that Peter is speaking to, and it has more to do with the Ascension than it does Greek culture. The early Church tied the giving of spiritual gifts to the Ascension. They saw in the Scriptures a clear affirmation that the Messiah would receive from God many good things: authority, dominion, the cup of blessing, or more generally “gifts” and that He would then distribute them to His people. The clearest window into this connection is in Ephesians 4:8, where Pauls quotes Psalm 68:18, “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” But hear also Daniel 7. "And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom.” Also our psalms appointed for this Sunday: Psalm 21, “Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withheld the request of his lips. 4He asked life of thee, and thou gave it him. 5Honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.” And in Psalm 24, which we read, this One who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, “He shall receive the cup of blessing from the Lord.”
So it works like this: at the Ascension, Jesus received all that the Father gave Him, and Jesus the King sent those gifts down to His Church, through the Holy Spirit, on Pentecost. It is because King Jesu is so hospitable to us that Peter says, “Show hospitality one to another.” It is because King Jesus gives us so many gifts that Peter writes, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
We live under the reign of King Jesus, and everything we have is a gift from Him. Every talent, every possession, every moment, every healthy breathe. King Jesus has lavished gifts upon us. Let us lavish our gifts upon each other. King Jesus invites us to sit at the banquet table of heaven. Let us return the hospitality that we have been shown to one another, and to those who are yet outside the kingdom of God. King Jesus has shown us fervent charity, stretched-to-the-max charity, such that His very body, His tendons were stretched out for our sake. Can we not stretch ourselves past the limits of comfort or security to love one another? Or what does it mean to show fervent charity?
Fervent charity has to be intentionally pursued. Hospitality does not come naturally. It is opening your home to someone who desperately needs to be at a Christian table. It is giving away money to a sister or brother in need, when you aren’t sure if you can pay your bills. It is giving away your time to someone who is seeking God, even when your schedule is booked. If you’re angry about the quarantine, it means deferring to those who are at-risk. If you’re fearful, it means keeping your eyes open. God might call you to reach out and touch someone who is on the edge of despair. Fervent charity, courageous hospitality, and generous gift-giving means to be attuned to the good of the other, and fully committed to the task of love. We act this way in the Kingdom because this is how King Jesus treats His subjects. Christ the King, love each other to the max, till it hurts. Open up your lives and your homes to each other, and to your neighbors, past the point of comfort, without grudging. And use the gifts that you’ve been given, everything that makes you you and gift it to someone else as a gift “that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever.” Amen.