• "Come, Obtain Mercy and Find Grace to Help in Time of Need"
• Sermon for the Sunday in the Octave of the Ascension
• May 8, 2005
• The Reverend Stephen C. Scarlett

In the liturgies for confirmation and adult baptism, the candidate is asked, "Do ye promise to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?" (BCP 297, 278). These are the central themes of the Ascension. Jesus returns to the Father to be enthroned as Lord and King and to exercise his priestly ministry. As priest and sacrifice, he saves us from our sins. As Lord and King, he rules over us.

Christ's role as savior is highlighted by the verse from Hebrews (4:14,16) that is the opening sentence for Morning Prayer (BCP 5) during the season of Ascension. It says, "Seeing that we have a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Jesus offered the one, full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice for sin on the cross. In the Ascension, Jesus carried that sacrifice into the Holy of Holies in heaven where he now presents it perpetually before the Father on our behalf. This heavenly truth is revealed in the eucharistic liturgy. The memorial of Christ's sacrifice is placed on the altar here, just as it is continually present before the Father in heaven. We come to the Father through Christ and his sacrifice-and no other way.

Sin separates us from God. Sin brings guilt, which builds up over time if sin is not confessed and forgiven. People do lots of things to deal with guilt. They try to deny it by adopting deceptive religions that say we have no sin. They try to medicate away the pain of guilt by various drugs. They keep busy so as to never find themselves still in the presence of God where sin might be confronted. They live life feeling guilty and heavy laden.

The answer to sin is forgiveness through the cross of Jesus. Forgiveness cannot be assumed. We must face the truth about who we are and what we have done, confess our specific sins, receive the healing grace of forgiveness and break free from sinful patterns of behavior.

Jesus gave us sacraments to communicate to us the benefits of his sacrifice and intercession. The grace of forgiveness is received through baptism, which the Tradition counts as remitting the guilt of Original Sin. In the Eucharist, we plead the merits of his sacrifice for our sins and receive the objective pledge of cleansing and forgiveness in the body and blood of Jesus.

In the sacrament of confession, the visible priest on earth stands in for the invisible priest who represents us in heaven to be a witness to our forgiveness. In personal prayer we continually ask, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

As we come to Christ seeking the remedy for sin, we follow Christ as savior. As Hebrews says, "[Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (7:25).

To follow Jesus as savior is prerequisite to following Jesus as Lord. Guilt holds us captive to sinful patterns of behavior. Forgiveness leads to obedience. When we are free from the guilt of sin, we are free to obey from the heart. We should note that, above our altar, the image of Jesus as the sacrifice for sin on the cross leads up to the image of Jesus as the ascended and enthroned Lord.

To follow Jesus as Lord means to do what he says to do. This does not mean only that we are to obey rules. It means, also, to follow the impulse of the Holy Spirit, by whom the law is written in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:31f.). We are called to obey the moral commandments, but, more than that, we strive, as Christians led by the Holy Spirit, to act from pure motives, to do what is best for others from the heart. This is what it means to love. As St. Paul says, "Love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:10).

But obedience is not merely good behavior towards others. Following Jesus as Lord also means to be faithful in service. Jesus commanded the apostles to be witnesses to the end of the earth. He also calls each of us to a life of witness and service.

At the Ascension, the apostles were told to wait until the Holy Spirit came. The ten days from Ascension to Pentecost were a time of prayer. After a time of prayer and waiting, the Spirit led the apostles into the ministry God had prepared for them. This is a pattern for us. To follow Jesus as Lord means to ask, "What do you want me to do?" And then it means to persevere in prayer, to wait until we get the answer.

Part of following Jesus as Lord is developing the new habit of praying, waiting and discerning which replaces the old habit of impulsively or compulsively following the desires of our fallen nature.

To follow Jesus as Lord is the joyful service of the redeemed. We have been saved from sin by the priestly and sacrificial ministry of Jesus so that we are no longer bound to live a life of disobedience, which leads to death. We are free to obey and serve God from the heart with the consequences of peace, joy and eternal life.

Following Jesus as Lord and Savior is a challenge and, at times, a struggle. We fall short of perfect love and so need to continually return to the High Priest for pardon and cleansing. We drift, being pulled to and fro by world, flesh and devil, and so need to pray continually for new direction from our Lord.

The heavenly ministry of Jesus provides us with exactly what we most need. His priesthood and sacrifice provide the means to deal with the past so that we can be forgiven and reconciled with God. His rule and guidance gives us the direction we need for the future so that we can live the lives of meaning and purpose God intends for us.

Jesus has ascended into heaven to appear in the presence of the Father for us as our Savior and our Lord. Therefore, "Let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."