Christ the King Epiphany Church Wilbraham MA

Luke 24:44-53 (Feast of the Ascension)

June 1, 2026

The Rev Dcn Michael Hamilton

Please pray that the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts are pleasing and acceptable to God. Amen.  (pbs)

Years ago, I worked in a hospital in Lowell MA and Lowell was once known to be the most ethnically integrated city in the United States with represented communities from all over Asia, Africa, Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Spanish speaking countries. Typically, each community had its own area and there was a richness in language, food, and customs that were often celebrated, but even as such, there were challenges too.

I remember sitting in the lunchroom with 3 older Greek women and I naively asked, “What is the BEST way to cook lamb?” The first person to respond said to roll the meat in oregano, parsley, mint, and basil so that it was encrusted in the herbs and then roast it. To which the second person commented, “Yeah cook it that way if you want to destroy a perfectly good piece of meat… instead, stuff garlic cloves up under the skin and let it sit for a day before roasting.” Only to then hear, “pfff, how can you serve lamb without a tomato base?” I now realize that the trigger point was establishing a competition by asking about ‘The Best way’, or ‘The One way’, to cook lamb and I could have avoided that by changing the question to ‘how do you cook lamb?’ Looking back, I was just lucky that I did not have any Portuguese, African, Irish, or Spanish coworkers in the room at the time as each would have had their own opinion and I could have caused an international incident!

Sometimes, it is easy to start an argument with how a question is stated, or which source of information is used. Many of you know that I paint icons and in the world of iconography there have been heated discussions around how The Ascension is depicted. Icons are very important to Greek, Russian, Ethiopian, and other Christian faith traditions and they are used in a way of praying. Icons are often referred to as "windows into heaven" because they are believed to provide a visual and spiritual bridge between the earthly and heavenly realms. They serve as a means of connecting with the divine and understanding theological truths through imagery. In painting an icon of the Ascension, whether there is a cloud or not, and where that cloud is situated, can cause a religious debate of Theological proportions that can quickly escalate into arguments, resentments, and dismissal.

• Was Jesus fully human and fully divine and able to ascend into heaven without any assistance? If so, then Jesus must be depicted as a full human body levitating up as a sign that it is possible for a non-divine beings, such as us, are going to be able to exist in heaven. Says Group 1.

• Group 2 would depict the scene as a cloud with an outstretched hand (which is imagery to imply the Hand of God the Father) to take Jesus’ hand as He was pulled up into heaven, thus believing that Jesus was summoned by God and reflecting the truth that God will call us home at the appropriate time too. 

• There are thoughts and beliefs that the presence of a cloud in the icon is similar to depicting God the Father sending an Uber-Cloud to bring Jesus home. The overall picture would have a full bodied Jesus standing on a cloud above the heads of the disciples which would only allow the disciples to see the bottom of the cloud as it rose. Another attempt, to play the middle way, is when Jesus’ crucified feet are sticking out of the bottom of the cloud as the disciples watch as the cloud carries Jesus away from the earth. 

It might sound silly as I am presenting this to worry about this minutia when in fact, we do not have an unabridged or bonafide account of how or what happened. Today we heard Luke’s Gospel read and the account is slightly different from what we heard in our first lesson from the Book of Acts that was also written by Luke.

In the Gospel: Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.  While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 

In the reading from Acts: When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.  They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” 

Same writer, slightly different presentation of the one event. What is curious from the Acts account is the significance of the two men in white robes which is not mentioned in the Gospel account. Some scholars of Luke’s writings question if the “two men” at the transfiguration arrayed in glory, and the two men in dazzling clothes that spoke to the women at the tomb of the resurrection, and the two men robed in white at the ascension of Christ, were Moses and Elijah. The Transfiguration, the Resurrection, and the Ascension, each event fulfilling all scripture in the identity of Jesus as the Messiah as witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.

It might seem odd that the best way to cook lamb, the presence of a cloud in an icon, or the question if the previously unidentified visitors in Luke were Moses and Elijah incognito are somewhat connected in my mind… each one is a rabbit hole that I could investigate further and I could find myself looking up lamb recipes, scanning for different icons, or investigating further how many people comment on the mysterious identities of “the two men.” But what I notice is that following these singular lines of thought, I have forgotten, or not paid attention to, the core message of the Gospel as I am distracted by the fringe items of the story. The core message of this Ascension reading is the commission that Jesus gives to the disciples, and us, that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, We can easily be distracted by shiny objects or differences in preferences or thoughts and overlook the important piece. Repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to all nations.   Full stop.

Are we spending more time in the rabbit holes of our political, social, and familial relationships more than we are in living out the Gospel message to love one another? It is easy to divide into camps of opinion and dismiss the people we consider not like us, ie., those that are ‘wrong’, but in doing so, we run the risk of severing relationships instead of being a member of the One Body of Christ, even when it is difficult. Rabbit holes of immigration, social security, LGBTQIA+ issues, the needs of white males that feel oppressed, the fight over who is and who isn’t Christian, nationalism and dominance are all important issues that need attention, discussion, and in some areas, compromise more than they need the crushing and demoralizing behavior that we currently see in play. I would like to suggest that the old WWJD bracelets that we had years ago that asked, What Would Jesus Do, could be pulled out of the boxes we packed long ago and question us again in how we choose to live out our commission to love one another and preach forgiveness of sins today. Some examples- If deportation is going to happen, is it OK to send someone to a warzone in Sudan? If social security or medicare is going to change, is it permissible to disenroll people with 1 day notice? If I have a problem with LGBTQIA+ ways of life, does that mean I can legislate against those people even when I am not affected by them? To punish them, to hurt them, or deny them the same rights that I have? WWJD? The very idea of what sin is comes down to various opinions and often a different measuring tape of sin is held up against ourselves versus those of a neighbor. On facebook I saw a quote that read, “People that sin differently than I do, really make me mad!”

WWJD? How will we love one another as Christ has loved us? How do we proclaim that the forgiveness of sins is available to all people? These are the questions I am asking that we consider this week and will encourage all of us to spend less time in the rabbit holes that distract us from the Gospel message. Love one another and Forgiveness is available to everyone.

The Lord is Risen. Alleluia.  (The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia)

The Lord is Ascended. Alleluia (The Lord is ascended indeed. Alleluia)

The Lord has sent the Holy Spirit. Alleluia (The Lord has sent the Holy Spirit indeed. Alleluia)

The Lord forgives our sins. Alleluia (The Lord forgives our sins indeed. Alleluia)

The Lord forgives our sins, and the sins of my neighbor. Alleluia (TLFOSATSOON indeed. Alleluia).

Amen