Homily Easter Seven Year C 2019
Fr. Dale Matson
Today
in my homily, I will be talking about the Ascension of Christ. I also want to
talk about the “In between times”: Our ADL’s.
In our collect today it states, “Grant, we pray, Almighty
God, that as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have
ascended into heaven, so we may also in heart and mind there ascend, and with
him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever.” Amen.
Christ ascended into heaven forty days after Easter.
Ascension Day is one of the seven Principal Feast Days in the church year and was
celebrated last Thursday. Next Sunday is another of the seven Principal Feast Days. It is the Day of Pentecost where the Holy
Spirit descends on the Apostles and the Church is empowered to proclaim the
Good News of Jesus Christ. Until this point, the Apostles were spending a good
deal of time behind a locked door in the upper room. They were obediently
waiting but while they waited, there was no boldness, only fear. They had seen
their resurrected Lord for forty days and then He ascended to Heaven. Christ
told the Apostles to wait a few days in Jerusalem for empowerment by the Holy Spirit.
He said they would receive a “baptism”.
This period of waiting did amount to a matter of days and this Sunday
would be day three of ten. The in between time from Christ’s Ascension
to Pentecost was ten days. While they waited, they were still fearful that they
too would be arrested and suffer the same fate.
There is a repeated cycle of joy and sadness for the
Apostles with the in between waiting times. In the story of Lazarus,
Christ’s friends were happy to see Him but sad that He had not come sooner.
While they awaited His arrival, their brother Lazarus died. Sometimes the
waiting times were relatively brief like the resurrections of Lazarus and
Christ. For us it is a much longer period of waiting as we await His second
coming in glory.
Christ’s friends were sad that he was crucified and died
and was buried in the tomb but filled with wonder that he arose from the dead.
In the tomb account two men dressed in dazzling white clothing suddenly appear
beside them. They were afraid and could not look at them. These men are Angels.
Angels are messengers that appear at important times to explain to us what is
happening. It is interesting to me that they explain things not by making a
statement but by asking a question. “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”
In our reading from Acts Jesus issues the great commission,
tells the apostles that they will receive empowerment from the Holy Spirit and
ascends into heaven on a cloud. Again, the Angels are there to jolt the
Apostles back to reality. They stood there watching Him ascend probably very
dazed by the experience and feeling deserted once again. They probably kept
looking long after Christ had disappeared from sight. Once again, two men
dressed in white ask a question. “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking
into the sky?” They are sad at His departure but given hope by the Angels.
“This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way
as you saw Him go into heaven.” This statement by the Angel is somewhat of a
puzzle but partially explained in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus prophesied
about the future, “At that time the sign of the son of man will appear in the
sky, and all of the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the son of
man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” This is a
reference to the second coming of Christ as judge. He’s dead! He’s alive! He’s
with us. He’s gone!
What a rollercoaster ride this must have been for His
followers. What about the kingdom? I thought we were going to be made kings
under your rule Lord. Before Christ ascended they actually asked, “Lord, will
you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” No, you are missing the point.
The Kingdom of God is a spiritual state not a state in the material world. You
are not going to be kings. You are going to be persecuted and die a similar
death.
How
much of your life has taken place in the “in between times”? How often has a
situation seemed to drag on with no resolution and finding a resolution, how
often does a new crisis bring with it a new in between time?
Paul was in an in between time too. He wanted to go
to Heaven and be with Jesus but knew also that he was needed on this earth. He
knew it would be better for him to go but better for us for him to stay. Aren’t
we glad that he did stay long enough to write much of the New Testament?
We
are not left comfortless during these in between times. Christ was born
Christ died Christ will come again. The Holy Spirit is here to comfort us. He
is here and even called the comforter and the counselor. He is the one called
alongside as the advocate. He is that still small voice offering exhortation
and encouragement. Listen to Him. Listen to Him in the silences between the
background noises.
It seems like the in between times for
me has required me to again focus on the activities of daily living. They are
often referred to simply as the ADL’s. While our hearts and minds are supposed
to ascend to Heaven with Christ, our bodies however, remain here.
The ADL’s are what occupy much of my
thinking day by day. As you may know, I’ve had two hospitalizations already
this year for different reasons. Not being ill is different than being in good
health. Being in good health requires careful and informed self-care. Jesus was
our model here. He was careful to see that the people who came to hear Him had
enough to eat. He set aside time for prayer, fasting and solitude. He
fellowshipped with and served His friends. His first miracle was to provide more
wine at a wedding feast.
We are fortunate to live in an era and
location where we are only minutes away from help with our acute health care needs. However, that does not mean that we can
ignore signals our bodies send us that there is a problem. Scotty, in the form
of the Holy Spirit is in the engine room calling up to the bridge, “She can’t
take anymore captain!”
Jesus often referred to Himself as the
bread of life (John 6:35), the water of life (John 4:14), the Prince of Peace
(Ephesians 2:14a) and our place of rest. “Come unto me all you are heavy laden
and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Bishop Schofield used to tell his
priests that if they didn’t get enough rest, they were no better than
adulterers since we are commanded by God to honor the Sabbath.
I now
want to cover some of the things that I am learning and you may be dealing with
also.
1. One of the biggest threats to the
health of our senior saints is dehydration.
Are you drinking enough water? Proper hydration is necessary for our bodies
that are about 50% water, to remain healthy. Dehydration can also lead to
dizziness and falling and to high blood glucose levels.
2. Are you getting enough sleep? Our
bodies need between 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Research demonstrates that
lack of adequate sleep means that the deep sleep needed for the body to repair
itself does not take place. Lack of sleep raises anxiety levels, insulin,
glucose, and keeps stress hormone levels elevated. Lack of sleep can also lead
to depression and weight gain.
3. There is a consensus among health care
professionals that the most important contribution we can make to our own
health is a healthy lifestyle and diet habits. That is first line prevention.
4. A healthy lifestyle means moderate
daily aerobic exercise. Of course, if you haven’t seen your primary care doctor
in quite some time, it may be good to check with her or him first. Most
insurance plans cover annual checkups.
5. I want to talk about diet also. There
are three kinds of food. Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat An entire generation was
led to believe that we should aim for a high carbohydrate low fat diet. This
has led to an epidemic of obesity when combined with larger portion sizes,
Trans fatty acids, inactivity, processed foods and the use of high fructose
corn syrup.
Morgan
Spurlock did a documentary film about eating three meals per day at McDonald’s
for one month. He gained 23 pounds and it took a psychological tole on him
also. The documentary on the danger of fast foods was called “Supersize Me”.
An estimated
160 million Americans are either obese or overweight. Nearly three-quarters of
American men and more than 60% of women are obese or overweight. These are also
major challenges for America's children – nearly 30% of boys and girls under
age 20 are either obese or overweight, up from 19% in 1980.
What does this
mean down the road? The incidence of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke
and type II diabetes will continue to increase apart from an aging population
and in spite of billions of dollars spent on pills. Alzheimer’s Disease is now
being referred to as type III diabetes because it is related to insulin
resistance in the brain.
My mother
died from Alzheimer’s Disease and my older sister was diagnosed with it 2 years
ago. Both were type II diabetics.
What can
you do about this? Inform yourself about proper nutrition and reduce your
calories from carbohydrates. Additionally, there is the discipline of fasting.
With my primary care physician’s blessing, I do what is called intermittent
fasting. I am on a 16 hour fast 8 hour eating schedule. I also fast for 24
hours or 48 hours once a month. Father Carlos has covered at length the
benefits of fasting from a spiritual and Scriptural perspective.
In my case
that means I eat dinner at 5pm and breakfast at 9am. What happens when you fast
for 16 hours between meals? During this time of fasting, insulin, glucose and
cortisol levels are reduced. The body burns stored fat for fuel instead of
glucose. Cell repair is enhanced, insulin resistance is reduced, those who are
prediabetic are less likely to become type II diabetics, reduces oxidative
stress and inflammation. Inflammation and insulin resistance are linked to many
of our deadliest diseases. I use two important tools every day. I have a blood
glucose meter and a blood pressure device. I include the results in my daily
journal. The glycemic index and load of the foods you eat would surprise you.
For example, there are more grams of carbohydrates in a banana (27) than a
Hershey Bar (20).
A three day fast has also been demonstrated to boost stem
cells and help heal the gut biome respectively. http://news.mit.edu/2018/fasting-boosts-stem-cells-regenerative-capacity-0503.
https://atrantil.com/blog/to-fast-or-not-to-fast/
Hippocrates the father of
medicine stated that all disease begins in the gut and we are only recently
learning more about the gut/brain connection. If I may… put fasting in computer
terms, fasting is like doing a hard reset to get the computer back to factory
settings.
At St. James, we consider our church to be a house of
prayer but, as St. Paul stated, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples
of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not
your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”
(1st Corinthians 6:19-20). The Manufacturer’s warranty of 3 score
and 10 (70) is up for many of us. Thank God there is an extended warranty for
all Christians purchased by the sacrificial blood of our Savior Jesus
Christ.
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