Embodied Praise

Embodied Praise from Joseph Taber on Vimeo.


Luke 24:44-53
44Then [Jesus] said to them, “There are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you - that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness on sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nation, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

50Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he withdrew up into heaven. 52And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Ephesians 1:15-23
15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.

When I was in Seminary, I got involved with a local retirement center called Presbyterian Village. They saw part of their ministry as giving students the opportunity to practice worship leadership, and I was given the opportunity to preach there once a month for almost a year.

In their chapel services, the average age was probably close to 80, and at least one worshipper had seen a century pass. There was a lot of wisdom in that room, month after month, centuries-worth of experiencing God's providence, generations of witnessing the grace of Jesus Christ. Their minds and bodies were slowing down, but still they gathered each week to worship God.

Their worship service reflected their slowing bodies, they would remain seated for the Call to Worship and the Affirmation of Faith, only about half would stand for the hymns. But each time I preached there, month after month, when it came time to sing the doxology, the whole congregation would stand. Even those who came in wheelchairs because they could not walk the hallway from their room to the chapel stood up in that one moment in the service. They may not be able to stand for long, but they would absolutely stand and sing God's praises for that one moment. 

Today is Ascension Sunday, when we celebrate that the Lord who rose from the tomb also rose into heaven, and is still seated at God's right hand. Christ is still present, but the part of history when Jesus walked among us in the flesh has passed. God is now intervening in the world differently. Christ is now God-With-Us in a new way. The Holy Spirit is breathing fresh life into the people of God, giving us reasons to stand in praise. For “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness on sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nation, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Today is Ascension Sunday, and our Lord sits at the right hand of God, and we are called to hope. This is the day when the posture of the church changes. "Henceforth, the disciples are to be in a posture of anticipation, looking forward to [Jesus's] return but in the meantime awaiting the promised power from God.” As Christians, we are always up on our toes, leaning forward into the kingdom which is both already and not yet. At any moment we’re ready to rush headlong downhill into what God has planned for us.

The Ascension changes the character of the disciples, and begins to shape them into the church. the seeming disaster of the cross caught the disciples flatfooted. The shocking joy of Easter put them on their heels. But with the Ascension, the earthly ministry of Jesus has come to a close. The disciples have to be on their toes. The tomb is empty and will never again be filled, for the Son of Man has been lifted up. He was lifted onto the cross, lifted from the grave, and now has been lifted up into heaven. “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew up into heaven” The disciples are left with a blessing, one that continues forever.

The change in their posture, the shift in their faith, is a response to the blessing of Christ, which carries them forward from the world-reforming moments to which they are witnesses. They’re brimming with anticipation for the mission that is set before them, dancing back and forth with the excitement of faith in a Risen Lord. “…the gospel always makes in clear that the impact of the faith in here, in our hearts, is because of what God did out there, in God's mighty and redemptive acts.” They have witnessed amazing things.

And you know what? So have we. Nearly Twenty Centuries after Christ’s earthly ministry, we are still witnesses to the mighty works of God. We may not have stood by as Jesus healed the blind and lame, but we have felt God’s presence with us in our own sickness, or those of a loved one. We may not have touched the wounds in the hands of the Risen Christ, but we have seen the work of those hands in our midst. We’ve seen a church racked by conflict come together to build up the kingdom in last years Vacation Bible School. We’ve seen a church that was struggling against decline come alive with new hope as old friends returned and new family joined with us. We know that hope has always been here, but what we’ve seen in this body has given us new reasons to trust the hope we’ve always had.

“I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.” Boy I’d love to take credit for the good things going on in our congregation, but it’s not about me, and it’s not about y’all. It’s about the blessing of Christ, which is given to first to the disciples, then Jerusalem, then all the world. 

We are witnesses to the mighty works of God. Some we have inherited, others we have seen firsthand. But that doesn’t mean we will not struggle. The Christian life is not an easy one, the grace we have been freely given is costly. “The resurrection does not end the fear of death or violence. Rather, the resurrected Jesus stands with us in the face of these horrors and says to us, 'Fear not, I have overcome death.’" Therefore, even in the face of death and violence, we are able to step out as the body of Christ and praise God even amid the terrifying events we will face. We are not immune, but “with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.” We do have hope. We have a blessing from Christ that gives us the faith to be embodied praise.

We are the church, the body of Christ, and it’s not an individual calling, it’s a calling to be united as a community of faith. "Salvation is a corporate affair, known through the church as it grows into the 'fullness' of Christ's body. This is not personal salvation or new-age spirituality. Christ saves through tangible, corporeal, committed community.” Whether that community is a congregation that has been through the ringer over the last few years or a retirement community that still commits to praise. We are the church, in all its varied expressions, following Christ, who is our head.

As the body of Christ, we are not carrying our head to the places we want to go, we are bound to follow where our head takes us. Christ who is our head has ascended to God the Father, “And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” Following Christ, our head, everything we do faithfully brings us closer to God, whether we are sprinting or stumbling.

Not all of us are equally able to chase down the Holy Spirit, but none of us are so stuck that we cannot follow Christ, who has ascended to God, yet is still moving here on earth, among God’s people. Sprinting or stumbling or slowly meandering, we are moving towards God and are praising God with our whole selves, not just our mind or our spirit, but our strength too. Even if it’s just a smile, our bodies are build to praise God.

We joined the disciples in standing in awe of the ascension, just as we joined the ancient Israelites at the foot of the mountain of the LORD. We rejoice with them in our salvation, but the Israelites and the Disciples were still waiting for  what would guide and shape their identity. For the Israelites, it was the law. For the disciples, it was the Holy Spirit, fulfilling verse 49 of our Luke passage, “And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” We have been given both, and have seen the Risen Christ here in the church, which is his body. We have seen the disciples who “…worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.” Therefore, as the Body of Christ, let us eagerly anticipate what God is about to do: something amazing!