By Dr. Gale A. Yee
The EDS China group attended the 10am
service of the Shanghai Community Church on Sunday, May 20. I was wondering why
the church was already filled when we arrived at 9:30. Pui Lan explained that
there were other rooms with closed-circuit televisions, and that these people
came early to get a seat where the action was. There are three services each
Sunday and each one is packed. What a difference from our own services in the
US! Our group sat in a section with earphones for simultaneous translation. The
hymns were in both Chinese and English and I was very happy that I was able to
sing along.
The sermon was delivered by Rev.
Zhang Ai-Li, a graduate of Nanjing Seminary. As a former Roman Catholic used to
ten-minute sermons, I wondered what I would feel like after a 45-minute sermon,
but I was quite engaged. I might have lost something in the translation, but
here it goes: Rev. Zhang spoke about the meaning of the Ascension and why it
was important for our faith. Jesus teaches the apostles for forty days about
the kingdom of God. Forty is a special number in the Jewish tradition; it was
their time of wandering in the wilderness where they were tested. Jesus too was
tested by the devil for forty days. Jesus thus provides a new explanation for
the number forty. We may suffer and be tested, but we still have hope in the
resurrected Jesus.
Like all good sermons, Rev. Zhang
had three points on why Jesus
ascended to heaven. First, according to John 14:28, Jesus tells the apostles
that he must ascend in order to return to the Father. And when this happens,
the apostles will believe.
Second, according to John 14:2,
Jesus tells us that in his Father's house there are many mansions and that he
ascends to heaven to prepare a place for us. We learned that theologians have speculated
on where heaven was. According to one view, there are three levels above us.
The first level is the sky. The second is outer space, and heaven is located
beyond outer space. Heaven is the place where those who are resurrected go.
Because Jesus ascended, he becomes for us a resurrected model of what we too
will eventually experience after we die. Heaven is very much a part of our
faith. We do not have to fear death, because we have this hope that God has
given us.
Third, according to John 14:16,
Jesus ascended to heaven in order to send us the Holy Spirit, our Helper. Jesus
could not remain with the apostles in a human body, but through the Holy Spirit
Jesus still lives among us.
If Jesus is in heaven, what is he
doing up there, Rev. Zhang asks? According to Hebrews 8:1, Jesus is our
heavenly High Priest who, like the Israelite priests of the temple on the Day
of Atonement, prays for our sins. Also, like the earthly priests who light the
lamps of the temple, so does Jesus light our lamps when we feel weak. He will
add oil to our lamps to give us power so that our lights can shine.
I was impressed at the way Rev.
Zhang used John's gospel to preach on the Ascension text of Acts 1:1-11. As a scripture scholar, I also wanted to make
sure that all my references were correct, and indeed, I discovered that they
were all wrong, perhaps because they got lost in translation. I did not have a
bible with me, so how did I find the correct texts? There was a Bible in my
Shanghai hotel room! A United Bible Society Good News translation! Some things
never change!
All in all, we had a wonderful first experience of the Chinese Church.
Dr. Gale A. Yee is Nancy W. King Professor of Biblical Studies at Episcopal Divinity School.
Thanks so much for sharing. love it...Safe travels for everyone
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the sermon on the Ascension from half way around the world. I smiled thinking, "Yes, our priest preached on the Ascension, too." Of course, the lectionary is worldwide, but it isn't so often that I get the sense that we are One the world over. Thanks!
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