Musical Prelude and Service.

**  This is Rev. Bloomfield’s sermon from his pulpit exchange
at Cayuga United and Mount Olivet United Churches on Sunday, May 17, 2026

Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?
This is the question the angels ask the disciples after Jesus departs. Why are you
standing around looking up into the sky? Don’t you have something else you should be
doing? That’s me paraphrasing and adding, of course.
There is a reading of the gospels that essentially views the disciples as representative
of the followers of Jesus over the centuries and generations. That they are inspired by
Jesus; they love Jesus dearly, but they also struggle to truly understand what he is
teaching and consistently fail to hear what he is truly saying.
This can, at first seem harsh. If the likes of Peter, Andrew, Philip, James and John
can’t get it right, what hope do we have?
But here’s the thing: despite the struggles of the disciples, Jesus never stops loving
them. Jesus never stops guiding them and teaching them. And finally, Jesus still
commissions them to spread his Good News to the world. God’s spirit still empowers
them to carry that message of hope and God’s undying love to all people. God is not
looking for perfect messengers. God is not looking for flawless. God is looking for
people who love and who trust God.
Just before Jesus ascends to heaven in this story, his disciples ask him a curious
question. “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?
I find this very interesting. The people of Judea and Galilee are still yearning not only
for their liberation from the oppressive power of the Roman Empire, they also desire a
return of the glory that their people remember as being the Kingdom of Israel. They
dream of a return of kingdom under the majesty of David and Solomon. They are
moved by a nostalgia of a time long past and only remembered through legend and
song.
They are hoping for the return of a kingdom fractured and scattered, first by
squabbling siblings, and then conquered and trampled on by a variety of different
colonizing empires. The Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks and now
the Romans. But this is what they hope Jesus offers them. A return of this long

forgotten kingdom and its power and might. And Jesus responds, God only knowns if
and when that will happen. In the meantime, you will receive the power of the Holy
Spirit to share his message of love and compassion and healing with Judea and
Samara and all of the world. Don’t look for God in the might of kingdoms or empires.
God is in the peace and the mercy and justice we share with one another.
Share that message.
The prayer we hear from Jesus in the gospel of John follows along those lines. We
don’t get a scene from the Garden of Gethsemane in John as Jesus pleads to be
released from his terrible fate. Here, Jesus prays for his friends; that whey will
continue to know his presence and by extension God’s presence after he is gone.
It is a prayer of intimacy. A prayer that speaks of God’s abiding presence, even in
times of grief and loss. It is a prayer that tells of how we are all connected to Jesus;
connected to God and to one another. That we may all be one.
This phrase from the prayer of Jesus, that they may all be one can be found on the
United Church crest. It has been there since the 1940s. It speaks in part to the United
Church’s initial ambition of becoming the one national protestant church, but also
speaks of our vision of all being drawn together and connected through Jesus the
Christ. It reminds us of Jesus declaring himself the root and us his branches.
We are reminded over and over that while Jesus may return to God the creator, we
are never far from him. In a real sense Jesus remains with us, guiding us,
strengthening us and loving us. Always. We are empowered by the spirit, but even
before the spirit comes upon us and moves us to remarkable actions, we are aware
that Jesus remains by our side.
What are you waiting for? Why are you looking to heaven?
Are you awaiting the return of former glory? Are you waiting for Jeus to descend and
lead you with might to conquer your enemies?
Is that really the expectation? Or are you ready to receive the spirit as it comes upon
you showing you how Jesus has prepared you to go out into the world sharing his
Good News? The good news that God loves us, no matter who we are, where we come
from, what language we speak, or what clothes we wear. The Good News that God
desires a world of love, of justice, of mercy and of peace. And that in the hope that
comes with that news, we are ready and able to share that Good News with the world,
not only through our words but the way we live our lives. We will live out our hope,
our love, our peace and our mercy.
We can be tempted to take certain passages of scripture on their own, separated from
those that have come before. It is important, I think, to remember that when Jesus
tells his disciples that the spirit will give them the power to share his good news, this is
the same Jesus, who in Luke 4 first preaches from the prophet Isaiah.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
What is the Good News Jesus desires that we share? And how often do we feel we are
not up to being that messenger? Can, or are we, tempted to see ourselves as not
adequate to the task? Do we feel tired or lacking the words? Do we think there are
others more equipped or more enthusiastic? Entirely possible, all of it.
We all have our skills and talents. We all have our own energy. But all of us are called
by God in our own way. And God sees and values each of us as fit for the task put
before us.
Because as much as we may stumble and get lost; just like the first disciples, we know
that Jeus loves us, prays for us and keeps calling us to share that News with all the
world. We are all a part of the body of Christ. We are all attached to the root of this
vine that is Jesus the Christ. Christ abides in us.
That is a great comfort. It offers us a great strength, and hopefully a deep peace.
But it also comes with a commitment to share in our own ways that Good News of
God’s unconditional and unending love. Whether it is through our words or our work,
we share our faith in how we live. And we offer our gratitude through out love for our
neighbours, our community and God’s world.
And so, together we say, Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789