Making It to the Top
Sermon preached by Rev. Patricia Farris
May 28, 2006

On this last Sunday of the Easter season, with Christians all over the world we celebrate the Ascension, the celebration of the power and authority of the Risen Christ, of his nearness to God, and of the affirmation that, in Christ, everything human is forever near to the heart of God.

In traditional church language, we say that Christ ascends to be seated at the right hand of God. His Ascension is really the flip side of the incarnation, God coming to earth to take on human form in Jesus. With Christ’s ascent into heaven, the church is saying that the circle is whole, that God in Christ is always close to us on earth and that we, through Christ, are always close to the heart of God. And that heaven is as near as the heartbeat of God beating within.

Nevertheless, the language of ascent reinforces the old notion that Jesus has “gone up” somewhere, and that’s how the Ascension is always depicted in art, with the disciples looking up into the sky as the Lord disappears from their sight.
Up, up and away! It gives ultimate meaning to the phrase: making it to the top because surely nothing is higher up than heaven itself.

But where is the top for us? How do we know when we get there? That depends, in part, on where or what you think the top is. 63.4 million voters this last week put 29-year-old Taylor Hicks on top, making him the American Idol winner of 2006. That’s more people than voted in the last presidential election, by the way, for whatever that says about the American public. 63.4 million people loved the soulful voice of this up and coming singer-songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama, talented, but not great. Not polished. More like an ordinary guy who hit it big, with a new car, a record contract, a national tour and ready-made fans. We wish him well. We can see a bit of ourselves in him, and dream with him. This is indeed an American idol.

Another guy who made it to the top last week is Andre Cataluna, the seventh-grader from right here in Carson, California. Did you hear about Andre’s victory? He’s the grand champion of the National Handwriting Contest. Did you even know that we have a national handwriting contest? For being the top handwriter in the (continued...)

"Making It to the Top" by Rev. Patricia Farris, May 28, 2006

country, Andre got $1500 in prizes and every kid in his class got a free t-shirt. He won out over 144,000 elementary and middle school students from all across the country—that’s more than originally auditioned for “American Idol,” by the way. Isn’t it great to think of 144,000 kids working on their penmanship? It gives me hope for the future! True, there are studies that link good handwriting with improved grammar, composition and reading. But I like Andre’s explanation the best: “If you’re neat in life, your handwriting is going to be neat,” he said. “If you’re sloppy in life, your handwriting will be, too.” Go, Andre. And hats off to all those dedicated third-grade teachers who are keeping handwriting from becoming a lost art. You’re all at the top!

A singer and a seventh-grader. They’ve each made it to the top in different ways and each has shown us something about ourselves, about our ability to aspire to greatness in whatever field. About the importance of believing in ourselves and our gifts. Each gives each of us a little more confidence to be our best and do our best in all the things that matter most to us.

Oh, how easily we forget, and we think that making it to the top is about climbing over everybody else along the way. We were graphically reminded of this this past week as well. A young Englishman, a mountain climber, having reached the summit of Mt. Everest, died on his descent. He made it to the top, but then had problems with his oxygen equipment as he headed back down. The thing is, there were other groups of climbers out there that day, on their way up. One group stopped to help for a short time, but then continued on their way to the summit, leaving David Sharp behind. As they continued up the mountain, he died.

Commenting on this news, Sir Edmund Hillary, the first mountaineer to reach Everest’s summit in 1953, now 86 years old, and someone who could surely easily understand the determination to succeed and the exhilaration of standing on the top, said: “There have been a number of occasions when people have been neglected and left to die, and I don’t regard this as a correct philosophy. I think the whole attitude toward climbing Mt. Everest has become rather horrifying. The people just want to get to the top….Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain.”

Everything about Jesus’ life and ministry shows us that human life is far more important than getting to the top of anything. In fact, everything about him redefines for us what “top” means. For Jesus, being on the top often means stooping low, stepping aside. It means reaching out and drawing near. It means being willing to give oneself away for the well-being of the other. And I think this is precisely what Luke means when he tells that, just before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples to do just the opposite: “Stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Stay here. (continued...)