Ascension Day at the Convent of St. Helena in Augusta GA

The Ascension Day festivities at the Convent of St. Helena, Augusta GA this year included The Rt. Rev. Rodney Michel as the celebrant and preacher, and his sermon is included below. The festivities also included the dedication of "Clare's Fern", a fountain sculpture by Augusta artist, Kathleen Girdler Engler.

Kathleen Girdler Engler is well known as an artist in the Augusta area. In Augusta she designed a bronze sculpture fountain for the Maxwell Performing Arts Theater, and she created the monumental bronze fountain which pays tribute to the history and canals of Augusta, her hometown. She is also the creator and director of the "Run with Art" camp for children and the Artist in Residence for the Medical College of Georgia Children's Medical Center.

But she is well known far beyond the Augusta area. She has received numberous commissions throughout the southeastern United State and has exhibited extensively in Italy, Japan, France and New Zealand. At the 2006 Southeastern Juried Exhibition in Mobile AL, her work "Growth", a creation in paper, pulp, wood, stone, crystal and pigments, was named Best of Show.

Kath and her husband Dr. H.S. ("Chub") Engler and their son Eben, now 17, have been close personal friends with Sister Clare for many years. Sister Clare was with the Engler family when Eben was born and was his much-loved baby sitter from his birth onwards. Eben considers Sister Clare his special grandmother. It is a privilege and a joy to have an Engler sculpture on the convent grounds to remember this treasured relationship.

The artist writes: "The fern leaf is a tranquil and delicate symbol of nature which incorporates the unfolding spiral and represents everlasting spiritual joy, new beginnings, harmony, strength and determination. In mymother's home land of New Zealand the unfolding fern is an important element of the native, Maori art and one I have used frequently in my own sculpture. For me it has always been a connection to good memories, beautiful lands and to my family in which I include Clare.

"Creating this sculpture to honor Sister Clare has truly been a labor of love. Chub, Eben, and I have been blessed to know Clare for many years and are grateful that she became such an important part of our lives. Eben lover her as a grandmother and we all love her as a dear friend and member of our family."

We give special thanks to the following donors whose financial contributions made this sculpture fountain possible:
Geoff and Arlene King (who initiated the whole project)
Pat Know-Hudson
Joe and Sissy Bowden
Estate of Cam Benson
Connie Way
And many, many other friends who know and love Sister Clare.

Before her death in 1997, Jeanne Calment was the oldest living human whose age could be verified by official documentation. This remarkable French lady claimed she owed her longevity to chocolate, olive oil, and port wine. On her one hundred and twentieth birthday celebration, someone asked Ms. Calment, “What is your vision of the future?” With a twinkle in her eye, Ms. Calment replied, “Very brief.”

Ascension Day is a time to talk about vision and I wish to thank The Rev. Angela Askew for her insights on this day when our Gospel is about a clash of visions. Jesus’ followers had a very brief and exact vision of the future. Now that Jesus had arisen from the dead, they were sure that He was going to re-establish Israel’s earthly kingdom. God’s chosen people would be restored to power over the Roman oppressors. Everything would be coming up roses! Once again, they were unprepared for Christ’s real agenda.

“You think I’m just talking about a kingdom in Jerusalem?” He might have said to them. “Well, hold on to your hats, friends, because I’ve got something bigger in mind. What about a kingdom that covers the whole WORLD?”

BEFORE JESUS COULD RETURN TO THE CREATOR, HE NEEDED TO ENLARGE THE VISION OF HIS FOLLOWERS. There is a story of Ben Burton growing up in the backwoods of Arkansas who with his friends marked the boundaries of the outside world by the nearest “big city” they knew, McNeil, Arkansas. Every time they wanted to exaggerate a distance, they would say, “It’s as far from here as it is to McNeil.” When Ben’s aunt took him to Pine Bluff for a visit, he was exposed to new sights and experiences, like an outdoor telephone.

Over his lifetime, Ben became a world traveler. McNeil is no longer the outermost boundary of his life. But he ponders the sadness of some people who never question the limits placed on their lives. As he says, “. . . even today, there are little children growing up out there with a McNeil horizon, with parents unable or unwilling to help them understand how limiting it is to stop all your dreams at McNeil--and no Aunt to take them to Pine Bluff.”

The apostles’ vision stopped at McNeil. They were planning for an earthly throne of power. But Jesus was planning a world invasion ~ an invasion of Grace: not of might and force, but of love and truth and peace.

First, Jesus wanted them to spread his message in Jerusalem. Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? Except that Jerusalem was where Jesus had been crucified. The local authorities there were still searching for his followers. At best, they could expect persecution. At worst, death. Judea was the larger region surrounding Jerusalem. You would think the apostles could travel anonymously in Judea. But even in this larger region, they would be facing some barriers. All the apostles were from Galilee and Galileans were not well-received in the surrounding regions. They were considered religiously impure, tainted by Gentile influence. Jews even made fun of the Galilean accent, in the same way that Southerners might make fun of a distinctly Northern accent.

The command to take the message to Samaria was even more shocking. Samaria was settled by Jews who had intermarried with pagan peoples. They did not practice the orthodox Jewish faith. Samaritans were thought of as “half-breeds.” Generations of hatred and suspicion had grown up between orthodox Jews and the residents of Samaria. Why would Jesus offer his message of hope to the Samaritans? This is like being sent into enemy territory.

Jesus also asked His followers to take the good news to the ends of the earth. What did that mean? Would they even be expected to share the message of the kingdom of God with Gentiles? This was all beyond the apostles’ imagination. They couldn’t yet wrap their minds around the enormity of this task. AND SO, BEFORE JESUS COULD RETURN TO THE CREATOR, HE NEEDED TO RE-DEFINE THE VISION AND THE POSSIBILITIES.

Hudson Taylor a great twentieth century missionary to China used to say that there are three phases in great tasks undertaken for God: Impossible, Difficult and Done.

Because Jesus was giving his followers an impossible task, He was also promising them incredible power. Jesus was assigning to his followers then and to us today the monumental task of continuing that Invasion of Grace, of spreading the news TO THE WHOLE WORLD that God came in human form, that God conquered death, and that God offers us the gift of eternal life. Because this is a superhuman task, it can only be accomplished through supernatural power. The apostles couldn’t appreciate it just yet, but Jesus was about to give them a power far beyond anything they had ever experienced.

Some of you may remember the Captain Marvel comic book hero from the 1940’s. Poor, orphaned Billy Bateson could turn himself into Captain Marvel just by uttering one magical word—Shazam! Shazam! was actually an acronym for all the powers that Bateson received when he was transformed into Captain Marvel. It stood for Solomon’s wisdom,
Hercules’ strength,
Achilles’ courage,
Zeus’ powers,
Atlas’ stamina, and
Mercury’s speed. SHAZAM!

The power of the Holy Spirit goes far beyond the minor gifts granted to Captain Marvel. The Holy Spirit is Christ alive in us. Immanuel forever. All the works that the disciples had seen Jesus do—preaching, teaching, inspiring, comforting, healing, increasing of resources (like the loaves and fishes)—they would be able to do. Jesus’ earthly Presence had to depart in order for this Power to descend.

And that power would be absolutely necessary because Jesus wasn’t just calling the apostles to be his witnesses. The word that Jesus uses in Acts 1: 8 is marturas, the root of our word martyr ~ a person who makes a great sacrifice for, or even dies for, their faith.

Of the twelve men who were closest to Jesus, almost all suffered and died for their faith. The Holy Spirit also gives the power to face death if necessary for the cause of Christ. Only the tremendous power of the Holy Spirit can give us the courage to stand firm under any circumstances and preach the message of Jesus. Jesus’ followers did not know how they would do it, but they would dedicate their lives to making Jesus Christ a name known throughout the world.

Forty two years ago the Order of St. Helena began their new work in Augusta, Georgia, at the invitation of Bishop Stuart. The Sisters, friends and supporters of St. Helena all caught a vision larger than the “McNeil Horizon” and became part of Christ’s Invasion of Grace in the world ~ modeling love, truth and peace in this part of God’s Kingdom.

The Sisters have held to the vision of Christ in this place for more than four decades and now we can say “see what God has wrought.” We are all part of that larger vision of bringing Christ’s message to the whole world and to all the people ~ of invading the world with Christ’s message of love, truth and peace.

On this day when we remember the clash of visions, we pray:
“Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
All else be nought to me, save that thou art ~
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.”
Our parting word, “Goodbye,” is actually a shortened form of an old blessing, “God be with you.” And this was exactly the blessing that Jesus was leaving with His followers, on the day of His Ascension and even today. God is with us. God is in us. If we truly have Jesus’ vision, then nothing will be impossible for us. May God be with you.