"Ascending Expectations"
6-1-14 (Easter 7A, Ascension Sunday)
Acts 1:6-14; Luke 24:44-53
Ascending Expectations
This Sunday is the last Sunday of the Easter Season. In some churches on Thursday, people gathered together to celebrate the Day of Christ’s Ascension. Many other churches, including ours today, may choose to recognize the Ascension during Sunday worship and to focus on that in their exploration of the readings for the week.
It’s easy to skip over the Ascension, in a lot of ways. We move through this entire season of Easter simply marking time and making sure we have our red outfits chosen and laid out to be ready for Pentecost. We have a pretty good understanding of the Resurrection at Easter; we know the thrill of celebrating the very birth of the church through the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. But there’s a crucial step in the middle that really ties these two events together - and that’s the Ascension. Without the Ascension, the Resurrection is no more important than that of Lazarus. And without the Ascension, there would be no Pentecost.
But what makes the Ascension so important? Why does it matter that Jesus goes back to heaven? Why was this one event so important that is is carefully included in the Creeds that we recite - that Jesus “ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty?”
Luke has some of the answer to this question in both of his accounts of the Ascension, found in Luke and Acts - which are actually meant to be seen as two Acts of one greater drama showing the ministry of Christ leading into the ministry of the church. In Luke’s Gospel account of the ascension, Jesus opens all of the disciples’ minds to finally understand the scriptures and all that had been said about Him, no longer just those to whom he had appeared after his resurrection. He gives them a holy charge, telling them that they are “witnesses” to all of these things that had happened to fulfill the scriptures, and then he tells them to go out and to proclaim that good news “to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” And then he is “carried up into heaven.”
As we look at Luke’s continuing account in the book of Acts, then, we see that the disciples are a little bit dumbfounded - they continue staring upward, gazing toward heaven. Granted, they’ve just seen a pretty incredible sight, even after having seen so many incredible sights already. But the mysterious “men in white robes” that suddenly show up snap the disciples back into the reality of what has just happened. They ask, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” They remind the disciples that Jesus has promised that he will return, that he will restore the kingdom, not just to Israel, but to the entire world - and that Jesus didn’t instruct the disciples to gaze upward until that date, but to be ready to be clothed in light, and then clothed in that light to go out into the world as witnesses to all that they have seen and experienced. And so, with that gentle nudging once more, the disciples go back to Jerusalem, prepared for the day of Pentecost that we know is coming, and worshiping together in joy.
Perhaps the most interesting thing that happens for us at this point, however, isn’t even that Jesus ascends into heaven - what struck me this time around looking at the passage was the fact that, perhaps for the first time since before Jesus was crucified, the Gospel tells us that the disciples are once again openly blessing God. They’re in the temple - the most public place a person could be worshiping. They’re finally doing what Jesus has instructed them to do. Every other time we’ve encountered the risen Christ so far in these post-resurrection Gospel readings, it’s just lead us to one more encounter. There’ve still been some doubts, some people who didn’t get it. Maybe these disciples weren’t yet ready to go out and to embark upon the mission of the church. Maybe they needed that much time to soak in and to process all the things which they had just experienced. But now they’ve had the scriptures revealed to them. They’ve seen Jesus taken up into Heaven, they know that he is, indeed, Risen. They know the promise of the kingdom that is yet to come. And they’re ready. They are prepared.
There’s something incredibly affirming that must have happened as they witnessed Jesus being taken up into the heavens - some kind of final confirmation that had so far been lacking. Later theologians in the Reformed tradition explored what Jesus’ Ascension means in great depth - simply knowing that Jesus was physically raised up into heaven is an astounding thought! Jesus doesn’t just “go to a new plane of existence” and return back to being part of some mystical “being” we call God. Jesus, as a human being, enters into heaven! And that means that Jesus brings humanity along with him into Heaven! We are finally a part of God’s Kingdom through Jesus Christ, and it is in the Ascension that that inclusion is made final! In understanding the Scriptures, the disciples would have understood this as well. And armed with that knowledge, they were no longer afraid to go out from behind closed doors and proclaim that amazing Gospel.
There’s a strange kind of empowerment that comes from the knowledge that Christ isn’t simply risen from the dead, but also still actively working on our behalf, presenting us before the Father as worthy of inclusion in the kingdom. It readies us for that moment of Pentecost when the Spirit actively begins dwelling within us. It helps us to know that we are still connected to Christ, even though Christ is not still physically present with us. And it helps us to remember that the Spirit has been sent to us by Christ, and so we can be comfortable trusting in the Spirit to equip us in every way to go out and live into our calling to openly proclaim the Gospel to all people.
We’ve seen in our other readings, specifically those from the book of Acts in this season, exactly what that kind of confidence and assurance does in the apostles - Paul is not only completely changed through a confrontation with the risen, ascended Lord, but is moved to travel the world, preaching the gospel that he once tried to stifle. Peter goes from an impulsive wreck who denied his own Messiah to a man who gives a sermon that delivers the gospel to thousands of people so strongly that they are baptized on the spot. And Stephen’s encounter with Christ gives him such strength that he can proclaim the gospel even in the face of his own death, knowing that nothing can separate him from Christ and from Christ’s kingdom.
It’s that same kind of strength that is made available to us through Christ in the power of the Spirit every day. And every day, we are given the opportunity to display that strength and to shine the light of Christ to the world. We have that same strength inside of us that gives fearful fugitives the courage to praise God again in the temple. What would it look like for us to tap into that strength and to go out, boldly proclaiming the Gospel as the early disciples did? What kind of freedom could God bring to the oppressed, the hurting, and the fearful in our own communities? What kind of astounding events could be waiting to happen in this very place? May we always keep our spirits open that God may use us at any time. To God be the Glory. Amen.
Acts 1:6-14; Luke 24:44-53
Ascending Expectations
This Sunday is the last Sunday of the Easter Season. In some churches on Thursday, people gathered together to celebrate the Day of Christ’s Ascension. Many other churches, including ours today, may choose to recognize the Ascension during Sunday worship and to focus on that in their exploration of the readings for the week.
It’s easy to skip over the Ascension, in a lot of ways. We move through this entire season of Easter simply marking time and making sure we have our red outfits chosen and laid out to be ready for Pentecost. We have a pretty good understanding of the Resurrection at Easter; we know the thrill of celebrating the very birth of the church through the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. But there’s a crucial step in the middle that really ties these two events together - and that’s the Ascension. Without the Ascension, the Resurrection is no more important than that of Lazarus. And without the Ascension, there would be no Pentecost.
But what makes the Ascension so important? Why does it matter that Jesus goes back to heaven? Why was this one event so important that is is carefully included in the Creeds that we recite - that Jesus “ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty?”
Luke has some of the answer to this question in both of his accounts of the Ascension, found in Luke and Acts - which are actually meant to be seen as two Acts of one greater drama showing the ministry of Christ leading into the ministry of the church. In Luke’s Gospel account of the ascension, Jesus opens all of the disciples’ minds to finally understand the scriptures and all that had been said about Him, no longer just those to whom he had appeared after his resurrection. He gives them a holy charge, telling them that they are “witnesses” to all of these things that had happened to fulfill the scriptures, and then he tells them to go out and to proclaim that good news “to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” And then he is “carried up into heaven.”
As we look at Luke’s continuing account in the book of Acts, then, we see that the disciples are a little bit dumbfounded - they continue staring upward, gazing toward heaven. Granted, they’ve just seen a pretty incredible sight, even after having seen so many incredible sights already. But the mysterious “men in white robes” that suddenly show up snap the disciples back into the reality of what has just happened. They ask, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” They remind the disciples that Jesus has promised that he will return, that he will restore the kingdom, not just to Israel, but to the entire world - and that Jesus didn’t instruct the disciples to gaze upward until that date, but to be ready to be clothed in light, and then clothed in that light to go out into the world as witnesses to all that they have seen and experienced. And so, with that gentle nudging once more, the disciples go back to Jerusalem, prepared for the day of Pentecost that we know is coming, and worshiping together in joy.
Perhaps the most interesting thing that happens for us at this point, however, isn’t even that Jesus ascends into heaven - what struck me this time around looking at the passage was the fact that, perhaps for the first time since before Jesus was crucified, the Gospel tells us that the disciples are once again openly blessing God. They’re in the temple - the most public place a person could be worshiping. They’re finally doing what Jesus has instructed them to do. Every other time we’ve encountered the risen Christ so far in these post-resurrection Gospel readings, it’s just lead us to one more encounter. There’ve still been some doubts, some people who didn’t get it. Maybe these disciples weren’t yet ready to go out and to embark upon the mission of the church. Maybe they needed that much time to soak in and to process all the things which they had just experienced. But now they’ve had the scriptures revealed to them. They’ve seen Jesus taken up into Heaven, they know that he is, indeed, Risen. They know the promise of the kingdom that is yet to come. And they’re ready. They are prepared.
There’s something incredibly affirming that must have happened as they witnessed Jesus being taken up into the heavens - some kind of final confirmation that had so far been lacking. Later theologians in the Reformed tradition explored what Jesus’ Ascension means in great depth - simply knowing that Jesus was physically raised up into heaven is an astounding thought! Jesus doesn’t just “go to a new plane of existence” and return back to being part of some mystical “being” we call God. Jesus, as a human being, enters into heaven! And that means that Jesus brings humanity along with him into Heaven! We are finally a part of God’s Kingdom through Jesus Christ, and it is in the Ascension that that inclusion is made final! In understanding the Scriptures, the disciples would have understood this as well. And armed with that knowledge, they were no longer afraid to go out from behind closed doors and proclaim that amazing Gospel.
There’s a strange kind of empowerment that comes from the knowledge that Christ isn’t simply risen from the dead, but also still actively working on our behalf, presenting us before the Father as worthy of inclusion in the kingdom. It readies us for that moment of Pentecost when the Spirit actively begins dwelling within us. It helps us to know that we are still connected to Christ, even though Christ is not still physically present with us. And it helps us to remember that the Spirit has been sent to us by Christ, and so we can be comfortable trusting in the Spirit to equip us in every way to go out and live into our calling to openly proclaim the Gospel to all people.
We’ve seen in our other readings, specifically those from the book of Acts in this season, exactly what that kind of confidence and assurance does in the apostles - Paul is not only completely changed through a confrontation with the risen, ascended Lord, but is moved to travel the world, preaching the gospel that he once tried to stifle. Peter goes from an impulsive wreck who denied his own Messiah to a man who gives a sermon that delivers the gospel to thousands of people so strongly that they are baptized on the spot. And Stephen’s encounter with Christ gives him such strength that he can proclaim the gospel even in the face of his own death, knowing that nothing can separate him from Christ and from Christ’s kingdom.
It’s that same kind of strength that is made available to us through Christ in the power of the Spirit every day. And every day, we are given the opportunity to display that strength and to shine the light of Christ to the world. We have that same strength inside of us that gives fearful fugitives the courage to praise God again in the temple. What would it look like for us to tap into that strength and to go out, boldly proclaiming the Gospel as the early disciples did? What kind of freedom could God bring to the oppressed, the hurting, and the fearful in our own communities? What kind of astounding events could be waiting to happen in this very place? May we always keep our spirits open that God may use us at any time. To God be the Glory. Amen.
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