May 21, 2023 Sermon
Sermon title: "The Ascension"
Scripture: Acts 1:1-14
(Other lectionary choices include Psalm 47, Ephesians 1:15-23, and Luke 24:44-53.)
Acts 1:1-14
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
1In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
The Ascension of Jesus
6So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11They said, "Men of Galilee, 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." 12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. 13When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
Today we are talking about the ascension of the Risen Christ into heaven. The Psalm I read at the beginning of today's service , #47, is one of the lectionary suggestions, and it mentions "God has gone up with a shout". That comes from Old Testament times when the ancient Hebrews called on God to save them from their enemies (the Ammonites and the Moabites), and they won a great battle. They proclaimed that that victorious God had "gone up with a shout", and with Jesus ascending into heaven in today's Scripture reading, God has gone up with a shout again, only this time the oppressors were not the Ammonites and the Moabites - this time the oppressors were sin and death, and Jesus had defeated them. So, his going up to heaven is seen as a victory over THOSE two awful things, sin and death.
Okay, that's the theological meaning of today's Scripture lesson. What else is it saying? It's saying, "Don't just stand there, gaping up at the sky. Get busy! Do something!" I like the spot in today's reading in which the Apostles ask the Risen Christ if now is the time that God will restore the kingdom to Israel. Their answer in verse 7: "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority." See? Don't try to predict when the Second Coming will be, but get to work, doing the sorts of things we did while I was still with you: heal the sick, raise the dead, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit prisoners - in short, you are the Body of Christ. Mine is no longer on the earth, but YOURS is. And, as St. Teresa of Avila said, Christ has no feet but ours, no hands but ours. So don't waste time trying to predict when the End Times will be. Get busy and do the work of the Lord right now, today, every day.
Jeanne Warner is a Lutheran pastor in Northwestern Wisconsin. She says this: "You have to feel for the disciples. I can understand why they were frozen in place, shocked and numb.....They had had a rough few weeks. Holy Week was a whiplash- producing switch from coronation to condemnation, all at the hands of the very people Jesus had spent three years teaching and healing. Good Friday was anything but a good experience for those standing at the foot of the cross, watching their rabbi and friend die in agony. Easter morning brought the shocking revelation that Jesus was no longer in the tomb and was making good on his promise to rise after three days. Then there were 40 days of surprise appearances, which reassured the disciples that Jesus was back. And now, now Jesus had taken them outside the city, promised to be with them forever, and then disappeared up into the clouds. Yes, you have to feel for these guys."
Maybe it's time we talked about the elephant in the room, and that is the concept of ascending into heaven. Did it really happen the way the Scripture says it does? We have the accounts from Luke's Gospel and the book of Acts, both of which are thought to have been written by the same person. The Gospel of Mark has no account of the Ascension - it does say that Jesus was taken up into heaven, but it doesn't say HOW. Neither does the Gospel according to John. It ends with Jesus and Peter talking, and Peter asking about John, and Jesus essentially saying that it's none of Peter's business about what plans Jesus has for John, if any! And what about Matthew? It ends with Jesus saying, "Lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the age." But THAT's IT! NOTHING about the Ascension!
So, what are we to do? Remember that those living in the first century believed in a sort of three-story universe. Earth was here, Heaven was up there, and Hell was down there. Those folks didn't know what we know about the planets and the solar system. They assumed that everything revolved around the earth, and because of the scientific knowledge we have acquired over the last 2 millennia, we now know that what they believed wasn't so. You and I know that Heaven isn't a place you can travel to in a rocket ship. We may believe in it, and we may want to go there, but that will be after we die in the sweet by and by. In the first century, however, folks thought Heaven was up there, and they believed Jesus went back to that place to be with his Father from whence he came.
So, if you are Luke, how do you come up with an explanation of where Jesus went? Apparently there were several post-Resurrection appearances of the Risen Christ, but they stopped after 40 days or so. WHY? Because, in Luke's mind and in the minds of other early believers, Jesus went to be with his Father. He promised he'd send his Spirit, and that happens NEXT Sunday at Pentecost. But the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus stopped - for whatever reason - and so Luke and the other believers had to find a way to explain that. And for them, the best explanation was the Ascension.
What do YOU believe? For me, it almost doesn't matter whether I believe in the Ascension or not. I do believe in God, and I consider myself a disciple of Jesus. As the angels said to those gaping up into the sky, GET BUSY! It doesn't matter what I believe about the Ascension. What matters is that I continue to be a part of the Body of Christ and be the hands and feet of Jesus, that I continue to do the good works that Jesus started. It is NOT helpful for me to wonder about when the Second Coming will be. That's none of my business, according to what the Risen Christ told his disciples. What I need to do is keep on being busy, "workin' for the kingdom", as that old black spiritual says.
It is sometimes hard to take this ancient faith and integrate it with what we know about modern science. But let us have faith like that guy whose daughter Jesus healed. He said, "Lord, I believe. Help Thou my unbelief." And with these great minds God has given us, let us consider ourselves faithful believers seeking understanding. And whatever each one of us may believe about this doctrine or that doctrine, let us remember that we are members of the Body of Christ, seeking to continue the great work that our Savior started. What is a Christian? A follower of Jesus. Let each of us continue to follow in the footsteps of our crucified and Risen Lord. Amen.
Pastor Skip
