Easter
Seven:
Acts 1:6-14
1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11
John 17:1-11
The Christian church has covered a
lot of liturgical ground in the
last few months. The church year began on Advent, the season of anticipation,
the four weeks before Christmas. On Christmas we celebrated the nativity of our
Lord, the celebration of the
incarnation of Christ as the human baby Jesus. After Christmas, we moved through Epiphany, toward Lent contemplating what this
incarnation means. The Church observed Lent by tracing the path to the
cross. Holy week saw us
commemorate the crucifixtion and death of Jesus on Good Friday. And on Easter
Morning we celebrated and continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the
defeat of death, and the great and glorious gift of eternal life.
The vitally
important events remembered and celebrated during Holy Week are summarized in
the Apostles’ Creed when we say that Jesus was “crucified, died, and was
buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.” During Holy
Week, the three important aspects of
what is called the exhaltation of Christ is observed: his suffering,
death, and resurrection.
Today
we celebrate another vital aspect
of Christ’s exhaltation: his ascension. Today is Ascension Sunday—the Sunday
which we celebrate the ascension of Christ.
A moments
reflection shows that as a church, we have spent a lot of time contemplating
the death and crucifiction of Jesus, and , of course, celebrating his
resurrection. Many of you attended our Good Friday service this year. And this
year, we introduced an Easter Vigil into Holy Week, and enjoyed two baptisms on
Easter morning, preceeded by a delicious pancake breakfast. The suffering,
death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus are rightly given central attention
in the Christian church—for they lie at the heart of the Christian faith. But
what about the ascension of Jesus
Christ, what about the lines in the Apostle’s Creed which read, “he ascended
into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father.”? Why was this event
so important, and what bearing does it have on our faith lives today?
In
today’s reading from the book of Acts, we are given a vivid description of
Jesus’ ascent, his rising up, into heaven. Unlike the resurrection, which is never described in detail,
the ascension of Jesus is
described in some detail. The imagery is vivid, and almost impossible to
conceive of—and certainly defies modern cosmological understanding.
The
passage begins with the resurrected Christ having a conversation with his
disciples, being asked some very important questions. Then, suddenly, he
ascends into the sky and disappears through the clouds to heaven, where he will
sit at the right hand of his Father.
If
you find this description somewhat mind-boggling, rest assured you are not
alone. You would not be the first person for whom this passage poses some
difficulties. The first people who had difficulty with the ascent of Jesus were
the disciples themselves—even as they were witnesses to the most astounding
reality of all—the reality of Christ’s resurrection.
Jesus
came to them in a physical form, in human form—not in the form of a resurrected
corpse but in a new physicality. But this new physical form would still have
been clearly recognizable to them as Jesus, the man who taught them, ate with,
travelled with them, and led them for more than three years through that
ancient land.
The
disciples came to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour . They spent time with him
before and after resurrection. And they came to know him in a way, few humans
have—as a Galillean Jewish man who lived in the first century. Those first
disciples came to know Jesus in a special local context. In that context, that
time and place and culture, Jesus did amazing things. He taught, he healed, he
performed miracles, he prophesized. And in that local context, did the most
amazing thing of all—paid the price of humanity’s sin, so that the great gift
of eternal life could be enjoyed my all. All of that happened in that very
special local place. It was special,
but it was still local.
And
the Apostles understood the Messiahship, the kingship of Jesus in a very local
way. That local understanding is reflected in the question: “Lord is this the
time when you will restore the Kingdom to Israel.” This was a logical and
natural question: for it had been prophesized that the messiah would bring in a
new and glorious age for the kingdom of Israel—that in fact, the Messiah would
restore Israel and through that restoration a great age of peace would be
ushered in for all the world.
The
Apostles hungered for the new age. But their vision was limited, their perspective
was narrow, and local. Even as the resurrected Christ stood before them, they
did not comprehend the full implications of resurrection—what this event meant
for all of humanity, and creation, and not just the Jewish people.
But
this kind of narrowness is very human. How many people today, when they think
of Jesus Christ, think primarily of the first century Jewish man? How many
people think of Jesus Christ primarily in the past tense?
The
ascension of Jesus broke through the disciples limited, narrow, and local
perspective like nothing else could—and it does the same thing for us.
When
we read the Acts text from a 21st
century scientific perspective, it makes no sense, as a geographical reality.
But attend carefully to what the
events describe. What the events
describe is a relational reality-how Christ relates to reality.
What
is described is Jesus Christ, the resurrected Lord, moving from a local,
geographical, historical place, to a cosmic place.
The
ascension of Jesus is vitally important because, through ascension Jesus Christ
assumes his destined position as Lord of all. His authority would no longer be
exercised locally, but cosmically. This is why Christians proclaim that Jesus
Christ is the Living Lord, not just in memory. Jesus was the Messiah, but he is
more than the Messiah, the prophesized liberator of Israel. Jesus is Lord.
Jesus is God. Jesus is alive and active in your life.
And today’s
reading from Acts reminds us again of exactly who Jesus is.
We
might be tempted to think that because Jesus has ascended to heaven, he is away
from us—that he is sitting in some kind of cosmic executive office overseeing
things until he comes again.
But
attend carefully to the words of the creed. Where does Jesus sit? He is seated
at the right hand of the Father. And where is the right hand of the Father? It is everywhere. God’s authority
extends through all of creation. So Christ is present through all of creation,
just as he was present at the very moment of creation—indeed, before creation.
Jesus
Christ is Lord of all. But how can this
be? You might ask. How can we say
that Jesus is in charge, with all of the evil, suffering and death?
Yes,
it is true. Sin, death, and suffering remain realities. Christ is Lord, but his
kingdom has yet to be established in its fullness. Satan, and the forces which
defy God are actively countering God, even while they have been ultimately
defeated.
But
Jesus is still Lord. Jesus is Lord over a kingdom which remains hidden to the
eyes of the world, but which is seen through the eyes of faith. In very special
ways and spaces, Christ, the Living Lord, presents himself to the world—where
his Living Word is proclaimed, where his sacraments are administered, where
there is life and breath, and all good thing. Even in the suffering of the
world, there Christ is present. And guess what. You who are members of his
Church are members, literally members, of his body.
This
may all sound like “high fallutin” theology so far. But the rubber does meet the road. Christ does have a
body, a living breathing body and you are part of it. and that body extends
across time and space, way back to the Holy Day of Pentecost more than two
thousand years ago. Again, this makes no sense if we think about Jesus just in
historical terms.
Jesus
Christ is God for you—it is through him that you have been given eternal life,
and faith. Jesus Christ is God the Living Word, who feeds you with faith. It is
through Jesus Christ that all good things come. All depends on Christ. As
Martin Luther put it, and never grew tired of repeating in one way or another:
“ So completely does everything depend on the Son that no one can really know
anything about God unless the Son, who thoroughly knows the Father’s heart,
reveals it to him. All the World must be drawn under the Lord Christ and be
made subject to Him, for without Him, no one can be saved.”
And
the salvation of all people is the mission of Christ—that all would hear the
good news of forgiveness and new life. And guess what Christ uses to carry out
that mission? His body.
The
last words of Jesus before he ascends are absolutely vital to understanding the
mission of his church—the task of his body. “ You will receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and
Samaria, and the ends of the earth.” Jesus is of course saying those words to the apostles who
were present on that day, but he is also saying it to us. And he is not making
requests: “You will receive power,”
“You will be my witnesses”. These are
statements of fact, and we need not look far for an example. Dunbar Evangelical
Lutheran Church would be about as far away from first century Jerusalem as you could get. Yet
here it stands as a witness to the Living Ascended Christ. The ascended Christ
is as present here as he was to those disciples on that day on Mt Olivet.
Some
folks believe that we are closer to Jesus when we travel to the land where he
walked as a human being. But this isn’t true. It isn’t true because his kingdom
encompasses all of the earth, and he is present for you wherever his word is proclaimed by his living body—of
which we are a part.
So
here lies a great and wonderful paradox. While Christ has ascended above all to
rule over all, he has also come down to be present with us—to free us and feed us with his life giving
word of forgiveness and new life. Christ ‘s presence with us is intimate and
relational, just as the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
is intimate and relational.
In
today’s gospel lesson we hear
Jesus’ high priestly prayer to his Father. He prays that he may be
glorified so that he would glorify the Father. And he prays for those whom the Father has given him,
that they would have eternal life. What
is eternal life? Jesus defines it very clearly: that they may know the Father, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
We tend to
think of knowing in an intellectual, or “head “sense. But the knowledge of
which Jesus speaks is much deeper than that. It is fundamental; it is intimate;
it speaks beyond the mind to the very core of your being. It is a mystical
knowing, if you like.
Such
knowing will happen after the end times, but what is vitally important for you,
is that such knowing occur now.
How can we know God now? How can I know Jesus?
You will find Jesus in his proclaimed
word—the Living Word. What does
that Living Word say. It says that you
are forgiven, to you new life has been given.
We began today’s service with confession and forgiveness. The Living
Word of forgiveness was proclaimed to you personally. This was not the pastor’s
word, but Christ’s word, and that Word, if it is believed, is transformative.
That same Word of forgiveness comes to us in the sacraments, the physical and
spiritual manifestation of Christ for you.
For
those who are suffering, lonely, downtrodden heart broken—God’s life giving
word of hope and new life are healing.
Indeed they are the only source of ultimate healing.
Those
who are members of Christ’s body are called to carry out Christ’s mission of
healing and caring. This congregation, as a member of Christ’s body, are called
to carry out the Living Lord’s mission of healing and caring. This is why we are here—to be
transformed by the Living Christ, and to do the work of his body, as his physical
presence in the world.
Next
Week is Pentecost Sunday—the day which celebrates Jesus sending the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, the day
which Christ formed his church, the day
the exhalted Christ formed his body to carry out his work.
All
who believe are part of that Living Body,
the peaceable kingdom. Now may the peace of that Kingdom, the peace
which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
