Ascension Rising
Jay Rowland
Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:1-11
This sermon utilizes published material written by Ann Dieterle, Blair Monie, Bruce Epperly as indicated below.
Garrison Keillor once said that the Easter season is the time when Christians ask themselves two questions: “Do I really believe all this stuff? And if so, why do I live this way?” His point I suppose is that it’s easy to think about “all this stuff” during church, speak the words and pray the prayers, then after church resume life as functional atheists. (Keillor quoted in Ann Dieterle, in Modern Metanoia--Encountering the Good News with Renewed Minds)
As we come to the end of this season of Eastertide I chose to explore the Ascension of Jesus today (which happened on Thursday) rather than the Sunday lectionary texts for this 7th Sunday of Easter. My sense is that most of us don’t think much about the Ascension--other than the phrases we recite during worship from either the Apostles’ or the Nicene Creed. So I wanted to take time to explore the Ascension of Jesus today, inviting the Holy Spirit as usual to ignite our imaginations and show us what we might be missing.
But first, a bit of context and background.
In Luke's gospel, the Ascension is where the story of Jesus’ direct, earthly presence comes to an end. It’s clearly a goodbye. In Acts, also written by Luke, this same scene is less of a goodbye and more of the beginning of another story—the story of the church. In Acts, the emphasis is on what to do now. In both scenes, Jesus "opens the scriptures" just as he had done for the two followers on the road to Emmaus, giving final instructions.
Curiously, the chronology Luke presents is different in his Gospel than it is in his account in Acts. In Luke the ascension takes place on Easter afternoon, just after the encounter on the road to Emmaus. But in the first chapter of Acts, it takes place forty days after Easter. Perhaps this is Luke’s way of telling us something important about Jesus' departure: that it is both an ending and a beginning.
Perhaps the gospel of Luke presents the Ascension as labor pains preceding the birthing of a very worldly church as described in the beginning of the book of Acts. Worldly in that this is to be a church called not to simply stand still, looking up at the sky in search of answers, but to get on with the work Jesus started. Thus, the Spirit-empowered church is to be the continuing presence of the Christ in the world. [“Why Are You Looking Up?” Reflection on the lectionary, May 23, 2014, by Rev. Dr. Blair R. Monie, blog post in Edgy Exegesis, Progressive Christian, Patheos.com ]
As these moments unfold in Acts 1 the disciples quiz Jesus about the restoration of Israel. Jesus' response is purposely vague, and remains good counsel for those who seek a precise date for judgment day, "It is not for you to know the times or periods." Rather, we are to await the coming of God's Spirit and the missional power that comes from encountering the Holy, whether in the 1st or 21st centuries.
At that point, Jesus ascends … while mysterious robed beings last seen at the tomb in Luke now appear again here in Acts to declare that Jesus will ultimately return, which is significant for obvious reasons, but is not the main point. Their objective seems to be making sure that the disciples’ attention is focused on the here and now--the present time and place here on this planet, not some distant far-off sphere, as they adjust. [Bruce Epperly, Going Up? Reflections for Ascension, blog, Patheos.com, 2011]
The Ascension of Jesus is interesting also for the tension it reveals at work in the church from the very beginning. The creative tension between the church’s mystical, spiritual side on the one hand and on the other hand, its mission firmly anchored in the present reality, whether it’s the 1st or the 21st century.
This mystical, spiritual side of the church helps foster a broader perspective—humanity and creation itself--rather than individualistic images of salvation and personal well-being. In this way, Jesus’ Ascension challenges us to bring heaven to earth, that is, to live Jesus' values in our world, as the Lord's Prayer proclaims, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." When our perspective widens, we can transcend our own self-interest to embrace the well-being of the whole earth and every creature, including strangers, enemies, and even non-humans. [Epperly, op cit]
Meanwhile, lest we become preoccupied by the spiritual, mystical side, Jesus’ Ascension also has an element of particularity, in that when Jesus is being lifted into heaven in Luke, this happens while Jesus is blessing the disciples. Thus Jesus has chosen to entrust the disciples with continuing his work. The same ones who, as Ann Dieterle notes, “were capable in one breath of inspired declarations of faith and in the next breath bumbling it so badly that Jesus calls one of them Satan. Jesus chose to trust his mission to these disciples—just as he chooses us: This church that is capable of great acts of faith in one moment and then bumbling it badly in the next. Jesus trusts us with his mission.” (Dieterle, op cit)
Two thousand years later, we haven’t destroyed the church yet. And we won’t. Because God is God and we are not. We are trusted with a part of the mission but it is God who gives us God’s blessing and power from on high. It is enough for us to bless God in return through the way we live our lives. (Dieterle, op cit)
Luke’s gospel declares that Jesus was carried into heaven. This isn’t an action that Jesus does to himself. Rather, it’s something that God did--to Jesus and for Jesus. And yet Jesus is not a completely passive participant. For the text says, He withdrew from them (v51). It is this combination of action and surrender that -- essentially Jesus invites the disciples to do. They are to stay and wait to be clothed with power from on high. Power translated from the Greek word du-na-mis, from which we get our word for dynamite. ... this is the type of power we can expect to receive from the Holy Spirit. It is not something inside of us, like super willpower. It is something outside of us that works on us in such a way that it transforms us. Perhaps we might imagine the power of Jesus more like dynamite than lamb-like … (Dieterle, op cit)
Let the Ascension of Jesus teach us and remind us of that transformational power of Jesus. As Dr. Peter Kreeft writes:
“Christ changed every human being He ever met…. If anyone claims to have met (Jesus) without being changed, he (one) has not met Him at all. When you touch Him, you touch lightning…. The Greek word used to describe everyone’s reaction to (Jesus) in the gospels is ‘thauma’—wonder. This was true of His enemies, who killed Him. Of his disciples, who worshiped Him. And even of agnostics, who went away shaking their heads and muttering ‘No man ever spoke like this man’ and knowing that if (Jesus) didn’t stop being what He was and saying what He said that eventually they would have to side with either His killers or His worshippers. For ‘Jesus shock’ breaks your heart in two and forces you to choose which half of your heart you will follow….”
(Quoted in “Jacques Ellul & the Importance of Attachment,” By Rick Lawrence, blog entry on VibrantFaith.org, 5/14/2021)
The Ascension gives way to the Day of Pentecost next Sunday, vividly described in Acts 2. On that day the Spirit Jesus promised and for which the disciples await arrives, and when it does, it embraces all of creation not just particular sorts of people. The Spirit comes promising wholeness and salvation for all people, not just a select few. This revelation is global and all-inclusive, not parochial and limited, in contrast to individualistic and limited visions of God’s favor.
Jesus’ Ascension calls us to "go up"—to find higher ground—not to escape Earth's crises, but to gain a vision and mission that is larger than ourselves or even our (churches). We don't need to look to the heavens to find inspiration. The ever-present God is right here, giving us all the guidance and inspiration we need, if we but look beyond ourselves. Our mission is here—to heal, to embrace, to welcome, and to love. Right now. Today. Every day. We don't need to wait for a far off day of perfection and rapture. God is always with us, and so right here and now can be the day of transformation and fulfillment we all seek. (Epperly, op cit)
