Thomas J Parlette
“Power from on High”
Luke 24: 44-53
5/12/24
Jesus had a lot to say about a lot of things during his life on earth. His most beloved sayings have come down to us, faithfully preserved by the gospel-writers. You probably have your favorites, perhaps they are among these all-time greats:
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
“Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.”
We could go on, of course – there’s no shortage of wise sayings by Jesus. But have you ever wondered about Jesus’ last words – the final thing Jesus said before he ascended into heaven?
For Matthew, the Lord’s last words are the last part of the great commission. After Jesus charged his disciples to spread the good news and baptize in his name, he concludes, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Mark’s gospel – at least in its shorter, original ending – contains no last words of the resurrected Jesus. The disciples simply discover his empty tomb. The nook ends inconclusively: “Terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
Sometime later, another writer, uncomfortable with the ambiguity, tacked on an alternate ending in an attempt to bring things full circle. That writer followed Matthew’s lead, having Jesus commission the disciples. And then he promises them some superpowers. This comes in a verse most people avoid, because it sounds so strange: “And these signs will accompany those who believe: using my name will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” In the backwoods of Appalachia, there are “snake-handling” churches that gravitate to that verse. Their members court disaster by passing around live rattlesnakes to one another during worship services. Those who don’t get bitten are considered particularly blessed. There is certainly no shortage of strange things in the world of religious expression.
According to the gospel of John, Jesus’ final words include speaking to Peter about the “beloved disciple,” who may have been John himself. Jesus says, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”
But onward to Luke, our focus for today. Just before ascending into heaven, Jesus promises his disciples, “And see, I am sending upon you what my father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” After that, Luke continues his narrative for a few more verses, telling how Jesus lifts up his hands and blesses the disciples. Those words of final blessing are a mystery. So, Jesus’ last-known words are a promise of “power from high”, as Luke tells the story.
Power is a source of endless fascination. Our earliest years are characterized by a burgeoning search for power. First, it’s power over our own bodies, as we learn to move and walk on our own. Then it’s power over others, in the motional wrestling matches that define the “terrible twos.” It’s not long before we learn that tantrums aren’t the best way of achieving lasting power.
For many of us, our choice of occupation may be swayed by our desire for power. Lots of daydreams about becoming wealthy are really about power. It’s true that money can’t buy happiness, but it can certainly buy power. Some people even choose career options because of the power the job promises. Anyone who aspires to a job in politics or management or even your own small business must contend with the lure of power – over other people or just power over your own schedule. Everyone must reckon not only what the desire for power can do to us, but also to those around us.
As our personal power grows, there’s an adverse spiritual transformation that can ambush us of we’re not careful. The Jewish theologian Martin Buber once wrote about this topic. He observes that power can be handled safely only so long as it remains “bound to the goal, to the work, to the calling.” If powerful people lose track of that essential connection – if they begin to think of power as their personal privilege, their perk, their possession, then Buber says power becomes “evil; it is power withdrawn from responsibility, power which betrays the spirit, power in and of itself.” (1)
You’ve probably heard the proverb spoken by the British aristocrat Lord Acton in the Victorian era: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” A century before, on our side of the Atlantic, the former President James Madison said something similar: Power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.” (2) Years earlier, as he was contributing to the writing of the U.S. Constitution, that same insight inspired Madison to set up a system of checks and balances, making it difficult for government officials to abuse power.
But is this the sort of power Jesus is promising his disciples in his last words in Luke’s gospel? No, it’s not. Jesus is promising them something other than human power, Jesus promises “power from on high.”
What does he mean by that? The word for “power” that Jesus uses here is “dunamis”, in the Greek. That same word inspired the Norwegian inventor Alfred Nobel as he sought to name a new explosive he’d invented – dynamite. But Jesus doesn’t use the word “dunamis” here without qualification. He modifies it with the words, “from on high.” If such power originates on high – with God- and comes to us as a divine gift, then it’s impossible to misdirect it towards selfish ends.
Nobel’s dynamite can be used for peaceful purposes, like blasting through bedrock to tunnel under a mountain. But it can also be used to destroy and kill. Not so with power from on high. Godly power – if it is truly Godly – is only capable of being used for good.
There are two kinds of power in this world – destructive power and creative power. A stick of dynamite blasts a tree stump to smithereens. That’s destructive power. A growing tree root presses up against a slab of concrete walkway, slowly and methodically heaving it up as though it were a piece of Styrofoam - that’s creative power. One type of power is short, intense and loud. The other is slow, persistent and silent. Of the two, creative power is the strongest by far, and the promise of our faith is that this power wins out in the end. But let’s be honest – destructive power too often reigns supreme in this present age. In the wrong hands, it threatens to demolish all that’s good and kind and lovely.
There’s a scene in Steven Spielberg’s movie, Schindler’s List, when Oscar Schindler – the factory owner who convinced the Nazi’s to give him the Jewish people being sent to concentration camps, so he could put them to work in his factory – arguing with the brutish Nazi commandant, trying to get him to release yet another group of prisoners for his business. The commandant is an inhuman monster. For entertainment, he sits at the window of his quarters and randomly shoots Jewish prisoners with a high-powered rifle.
Still, Schindler seeks to reason with this barbarian. He argues that the commandant’s life –and-and death authority is not real power. Real power, Schindler argues, is the power not to deal out death indiscriminately, but to hold back – to restrain oneself. Real power is the power to forgive.
Eventually, Schindler gets his workers, and for a few days the commandant cleans up his act. He gets a sort of perverse satisfaction out of pardoning prisoners. But before long, brutality triumphs over reason, and he’s back to his murderous ways. He fails at forgiveness because to truly forgive others you must feel something for them – sympathy, compassion, love. But this Nazi officer doesn’t feel a thing for the Jews, or perhaps anyone – maybe not even himself. (3)
Peter writes in his first epistle that “Like a roaring lion, your adversary, the devil, prowls around, looking for someone to devour.” There are too many in this world that fit that description, people who build their lives around grabbing as much of this sort of power as they can. “Do unto others BEFORE they do unto you,” seems to be their motto.
The convicted Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy once gave a lecture on a college campus in Missouri. Throughout the evening, Liddy, who had just been released from prison, harangued his audience with the idea that only force, brute strength and iron will could earn the respect of friends and foes in this “real world which is, in fact, a very tough neighborhood.”
During the question and answer period, one of the college professors rose to speak. Rather timidly, he objected to what he’d just heard. “In our country, most people, after all, do base their ethics on the teachings of Jesus… and this doesn’t sound much like the teachings of Jesus.”
Liddy is said to have glared for a moment before taking a deep breath and bellowing, “Yeah – and look what happened to Jesus. They crucified him!” For Liddy, the case was closed. The audience responded to his put-down with laughter and thunderous applause. (4)
G. Gordon Liddy was right. We’ve all heard the story of how Jesus stood before the terrible power of Rome in courageous, virtuous silence. And that power rose up and crushed him.
To the likes of G. Gordon Liddy – and Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas. Herod and even the emperor of Rome – that should have been the end of the story. But we all know it wasn’t. There was another power at work in the life and death of Jesus. A power from on high.
That creative, life-giving power began its work in the cool silence of the tomb. This power worked a lot quicker on that occasion than it usually does in this world. A mere three days later, life coursed through Jesus’ veins again.
Ever since that day, the power of life so active in Jesus has continued to grapple with the power of death. It’s a long, slow struggle – but the witness of our faith is that life is winning and will one day triumph.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks once wrote about power in his book Lessons in Leadership. He wrote: “Power works by division, influence works by multiplication. Power, in other words, is a zero-sum game: the more you share, the less you have. Influence is a non-zero- sum game: the more you share, the more you have…”
“The most important forms of leadership come not with position, title, or robes of office, not with prestige and power, but with the willingness to work with others to achieve what we cannot do alone; to speak, to listen, to teach, to learn, to treat other people’s views with respect even if they disagree with us; to explain patiently and cogently why we believe and do what we do; to encourage others, praise their best endeavours, and challenge them to do better still. Always choose influence rather than power. It helps change people into people who can change the world.” (5)
The power from on high is the power of influence, the power to help change the early Christian community into a group who would change the world.
Today, we wrap up Volume 1 of Luke’s gospel. The story ends with a promise made – the promise of a power from on high. Next week, we will shift our focus to Volume 2 of Luke’s story. Next week is Pentecost, when we will hear how the promise made today will be fulfilled for the early church. The power from on high, the Holy Spirit will descend upon that little band of followers and so transform their lives that they were able to change the world.
So, stay tuned.
May God be praised. Amen.
1. Homileticsonline, retrieved 4/10/24.
2. Ibid…
3. Ibid…
4. Ibid…
5. Ibid…
