Feast of the Ascension
May 20, 2012
Acts 1:1-11
July 21, 2011 marked a very
important day in American history. It
was the day that the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery landed for the final time,
ending an era of space exploration as we knew it. For over 49 years, humans had been embarking
into space, and showed us a world beyond imagination. And the best part was that we had access to
the ascension of those space craft into the clouds, through the atmosphere, and
out into space - whether you traveled down to Florida to take in the sights in
person, or watched from the comforts of your own home. I can only imagine what that would be like to
be there in person, to watch the shuttle launch and move further and further
from the face of the earth until finally it disappeared, leaving only a trail
of exhaust that would let you know where it had been. A feeling of awe would overcome the strain on
the neck as you watched, I’m guessing.
Would you stop and wait a moment to take it all in after the shuttle
disappeared, or would it be just something you just walked away from soon after
it was over?
I’m guessing that the level
of awe that the apostles felt after watching the ascension of Jesus was
probably 100 times that of watching a shuttle launch. Here they were, a mere 40 days after Jesus’
resurrection. They thought that Jesus
had been taken from them by death, but then they got him back and now their
teacher and their Lord is being taken from them again. This time, however, it
is to go into heaven to be with God.
And Luke tells us that there are some instructions to follow. Hang out in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit
arrives…then after she arrives and performs her own unique form of baptism, you
are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
They seem to have been paying
attention to Jesus this time because in the verse after our text ends, the
eleven return to Jerusalem and choose a replacement for Judas, restoring their
number to twelve, one for each tribe of Israel.
But still, how do you process something like an ascension, especially
the ascension of someone who was really important to you?
Ascensions are not something
that we think about…because they don’t generally happen. As far as I’m aware, the only ascensions that
have taken place in history, that don’t involve rockets and other advanced
technology, have taken place in scriptural sources. And even within our own
scriptural history, there has only been one other ascension besides the
ascension of Jesus, that of the prophet Elijah who was taken into heaven by a
whirlwind and chariots of fire. His side
kick Elisha was left standing there yelling out the details of this ascension,
ready to take on the ministry of his mentor having received a double share of
Elijah’s spirit.
This time there were multiple
witnesses to the ascension of Jesus…and they just kind of all stand around
staring up into the sky like they have no idea what just happened or maybe
they’re hoping there will be some sort of fireworks or message from on high or
something. Maybe they were hoping that this really was the time when Jesus
going to restore Jerusalem, but they just had to wait a couple minutes for
Jesus to get to heaven and get settled in at the right hand of God the father
before things began to happen.
All of a sudden, though, they
are jolted out of their daze by two men dressed in white who ask “Men of
Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards 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.” In other words…Men of Galilee…you’re doing it wrong.
They were asking the wrong
questions and looking in the wrong places.
And really, if you think about it, they’d been asking the wrong
questions and looking in the wrong places all along. John the Baptist sent his
followers to Jesus and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry to ask “are you the one
who is to come, or should we wait for another” aka “really? You’re the
messiah?” When Peter, James, and John went with Jesus to the mountain and saw
him transfigured, and watched his conversation with Moses and Elijah about the
day he would be lifted up…the day of his ascension…Peter was content to stay,
rather than go back out into the world and to assist Jesus in completing the
work he set out to do. One of the most frustrated moments we see Jesus enter
into is when the disciples started arguing over who was the greatest of the
twelve. And just moments before Jesus ascends into heaven, the disciples…now
apostles, ask the question “is this the time when you will restore the Kingdom
to Israel?”
When the women reach the
tomb, we have *surprise!* two men in dazzling white clothes who inquire “why do
you seek the living among the dead?”
You’re doing it wrong…haven’t you been listening?
This Jesus who has been taken
up form you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into
heaven….from among you. When Jesus comes
back, he is not going to descend…but rather, he is going to come among us once
again. And actually, more than that, the
essence of who Christ is still resides here amongst us. We just have to allow our hearts to open up
to seeing it. And I think that this is
the difficult part. I think that this is
why sometimes the church is still asking the wrong questions and looking in the
wrong places…because in order to be Christ’s witnesses out in the world, we
have to open our hearts and allow ourselves to become vulnerable to those
around us. We have to be able to
vulnerable enough to receive hospitality ourselves before we can truly
understand what it is and extend it to someone else. Jesus knew this about the disciples, which is
why he led by example…”you’re not going to get how meaningful it is to humble
yourself and wash someone’s feet unless I show you what it feels like to have
your feet washed.” “you’re not going to
know true, pure, self-giving love until someone loves you so much that they are
willing to give their life up for you…and I am going to show you what that kind
of love is like”
And now that you’ve witnessed
this, don’t just stand there with your necks getting strained from staring up
into the clouds waiting for me to send you a secret message from on high, go
and be my witnesses in the world, looking for me out in the world and looking
for ways to serve others just like I showed you. You’ll know exactly what to do when the Holy
Spirit shows up…and when you lose your way, she’ll help you find your way
through.
With ascension comes a call
to go out into the world and look for Christ among us…but with ascension there
is also a promise…the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit, who will lead
us through times when we lose our focus on what God would have us to do.
So imagine the awe of
watching the ascent of a shuttle, multiply it by 100 and carry that awe with
you out into the world while the church awaits the celebration of the coming of
the Holy Spirit. You’ll be amazed how
often you will find Christ out in the world in the coming week.
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