Jesus Tags His Disciples
What is Ascension and why are we celebrating it?
Jesus' ascension to the Father is basically the conclusion of
Easter. The ascension both closes the period of Jesus' ministry on earth and
opens the period of the church's mission. It is like God is saying,
"Tag--you're it! Now you're me in the world."
This important feast is often overlooked in the American
Protestant church. The irony is, this is the third pillar of the Christian
faith. Christ became incarnate, Christ died and rose from the dead and Christ
ascended into heaven. We confess these every week in the Creed.
The Feast of the Ascension is always on a Thursday, right
before the last Sunday of Easter. If it is not observed on Thursday, we can
observe it on the following Sunday, as we are doing today. Many times it is
skipped altogether, but there are important things that happened on the day of
Jesus' ascension that are for us as well.
I have a particular fondness for the Ascension because of my
time in the Holy Land. On Ascension Day, all the Lutheran churches would take
picnic lunches to the Mount of Olives on the land behind Augusta Victoria
Hospital. This included the Arabic speaking Lutherans, the Danes, the Germans
and the English speaking congregation.
We ate and then had a simple service. The music was amazing.
All the tunes were familiar to all the worshippers. The words were sung in the
various languages of those attending. I could imagine that this was the way worship sounded on
Pentecost. These are the memories I carry with me into our celebration today.
Jesus leaves his disciples with teaching. Jesus opened their
minds to understand the scriptures (v. 45)
This had to happen prior to Jesus' departure. The ball was
going to be in the disciples' court. Practice and training is nearly over and a
long season of ministry is about to begin.
The plan of God in scripture contains a message and an offer
that constitutes the charter of the Christian mission. The message is that
Christ should die and on the third day rise from the dead (v. 46). What is
offered is the gift of repentance and forgiveness of sins (v. 47). This is what
should be preached to all nations.
It took a while for the disciples to get the part about the
gospel being preached to all nations, even though Jesus had opened their minds
and taught them and after they'd received the Holy Spirit. It took repeated
revelations by the Spirit to get the apostles to realize that God accepts
people from every nation who turn to God.
Today's church also struggles when it comes to preaching a
crucified Christ and accepting all people equally.
Jesus leaves his disciples with a blessing.
The departure of Jesus consists of the blessing and the
ascension. Jesus' blessing of the disciples is placing them in the care and
favor of God. They are assured of God's care and attention even before the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus leave his disciples with the promise of the Holy
Spirit.
As Jesus said in other places, he does not leave his
disciples alone, but with the power of the Holy Spirit. The mission for them is
to be Jesus' witnesses. They must not simply launch out, but must wait until
God has given them authority from above--being clothed with power from on high.
The Holy Spirit will bring to the minds of Jesus' first
followers all that Jesus has taught them. The church's task with be difficult;
special abilities will be needed to accomplish it. It cannot be carried out in
mere human strength. Just as Jesus' presence at the table has shown, God's
intimate, indwelling presence is necessary to carry out this plan.
The three New Testament writers who speak the most about the
Holy Spirit are John, Paul and Luke: for John, the
Spirit is the continuation of Christ's presence in the church--leading, reminding, teaching
and comforting, for Paul, the
Spirit creates in us the Christian life and equips us with gifts for ministry, for Luke, the
Spirit empowers the church for its mission in the world. If the power of the Holy Spirit was so important for the
mission of the early church, what makes us think we can do God's work without
God's direction and power?
When Jesus ascended, according to our reading from Acts, two
men in white ask the disciples why they were just standing there looking up
into heaven. In other words, don't just stand there, there is work to be done.
That work was one of waiting for the power from on high. In this hope they
returned to Jerusalem and the temple, full of joy and blessing God.
Prior to the ascension, Jesus appeared to the disciples
numerous times. He would come, he'd visit and then he would leave. On Ascension
Day, Why didn't Jesus just say, "Good-bye" and go? It was important
for his disciples to know that when he went to "sit at the right hand of
the father," he was really gone this time. The baton had been handed over
to them. He would not be returning until he comes to judge the living and the
dead. How could they love Christ in their neighbor if they were always on the
lookout for another resurrection appearance of Jesus?
Ascension is the completion of the resurrection. It marks the
end of Jesus' earthy ministry, preparing the way for the birth of the church
with the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Up until this time, the gospel
was about what God in Christ has done for us. Now it is about what God in
Christ is doing through us as his church in the world.
What is the most convincing proof of the resurrection and
ascension of Jesus today? It is the daily testimony of God's people that Christ
is living and that the work of his kingdom continues.
It's visible through disaster relief in Nepal, through
neighbors helping neighbors after a tornado, neighbors helping neighbors during
and after a mega snow storm. The work of the church is visible through the work
of food pantries, homeless shelters, drop in centers, after school programs,
programs for the elderly, hospice and lest I forget, the wonderful work of our
Honduras mission.
There are many more ways we here at St. Timothy's/Mark's can
have an impact on our community. WE need to look with open eyes and open ears
to see where the Spirit is guiding us. Amen.
Resources:
Fred B. Craddock, Preaching Through the Christian Year B
John Fairless and Delmer Chilton, The Lectionary Lab Commentary
Brian Stoffregen, http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/
Sundaysandseasons.org
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