Ascension 2015

There’s a neat moment, as recorded in our first reading from the book of Acts, when Jesus, who has been appearing to his disciples after being resurrected, does the next unexpected thing which is that he ascends into heaven — he’s taken up in a cloud, leaving the disciples firmly standing on the ground, but looking up in amazement. Jesus, their leader, had triumphed over death and had just been taken away from their presence — and in pretty dramatic fashion. So they’re just staring. But two men in white robes suddenly appear, look at the disciples and say,

““Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward 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.”” (Acts 1.11 NRSV)

The implication is: get to work! So how do they know what to do?

According to the witness of the book of Acts, there is a period of 50 days after the Resurrection and before Pentecost. That’s why, in the church, we celebrate the Easter season for 50 days before Pentecost. But after 40 of those days…that’s when Jesus ascends. 40 is a significant number in scripture… think of the 40 days Jesus was in the wilderness, or the 40 years the Israelites wandered the desert… Jesus appears to his disciples over the 40 days following the Resurrection, convincing them of its reality, teaching them, helping them to understand the Resurrection’s meaning for them, and then 40 days after Easter Sunday, we are told that Jesus gives a final blessing to the disciples and ascends to his Father, but not before leaving the disciples with the instructions to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, which we know comes 10 days after that on the day of Pentecost — which we celebrate in two weeks’ time.

Ok, so that’s the chronology…it seems boring, but there’s something going on in the timing of this…

40 days means a time of important preparation. And that’s what this time after the resurrection is… 40 days of preparation…a time that Jesus appears to the disciples as he did before the Resurrection, but now really preparing them for the reality of life without the regular, everyday, bodily presence of Jesus that they had gotten used to.

It’s a transition period. The most important event, the death and resurrection, has already happened. But now it’s time for the faithful to figure out what that really meant.

For example, some people, especially insiders, assumed that the Resurrection and Ascension to power of Jesus would mean the immediate end of the Roman occupation and the establishment of a new King of Israel. A political and military solution to restore Israel.

That is obviously not what Jesus had in mind. But, there is a plan. It’s not for political power, but it does involve a connection with the same God of Israel who created the world, who spoke through the prophets, who resurrected Jesus, and who was about to help the disciples give the world a real glimpse of the Kingdom of God.

The disciples ask Jesus about this.

“Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” [Jesus] replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” (Acts 1.6–8 NRSV)

This is really interesting…the disciples are asking a ‘when’ question…when is this thing gonna happen, Jesus? Asking ‘when’ implies that the disciples will be passive recipients of the coming Kingdom of God, or maybe even innocent bystanders. This is a ‘when’ question. Jesus does not answer a ‘when’ question. Instead, Jesus answers with what the disciples are going to do, and how they’re going to do it. They are not passive recipients, they are active participants in the Kingdom of God

This, I think, is a really important text for us to talk about because we still find ourselves in this same transitional time period… we’ve heard all about the crucifixion and resurrection. We’ve heard the wonderful and challenging stories of Jesus’ life. We know that Jesus is right in the middle of this but yet, we live life without having the experience of going to listen to Jesus preach a sermon on the mount. Jesus is no longer present in the sense that we could find him walking from crowd to crowd and ask him a question. We talk a lot about Jesus, yet he isn’t here to confirm the historical accuracy of our stories.

Plus, we also live in a time with all kinds of ‘when’ questions…When will we start getting along in this world? When will this suffering end? When will Jesus come back like they talk about on the 700 Club ? …

But Jesus refuses to answer our ‘when’ questions, and instead calls us to be the church, and in many ways, to be the answer to those questions.

We can probably relate to this transition time, then. Stuck somewhere between the stories and Good News that we have heard, and the hope we have for their realization in our lives and in our world.

And so the way that Jesus prepares his disciples for this transition is also very useful for us, both personally and as a congregation, as we live in this in between time — between good news and hope. This is going to be a good old fashioned sermon, with three bullet points — three take-aways for what Jesus calls his disciples to do and be as he prepares to leave them. Three things to know about life after the Ascension:

It requires patience.

“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.”” (Luke 24.49 NRSV)

• God has a mission, but we need to wait for the spirit
• It’s not about us / God directed
• Patience is not complacency

It requires us to stick together.

• worship and pray together
• there will be a time to spread out but it must be rooted in togetherness
  • even the early desert monks would find time to gather
• you’ll know the importance if you think about a time in your life that was difficult, but you were able to draw strength from your friends
• who isn’t here?

It requires changing minds and dropping grudges.

“Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations,” (Luke 24.45–47 NRSV)

• changing minds and dropping grudges
• if we are to proclaim, we have to be able to do them
• a certain lightness — dropping our negative mindsets or stubbornness to see the new things that God is doing — dropping our grudges, all the ways we think we’ve been wronged, all the things that we think we’re owed, and let go. We are free because we are forgiven.

Have patience, stick together, being willing to change your mind and drop your grudges. This is what the disciples were taught. And this is how we operate, too.

…

After Jesus has completed his training of the disciples, 40 days after the Resurrection, he leads them out of the city, he lifts up his hands and he blesses them. And then he disappears.

You might think this would be hard or scary for the disciples. He was really gone. Their first test. Immediately, they return to the city following his instructions and they are filled with joy. Jesus had ascended; but Jesus was with them. And he still is.