Sermons

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE

Acts 1:6-11 – So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”  He 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.”  When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.  They said, “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.” (NRSV)

Yesterday (Thursday) was what is traditionally called “The Feast of the Ascension,” to commemorate this story of Jesus’ dramatic exit from the earthly scene as described in the first chapter of Acts.  We generally celebrate this story on the last Sunday before Pentecost (next Sunday), since a service on a random Thursday doesn’t tend to be very popular.

The writer of Acts is generally considered to be the same person who wrote the gospel of Luke and is the only writer who includes this part of the narrative.  But it does seem like an important moment to cover, doesn’t it?  Otherwise, we would be left with “Jesus died, and then he came back to life, so where is he?”

But we wander astray if we focus too intently on the details of where Jesus was when and how.  Even the angels kind of miss the point.  They know that the disciples aren’t supposed to just be standing there staring at the sky, but instead of reminding them to listen to what Jesus just told them, they skip ahead to the notion that when Jesus returns it will look like this scene played backwards.

But with the advantage of 2000 years of hindsight, we can do better at paying attention to the important parts.  We know the early Christians were anticipating Jesus’ return very soon.  But now that we’ve come to understand that our idea of “very soon” and God’s idea of “Very Soon” are not necessarily the same, we can see the importance of focusing on the “meanwhile.”  And then we can realize that the “meanwhile” is what Jesus was giving those disciples directions for in those final moments together.

“Be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth,” he said.  That is clearly not something that was going to happen quickly.  And as we’ve seen, it didn’t happen all that faithfully either.  The Church has made many missteps in our centuries of trying to witness to Jesus’ good news.  But we keep trying.  We keep seeking the power of the Holy Spirit to keep us faithful, grounded in compassion and mercy, with an expansive view of what it means to be God’s people in this fragmented world.

Celebrating the Ascension is sort of like celebrating our graduation.  We’re not just students of Jesus now; we’ve been promoted to witnesses, followers, disciples, those who go forth and bear fruit.  This is no time for standing still!