Feast of the Ascension - sermon and service link
2024 Ascension of our Lord
Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53
In the Bible, there are three men who depart from this world differently than the rest of us: Enoch, Elijah, and Jesus. We meet Enoch in Genesis 5. All we know of him is this:
18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch. 19 Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God[b] after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not,[c] for God took him.
In Genesis 5, the text says explicitly of everyone else, “and he died.” Not so for Enoch. All we know is that Enoch is a holy and righteous man and that for God’s purposes, God chose to not allow him to die as everyone else did. Instead, God simply took him. No other details are revealed to us in the Bible. I am confident there is quite a story involved in all of this, but we are all going to have to wait until heaven to learn “the rest of the story.”
In 2 Kings 2, we are given considerably more detail about Elijah’s departure. It is, in my mind, a chaotic and confusing event. First, there is Elijah’s student, Elisha. Elisha would not let Elijah go. He clings to Elijah. Every time Elijah says, “stay here.” Elisha says, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” Then, he follows closely behind. When they cross the Jordan river, Elisha is so close that God has to separate them with the heavenly horses and chariots. I think it is best to hear it as the Bible tells it.
“11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.”
Elijah’s ascension into heaven was not immediately recognized for what it was. When Elisha crossed the Jordan river and approached Jericho, the prophets there recognized that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Elisha, but thought that the whirlwind had simply thrown Elijah out somewhere. At the conclusion of a three-day search, all the people finally came to an acceptance that Elijah had truly been taken up into heaven by God, and that Elisha was now the chief prophet through which God would speak and teach.
Bearing all of this in mind, we are impressed with and grateful for all the detail the Holy Spirit provides for us about Jesus’ ascension. Jesus’ ascension is an orderly event. The turmoil came much earlier beginning with Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, and his resurrection. But it’s been forty days since the resurrection. Things have settled into a joyful acceptance of this new reality. Jesus is risen from the dead. The Apostles have been drinking in his teachings. They welcome the way in which he opens their minds to understand the Scriptures and the remarkable way that through his life, death, and resurrection, they learn anew that Jesus truly is the way, the truth, and the life. So, on this fortieth day of Easter, Jesus completes his teaching, leads his disciples out to Bethany, and as he is blessing them, he ascends into heaven.
There is no panic, no fear, no weeping, no clinging and trying to hold Jesus back. Instead, the disciples are full of faith, and with hearts full of adoration, they worship Jesus, their Lord and their God. Then, they quietly return to Jerusalem to wait for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Feast of the Ascension has a number of lessons for us. I would like to focus on two of them.
First, the ascension affirms that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. This is a coronation. Jesus is received and placed by the Father. And, he is recognized by the Church as the one who sits on the throne on the right hand of the Father. We confess in the Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian creeds that Jesus “ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.” Because he sits where he sits, we proclaim that the one who was crucified and risen now has dominion over every earthly kingdom whether they recognize him or not.
The Church revels in this great reversal. The Son of God entered his state of humiliation as the natural born Son of the Virgin Mary. Jesus regularly referred to himself as the Son of Man. He speaks of himself as the Son of Man to emphasize his humanity while He is amongst us. The Son of Man took on the flesh of Adam to release all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve from the tenacious bondage of Sin, Death, and the Devil. The sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross was for our atonement. His sacrifice on the cross takes us back from their power. Through faith we receive the promise that Christ’s cross is for our salvation. He died on the cross for you so that he can say to you, “you are forgiven, you are at peace with God on my account.” Upon his death on the cross, Jesus enters the state of exaltation as he enters hell to announce his victory over the unholy Trinity. Believe in me! He says to all the captives. “Believe in me and live.” His exaltation continues with his resurrection and culminates with his Ascension into heaven.
A second lesson of the Ascension is that Jesus is no longer bound by the limitation of His state of humiliation. Heaven is located wherever God is located. God is everywhere and thus heaven is everywhere. Jesus is now outside the boundaries of place and time. Yet, the great mystery is that Jesus has the capacity to be with us in all our time of sorrow and joy. From his throne in heaven, he can be before the Altar interceding for us with his prayers. From his throne in heaven, he can be present with us as the Good Shepherd, leading us to the still waters and green pastures. From his throne in heaven, he can be present with us in the Word and in the Sacraments.
He can be in the consecrated bread and wine on every Altar of the world at any given moment. What we find impossible, he does with ease. For he is truly present with us in the bread and wine. And when we receive Christ Jesus in faith, we receive his benefits of presence and forgiveness.
All of this he does while seated on his throne at the right hand of the Father. All of this is possible, because in his state of exaltation, he is beyond creation’s limitations.
On this day of the Ascension we give thanks that our Lord is not subject to the laws and norms of His creation. For the good of our salvation, He is beyond all limits. As the disciples did before us, we worship Him and we wait for us coming again.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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