Wait...where is HE going???
(Free Version) Ascension Sunday- Acts 1:6-14; 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11; John 17:1-11
Icon: “Ascension” by Ivanka Demchuk
This week’s readings can be found here. This Sunday is the Sunday after the Feast of the Ascension, and we hear the story of the Ascension in our Acts reading. In our “Deep Dive” this week, we look at more implications from the reality of the Ascension, and its incredible importance.
These readings challenge us with questions of authority. Who is in charge here? Who really runs the show? If Jesus is Lord, why does the world look the way that it does? What does the ascension mean? Did Jesus leave us? If Jesus is coming back again, ought our posture be simply to wait for that day? Why try to do anything now?
As a preacher, I will have these kinds of pastoral questions in view. It may not be helpful to attempt to explain the ascension, but rather to proclaim it.
I would try to include all of these elements in the proclamation: he ascended to heaven; He is fully human in heaven (as well as fully God); he has gone “to prepare a place for us,” the kingdom, the true rule and reign of God; because of this, we have great hope; from the Father’s right hand, he intercedes for us; we have been given the Holy Spirit, our Advocate. Therefore, we are not alone.
In our reading of the ascension story (Acts 1:6-14), the disciples are asking these very pastoral questions that I mentioned above: are you now going to bring things under the proper rule and reign? Will you make things right now? Jesus tells them that they will not know the exact time, but they are called to be witnesses (or “heralds”), proclaiming his rule and reign here and now. He has all authority, and they will need the power of the Holy Spirit to live as witnesses in all the world. Jesus then ascends into heaven, and the disciples are caught staring upward. The angels promise his return, the same way as he went.
It is difficult to trust in God’s authority when the world around us seems so messed up. But, the things which claim to run the world only prove to be hollow. They say that they will quench our thirst for justice, beauty, and love, but they fail. It is difficult, or downright impossible (on our own), to be “heralds” of the kingdom of God in such a world. But, the way of the cross is the way of God’s new world, and the Holy Spirit is with us as Christ is interceding for us.
It is in such a world that Peter exhorts a suffering church (1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11). He says that they should not be surprised that they are facing a fiery ordeal, that they are suffering for their faith. Walking the way of suffering actually binds them to Christ, the suffering one, and that’s a blessing. They must remember that their identity is not in that persecution, but in the spirit of God which lives in them. Because of this, they can see God’s glory revealed even now, even as they await it to be revealed fully.
Peter goes on to exhort the church to humble themselves under God’s mighty hand (a term that points back to the story of the Exodus), so that he may exalt you. We can trust him with our concerns because he cares for us. Far from being passive, we must be actively alert. The enemy is looking to devour you! We must resist the schemes of the enemy.
We must be careful anytime we preach a text which deals with outright persecution. In the West, we do not face this and we should not attempt to manufacture it. But we can remember to always submit to God, no matter our circumstances, to trust in him, and to resist the counterfeits the devil offers in an attempt to trap. Finally, we are reminded that God is the God of grace. He brought us into His family in the first place, and he will see us through.
Our John reading (John 17:1-11) is part of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse (chapters 14-17). Jesus prays for himself and for his disciples. We catch a glimpse, in this reading of the stunning relationship of the Triune God: always loving, giving, glorifying the other. This is the Triune God. Jesus acknowledges that he has been given all authority, to give eternal life, which means knowing God.
In his prayer for his disciples, he points to the unity between he and the Father, and that the disciples know this, for he has revealed it to them. Jesus is not simply a prophet or God’s representative. He and the Father are one. As Jesus will not be with them in the limited, localized sense; he prays for protection for them, and for their unity.
One of the beautiful things about the Ascension is that Jesus continues to intercede on our behalf. We are not alone in this world. As Christians, our calling is to be witnesses, as one voice, declaring this new kingdom which has come. To be witnesses does not merely mean to preach, but to live our lives in view of this new kingdom, oriented towards the God who raised Christ Jesus from the dead. Because of resurrection, death no longer has the final word. And this God has revealed himself and desires to be known.