The text this morning is from the Acts of the Apostles, the first chapter:
In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed 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 and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Our Lord has risen from the dead, and He has risen from this earth to sit down at the Father’s right hand. And for us, this is a good thing. 40 days the Lord was with His apostles, teaching them, instructing them, commanding them, all in regard to the kingdom of God. And they have passed this knowledge down to us, to this day.
It begins with a simple instruction: don’t leave Jerusalem. You’d have to imagine that the apostles are getting antsy. They’re rearing to go. I know that feeling. Being in seminary for four years, four long years, you’re rearing to go, ready to get to work. The first year, they spend basically making sure you’re Lutheran and you have an introductory class on how to preach. At the end of that year, you get licensed to preach at your field work church. And you can imagine, all us guys were ready to go, ready to get to it. And at the end of your second year, you get approved for vicarage, where you basically intern under a pastor. And you can imagine how ready these guys are to get sent all over the country and get to it. Vicarage year is great, but you’ve always known you weren’t going to stay there. Time to head back. But, by the end of fourth year, by the end of countless meetings, the finishing of all your classes, having studied systematics and theological history and how to read the Bible in Greek and Hebrew and all of that, you are ready for Call Day. You are ready to hear your name and get out there. You are ready to hear where God has placed you.
And I imagine the apostles were the same. They studied with Jesus for three years already, but now, in His resurrected state, you gave to wonder what the reaching was like then. Regardless, you can imagine the apostles, called to fishers of men, were anxious to get out of Israel and into the whole world. They were anxious to bring the Good News of their Lord and Savior, their friend, Jesus Christ, to all of the world, that all would be saved, that all could hear this Good News.
And Jesus tells them, wait. Wait. Wait for what? Wait for the promise of the Father. That had to kill them. They had the promise of Jesus. They had the promise that Jesus would do all He said He would do. After all, Jesus predicted His own death and resurrection. Why isn’t that enough? Well, is that enough for you?
No. It really shouldn’t be. It’s not enough that Jesus died and rose again. It must be that He died and rose again for me. If I have a million dollars, and I go and tell you, that’s probably fine, but it doesn’t really do anything for you. If, however, I come to you and tell you I have a million dollars for you, that changes the story, doesn’t it? That’s the promise of the Father. Jesus had died, He rose again. But, that act hadn’t been given to the apostles, not in its fullness, until the promise of the Father would come to them. Now, we will talk more about that next week, on Pentecost Sunday, but suffice to say, that promise is the seal of the Holy Spirit, which came that the apostles would know both that they are saved and that salvation is to be taken out into all the world.
There was a story I read this week about a woman in Hawaii who got lost in the woods there for 17 days. She wanted to go for a three-mile hike for a few hours in a park she hadn’t be to in a while. She said she felt drawn to it by some voice inside her, or some spirit. And, while everything seemed fine, she went off-trail, being led by this internal voice, and got lost in the forest, a rain forest, in Hawaii, for 17 days. This happened to her because she listened to some little voice inside her. This is idiotic.
We don’t want to listen to a voice inside us. The voice inside us lies. So, we need something from outside us. And that is the promise of the Father, that promise comes through the Holy Spirit, and that promise only comes because of what we celebrate this day, that Jesus ascended into heaven to the right hand of the Father. Now, this doesn’t technically mean that Jesus is sitting on the right side of the Father, but it’s a turn of phrase that means that Jesus has all the authority and power of God the Father. And He uses this authority and power to send the Holy Spirit.
It is good that our Lord has ascended away from us, where we cannot see Him with our own two eyes. For, as He has done this, He has sent His Spirit to guide you into all truth, to comfort you, to deliver the promise of the Father, that you are His own, that He loves you, that you are clothed with the power which is from on high, that clothing granted to you in your Baptism.
Ascension Day, when Jesus rose from the ground into heaven, is really about how the Spirit descends from the heavens, through the ground, and into the very water in which you were washed, into the very Word which we hear, in through the very words of the Institution. Ascension is all about Baptism. It’s all about the Word and the Absolution. It’s all about the Supper. Without Christ ascending into heaven, you would still be in your sins, you would have no assurance of the salvation of Christ, because there would be no “for you.” You could not be sure that anything of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus was for you. But, because He promised to raise Himself after He was murdered, and He did, and then promised to send the Spirit to bring Jesus Himself to you, then you can know that you have the promise, and God the Father will fill it.
The whole of the Trinity is connected in this day. The Father sent the Son to live, die, and be resurrected for you. The Son does so and returns to the Father and sends the Spirit, who points back to the Son, that you might have life eternal. The Son then shows you that this was enacted by the Father, that you might believe and have life forever. It’s a fun little dance through which we find our God is gracious and merciful, our God is good and loving, our God is patient and long-suffering, that we might be found to have life in the name of Jesus forever.
This Ascension Day, look to where this promise of the Spirit is found. For the apostles, immediately following the ascension, it was found on Pentecost, when the Spirit descended and sealed them with the promise. Today, it comes to you through the content of that promise, through Word and Sacrament. This day, it comes to you through the absolution, through the reading, through the sermon, through the remembering of your Baptism, through the reception of the Supper. These are the seal and promise of the Spirit, for you, that you might have life in the name of Christ. This is Ascension Day. And truly, it is all because He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment