Welcome to our worship on this new day the Lord has made. We’re glad you’re with us here or listening on the radio.

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Not too long ago, Jesus was looking down at Earth and saw all the problems and selfishness and sin that were going on. So he called one of the angels and sent him to Earth to check on things. When the angel returned he told Jesus, “You’re right. Nobody down there is close to perfect and so many act like they don’t even care. There are some who are trying their best. But even they don’t really get it."

 

Well, Jesus was not pleased and so he decided that he needed to do something. And so he got the list from the angel of those who were trying their best so he could send them an email. He wanted to encourage them—to give some support to those people who were doing their best.

 

And do you know what that email said? No? You don't? I was just wondering, because I didn’t get the email either!

 

Actually, Jesus doesn’t have to rely on email to get his point across. After he ascended into heaven, he sent his Holy Spirit to be with his people. And the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Bible and so we have a permanent record in God’s Word of what we need to know about life. But I’m kind of getting ahead of the story.

 

Today is called Ascension Sunday. In St Luke’s introduction to the book of Acts he wrote---

 

"In my former book, Theophilus, (He meant the Gospel of Luke), I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God." (Acts 1:1-3)

 

For forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to his disciples numerous times-- teaching them what they would need to know when he was gone. Then, he was lifted into heaven in the event we call the Ascension. Our Gospel reading for this morning from Luke 24 and this first chapter of Acts are the two main places in the Bible that Jesus’ Ascension is referred to.

 

This year Easter was on April 4 and forty days later was May 13—last Thursday. Did you get to go to the Ascension Day parade? You're right--- There was no parade. In fact the Christian Church in recent years has not emphasized the Ascension much at all.

 

In some countries of Europe, it’s a public holiday but in the U.S. and even in most churches we hear very little about this event.

 

Why? Why does Jesus’ Ascension get so little attention in the Church? It’s hard to say, but one of the practical issues is that it always falls on a Thursday. One of the men at our Tuesday morning Bible study suggested we start having services every Thursday so we can celebrate Ascension. We’ll talk with the Praise Team about that!

 

But our avoidance of Ascension is probably more than a lack of Thursady services. Maybe it has something to do with us modern people having trouble with an event like the one that Luke reports:

 

“After Jesus said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”  (Acts 1:9)

 

Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen anything like that happen---unless you include seeing a guy on TV fly with one of those jetpacks. Sometimes we have trouble accepting those things in the Bible that come under the category of “miracle”. We modern people wrestle with those questions. I’ve mentioned before that I was a biologist before I went to seminary. We scientific people take pride in how much of the world we can figure out and explain.

 

But I’ve come to the conclusion as have scientists who are devout Christians that just because we can’t explain something like the Ascension, doesn’t mean it’s not possible. 

 

Actually to say that miracles like the Ascension are impossible is just a different kind of faith statement because the belief that miracles are impossible can't be proved.

 

After all, if we believe that there is a God and that God created the universe and all that exists, and if we accept the fact that we are human beings and not God ourselves, then there will of course be things that will be beyond our human brains.

 

God has created the universe with forces like gravity that hold us down. But if he has created gravity, doesn't it follow that he can overcome its effect if and when he chooses? 

 

Maybe another problem we can also get hung up on, is the concept of where Jesus went when he ascended to heaven. Where is heaven? Is it just a little to the left of Jupiter? Or is it a whole other dimension of existence that we can’t even begin to comprehend? 

 

That’s another one of those questions that I’ve come to be comfortable with leaving in God’s hands. If I can’t find heaven on Google Maps that’s OK with me because we can’t get there on our own anyway. Christ will have to lead us there.

 

So if we can get around the things that hinder our observing Jesus' Ascension, what’s the significance of the Ascension anyway? Why should we celebrate it? It must be important since it’s one of the central items about Jesus that we confess every time we say the Apostle’s Creed. “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father”. Why does that  matter?

 

It matters because Jesus' ascension enables him to complete what he has told the disciples he will do.

 

Let's read this together----

 

Jesus said, "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:5-7)

 

Jesus explained why he had to leave them. It was necessary for him to go so that his Holy Spirit could come. If he had remained on earth in bodily form, he could only be in one place at a time. But through the Spirit, he could be with all his people at once. 

 

Martin Luther writes that "Reason cannot comprehend how this can be...............he sits above in heaven, and yet is present with us and in us and rules over us. Therefore strive not to comprehend, but say: This is Scripture and this is God's Word, which is immeasurably higher than all understanding and reason."

 

By his ascension into heaven, Jesus is lifted out of 1st century Israel where he was known to a limited number of people and instead becomes personally knowable to every person of every time and place!

 

What must have seemed at first to the disciples as a great disadvantage--Jesus leaving them-- became a great advantage for all as Jesus entered heaven as King of kings and Lord of lords and then sent his Holy Spirit to be with them. How often do things that seem to us to be great problems turn out to be to our advantage when we are patient and trusting enough to wait to see how the Lord will work through them?

 

Jesus told the disciples in advance that they would not be abandoned but would receive his power in a new way.

 

I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49)

 

Jesus' followers were not left to operate on their own power or to find whatever strength they could in the world by themselves. Instead by returning to his Father in heaven, Jesus opened heaven to pour out his Spirit 10 days later on the Day of Pentecost. Instead of a power shortage, there was a whole new source of endlessly renewable energy from the Holy Spirit--power from on high Jesus called it. 

 

We are the recipients of that same power. Yet why do we so often feel powerless and out of gas? We're like the Rose Bowl float some years ago that ran out of gas during the Rose Bowl parade. The float was sponsored by an oil company!

 

We have been given an endless supply of Christ's blessing and power and yet we feel empty too often because we try to run our lives on our own power. This Ascension Sunday should remind us that we have a heavenly power source that goes infinitely beyond anything we can produce ourselves. When we find ourselves feeling powerless we should realize that it's because we've been trying to do it all on our own---once again. We need to reconnect to our power source through worship-- prayer-- reading God's Word-- working together with Christ's people.

 

Jesus promised his disciples power from on high. But power for what? Power to carry on Jesus' work. The Ascension was a commissioning of the disciples to continue Jesus' work on earth.

 

William Barclay tells the story of a Hindu man who came to see a bishop of the Christian Church in India. The Hindu had read the entire New Testament and as he read the Gospels he said he was drawn into their power. He said he felt he had entered into a new world. In the Gospels it was Jesus and his works that captured the man's attention. In the book of Acts he was amazed at what the disciples did and taught-- picking up after Jesus ascended to heaven. And as the Church grew, it carried on where Jesus had left off.

 

The man said to the bishop, "Therefore I must belong to the church that carries on the life of Christ."

 

That's the mission of every congregation--to carry on the life of Christ. That's how we have to evaluate all that we do at Christ Lutheran. Does what we do carry on the life, mission and ministry of Jesus Christ? 

 

That's the mission of every individual Christian--to carry on the life of Christ. That's how we have to evaluate all that we do as individuals. Does what we do carry on the life, mission and ministry of Jesus Christ?

 

That mission gave new purpose to the lives of the disciples. It enabled them to see that though Jesus was no longer with them in bodily form, that through the Holy Sprit and the mission that had been entrusted to them, that their lives would be filled with a whole new kind of joy!

 

Let's read together the last verses of Luke's Gospel----

 

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (Luke 24:50-53)

 

It would have been understandable if the disciples had reacted with sadness. Jesus wasn't with them anymore! But they reacted with great joy! They were constantly at the temple praising God! There had been many times while Jesus was with them that they missed his point. But this time they finally got it! They trusted in his promise that something great was about to happen--- that he would always be with them---and that there was reason to rejoice.

 

And 10 short days later on Pentecost they received the incredible power of the Holy Spirit that they needed to begin carrying out the mission Christ gave them. Filled with courage they set out to conquer the world with the Good News of Jesus.

 

So getting back to that email from Jesus—since it seems that none of us got a copy, I guess we should thank the Lord that even though we fail him so often, that Jesus has taken away the penalty of our sin and ascended into heaven--- that he has taken his place at the right hand of God as King of kings and Lord of lords---and that he has gone to prepare a place for us in his heavenly kingdom.  That's reason to rejoice!

 

In a moment as we say the Apostle’s Creed let’s think of what this event meant for Jesus' disciples and what it means for you and me.

 

Amen.