The Ascension of the Lord. May 12.24 Luke 24: 44-53
Today we are celebrating the Ascension of the Lord. Two of our three scripture readings for today describe it. So what actually is the Ascension? The day that Jesus left the earth for the second time, to ascend to the heavenly realm, to join God, his Abba, his Father. He left the first time, so to speak, at the death of his physical body as a result of his crucifixion. If you just happened to glance at the church calendar for this week, you would have noticed that this past Thursday was actually called Ascension Day and today is called Ascension Sunday. Why two days? Well, the Ascension is said to have come forty days after Easter, which, if you’re quick with math, makes the Day of Ascension actually a Thursday. Was it really forty days? Well, hard to know precisely, and I really don’t think the actual number of days is important. Forty is a special number in the Bible. Forty days of rain for Noah and everyone and everything on the Ark, forty years of wandering to the Promised Land for Moses and his clan, forty days in the desert for Jesus… forty represents a significant period of time of waiting for a special revelation of God to happen. And if you think about it for a moment, a full term pregnancy lasts 40 weeks! So 40 is a special number! Hence, forty days from Jesus’ resurrection to his Ascension. In order for Christian communities to recognize this very momentous day of our Christian year, the celebration of the day is moved to the Sunday after, because not too many folk go to church on a Thursday! This is an event significant enough to become part of both the Nicene and Apostles Creeds. ... “He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.”
To ‘sit at the right hand’ is not a phrase you hear much these days. We do use an expression that probably comes from the same source when describing someone who is essential or important to us in some fashion: We say, He or she is my ‘right-hand’. To sit at the right hand is an ancient custom that may still occur at important board room tables! In terms of business or ownership dealings, when people would gather for in- person meetings and such, the Lord of the estate or owner of the business or company would sit at the head of the table, and the heir –in most cases the first born son who was the heir to the estate or business and so who held all the rights, privileges and duties of the primary Lord or owner, his place was to sit to the right, or at the right hand side of the Lord and owner. The one who sat on the left hand side was the next in line. This then informed all who came to the meeting or approached the Lord or owner on a business matter who was the primary heir, the first born, the one, in essence, who was in equal to the Lord or Master of the estate, and so too deserved all the deference, the respect one would give to the Lord Master. Recall the story in Matthew of the mother of the apostle brothers James and John asking Jesus for her sons to sit at the right and left hands of Jesus? She was trying to secure the best positions of importance for her boys amongst the twelve. You have to give her credit for trying, but as Jesus told her, she really didn’t know just what she was asking for! So to say Jesus sits at the right hand of God is making a clear statement of belief—Jesus is God, with all the rights, privileges and obligations of the Lord! The Nicene Creed was agreed upon by the Council of Nicea in 325 during a time when there was much discussion and decision making going on as to which basic Christian beliefs were Orthodox, which all those present could agree upon as universal and foundational truths binding across the many differing Christian communities that had developed since Jesus’ time.
Our first reading today comes from the book of the Acts of the Apostles, which was written by the same writer as the gospel of Luke. It is sometimes called Luke’s second book, and is essentially the story of the development of the early Christian church—how it grew from a small sect of Jews who believed that Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph and Mary was the long awaited Messiah, the Saviour of the Jewish people. Acts describes how that movement spread across the wider Roman empire, beginning with the Ascension of Jesus and ending with the arrival of Paul in Rome. It is Christianity’s earliest history, and if you haven’t read the book of Acts completely through, I highly recommend it. And I also recommend using a contemporary version of the bible, which makes for easier reading. While the King James version is linguistically beautiful and the New Revised Standard Version the most accurate version in terms of translation from the original languages, neither are particularly easy reading. And if something is very difficult to read, we tend to avoid doing so!
So, back to our scripture! The followers of Jesus have come together and I’m going to suppose after 40 days or so of having Jesus come to them in his post resurrection state, they’ve gotten over the initial shock of his being alive again, well, alive yes, but differently so, you could say. And still the nation of Israel hadn’t been restored to the former glory it once had as in the powerful and glorious days of King David. That’s what everyone had expected that the Messiah would do—overthrow the Roman government that was oppressing the Jewish people and restore the country to its glory days. So they come right out and asked Jesus: “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” (And) “ He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere... to the ends of the earth.” (vs 6-8 NLT) And he disappears from their sight, into a cloud, leaving them gaping at the sky, no doubt with gaping mouths as well, wondering what had just happened. Disappearing into a cloud is also of significance: while the people of Moses were wandering through the desert to the Promised Land, they were led by a cloud—and when Moses went up the mountain to meet God, he disappeared into a cloud. The cloud signifies the presence of God. And just in case the folks who saw it weren’t sure about all that happened, two men in white robes suddenly appear, angels—God’s messengers –who explain that Jesus has been taken up to heaven, up to God’s realm, and will come again—someday.
So what do the followers do? They return to the upper room, maybe the same room they stayed in when Jesus provided them with the Last supper. They gathered together, men and women disciples, including Jesus’ mother Mary. The inclusion of women is significant, as Luke specifically mentions it. Women were very much a part of Jesus’ ministry, while he was on earth and very much so in the early development of the Christian Church. And what did they do all together in that upper room? Devoted themselves to prayer. What might they have been praying for? Well, verses 4 & 5, the two verses before we started reading today might give us a clue! “Once when Jesus was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (vv 4-5 NLT) The group of them—men and women together were waiting, and while they were waiting, they were praying for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, for the breath of God to come upon them, to literally in-spire them, to fill them with the strength of God in Christ, before they went forward to share the ways of Christ with others.
Waiting can be hard. We can get so impatient while we’re waiting for something to come. And that also may well mean that something that has become familiar to us will come to an end. The disciples were dealing with both at the same time! Their time with Jesus was ending—again! Yet his Holy Spirit was coming, but they didn’t know just when, or what that would mean for them. They were in the time in-between, a waiting period, a time that’s often filled with anxiety. With hindsight, we know when the Holy Spirit would come upon them—ten days later at Pentecost, which we celebrate next Sunday. But they didn’t know when the Spirit would come! So, what did they do in that period of waiting? Luke tells us that after Jesus blessed them and ascended, the disciples worshiped Jesus, returned to Jerusalem and were continually in the temple blessing God. I think there is a lesson here for us. We all get those periods in our lives when nothing in seems to be happening, when it feels like we are seemingly stuck in a waiting time or you wish what you’ve just gone through would end, or wanted something new to start in your life. So, instead of feeling impatient or anxious, consider that in-between time as a gift – and take advantage of it. And do, in essence what the disciples did, go back to that upper room in Jerusalem; in other words find a comfortable, familiar place to wait it out. And take the time, use the time to pray for God’s guidance, to reflect and read the scriptures, chill out and wait for God’s action for your life. Praise God, call on Jesus, ask for the presence of the Holy Spirit to inspire you, to strength you, to lead you. And it will happen! It can take time, sometimes a longer time than we’re really prepared to wait for. But remember, God knows what God’s doing. The Holy Spirit does come, but in God’s good time. Amen