Grace Lutheran Church Ascension Day, May 25, 2006

The Rev. Evan Gaertner

Ascension Day "Where did Jesus Go?"

May 25, 2006 Luke 24:44-53

Today we gather together to remember the Ascension of our Lord. Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to the disciples. Jesus showed them how all that had taken place was God's plan of restoring people back into a relationship with him. They are not being taught anything they had not seen for themselves. The apostles were eyewitnesses and now before his ascension Jesus put together the pieces of the puzzle they have witnessed.

Jesus was doing such a good job of revealing the scriptures to the disciples I want to ask, "Why did he have to leave and where does he go?"

I know that there is a standard answer to why Jesus ascended into heaven. You might have heard before that this was done so that Jesus could use his glorified, resurrected body to sit at the right hand of the Father and so be “present anywhere and everywhere he chooses.”

Luke very clearly records, "he parted from them and was carried up into heaven." But look around this text and into the book of Acts and it become pretty clear that Jesus does not become absent, he has not disappeared from the disciples.

The bridegroom has not abandoned his bride at the altar. Jesus has not abandoned his church. After Jesus was carried up into heaven the disciples worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem. These disciples are very different in attitude after Jesus ascends into heaven from the disciples on the road to Emmaus or the disciples locked in fear in the upper room.

These disciples after the ascension know the victory is won. Jesus is risen from the dead. They went into Jerusalem without fear and continually went to the temple blessing God. By their actions we witness their faith in the living presence of Jesus Christ. They do not act like they have just witnessed Jesus abandon them to the world.

In the Gospel of Matthew we find Jesus making a promise to his disciples, even as he prepares to ascend into heaven, he said, "I am with you ALWAYS".

And in the book of Acts we find Jesus powerfully acting. On the day of Pentecost 3000 were added to the number of believers. And day by day the Lord added to the number of those that trusted in him. Peter and John greeted a beggar at the gate into the temple and Peter said, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth get up." The man jumped up and praised God. Jesus called out to Paul on the road to Damascus and appointed Paul to be his apostle to the gentiles. The early church and the church today continue to be evidence that Jesus is with us.

Jesus is very much still around and active, through his disciples. This is true not just as we witness the wonders and miraculous events of the apostles. Through baptism we have been baptized into Christ's death and more importantly if we have been united to him in a death like his we have certainly been united to him in his resurrection.

The bridegroom has not abandoned you the bride at the altar.

When Jesus ascends to heaven to sit at the right of the Almighty Father I suppose we may think that Jesus has gone to someplace that we are not. We are on earth and he is in heaven, two different places. But it is clear from the actions of the apostles in the book of Acts and from the church today that Jesus is not absent and only occasionally popping up unexpected like a prairie dog. In Ephesians 3:16-17, Paul wrote, "according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."

Also to the Romans, Paul wrote, "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day." (Romans 4:16)

We are in this our earthly home. We groan. We are burdened. But we are at the same time possessors of the promise that are we are clothed in Christ. Paul declared to the Romans that through Christ "we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us."

By your faith in Christ as your savior, you have been made a citizen of heaven, a member of the body of Christ. We also read in Ephesians, "Speaking the truth in love, we grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). We are growing into Christ, the head of our body, as we gather ourselves around the truth.

The apostles are witnesses to the living presence of Jesus as they proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins. It is a mystery how Jesus is present but nevertheless it is a reality that Jesus has not abandoned you. In the sacrament of the Altar, Jesus is bodily present. In your baptism you were united to Christ and his resurrection. Through the Holy Word the Spirit brings Christ alive to a world that is dead in sin.

Look to the apostles and you will witness that they boldly confess their faith in the living Christ. Look to the ministry of the church today and you will find that we continue to boldly confess the living presence Christ. His disciples were not discouraged and scattered after Jesus' ascension. Instead everyday they gathered together praising God.

The Lord's Supper gives us this same joy. At this communion rail we gather together no matter how scattered we may be in this world. In this Holy Communion of bread to body, wine to blood, sinners to the forgiveness of Christ, we are brought together and praise His name.

Jesus Christ is alive. He unites us sinners to himself. This union is not a reward for a job well done but an act of grace. In our weakness we fall upon our savior and he picks us up and gives us the strength to boldly proclaim his life giving name in this assembly and to the whole world.

Soli Deo Gloria

Grace Lutheran Church

Sermons