On this final Sunday of the Easter season, we will hear the story of Jesus’ ascension. While this is a lesser-known holiday (“holy day”), it is an essential part of the story of Jesus’ earthly ministry, and there are some significant implications for our faith and life today. Although Jesus ascends into heaven, God’s work in this world continues through the Holy Spirit, whose coming we will celebrate next week at Pentecost.
Today’s Scripture texts are Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 93, and Luke 24:44-53. Lots of sources I drew from this week, all linked within the text below. Here’s the sermon podcast audio and the video from Christ the King.
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen
One of the cardinal sins of preaching, in my opinion, is to preach a sermon about the process of writing the sermon. My job as a preacher is to study the text, read commentaries, pray, and bring back to you what I understand God to be saying to us through this story, not to just regurgitate everything I’ve read about a text.
So, please forgive me for sharing a few sentences I came across in my preparation this week. I’ve never preached a sermon on the meaning of Jesus’ ascension, and I realized there’s a good reason: I’m not sure what the meaning of Jesus’ ascension is!
I know it’s important; every time we say the Apostles’ or Nicene Creeds together, we declare we believe Jesus ascended into heaven. But it’s a strange story. It’s hard to believe!
Here’s a sample of quotes I read about Ascension Day. Susan Hedahl writes, “of all the festivals, this one is perhaps the most neglected.” (From page 85 of Proclamation & Celebration [Amazon affiliate link]) Christian Century says it’s “clear how difficult it is for contemporary believers to celebrate.” Jeffrey Peterson-Davis says, it “often gets overlooked…who can muster much energy for Ascension Day?” (From page 502 in Feasting on the Word, Year B).
So why are we talking about this today?
Technically Ascension Day was back on Thursday. Some churches do hold Ascension Day services, but I can’t imagine very many people would have come, so I floated it to Sunday and figured no one would mind. I did grow up at Ascension Lutheran Church, but it just isn’t a significant holiday for most people.
I’ve seen lots of Mother’s Day advertisements this week, but there are no Ascension Day furniture sales or brunch deals. I looked and you actually can buy Ascension Day greeting cards, but it’s more of an online print-on-demand thing, not Hallmark.
Nevertheless, I’m going to try to share with you this morning why Ascension Day matters, how this odd, uncomfortable story actually affects us.
First, on a basic level, Jesus’ ascension is the answer to the question every parent with a literal-minded four year old is going to be asked at some point. “If Jesus was here, and he died but then he came back to life…and he didn’t die again, where is he?”
Michael Fitzpatrick writes, “The ascension of Christ is probably one of the least taught and more poorly understood of the Church’s doctrines. We affirm it in our creeds, but for many of us it can feel like an awkward transition into Pentecost, almost as if the early church just had to say something to explain Christ’s absence — and this is what they came up with.”
So for the practical part: Jesus is not physically standing here because he ascended into heaven. That’s why we can’t see him.
Now, if you’re going to be overly literal, the next question will be how high did Jesus ascend? Does he go into space? Is he still up there somewhere?
And of course, obviously, frustratingly, none of that is the point. Heaven is not a physical realm you can get to on a rocket ship. If we’re going to accept Jesus was dead and came back to life, we’re also going to have to accept the risen Lord is not bound by the laws of physics, and just live with it by faith.
Let’s trust the significance of the Ascension is greater than just a practical way for Jesus’ body to disappear. So why does this matter? Well, first, it’s a transition in the way God is present in the world.
I saw a meme a few days ago saying, “The Feast of the Ascension: Celebrating the day that Jesus began working from home.” To some extent, that’s true, right? Jesus came from God, accomplished his mission on earth, and then returned home to his Father. But Jesus is also still working here on earth. He promised not to leave us alone, and he kept that promise.
We’ll talk more about that next Sunday on Pentecost—by the way next Sunday is Pentecost, so if you feel so inspired, I invite you to wear red as we talk about the coming of the Holy Spirit, God’s presence with us on earth.
Then the week after that is Trinity Sunday, so that’s a good week to stay home. I mean, that’s a good week to wrestle with what it means that even after Jesus has ascended, God’s presence is still active and working among us.
So yes, Jesus has gone home to heaven. Ascension is the conclusion of what began at Christmas. The Word became flesh and lived among us, and Jesus has completed his mission. The work of salvation is accomplished. But this is a penultimate festival. Do you know that word? It’s one of my favorites, a fancy way of saying “Second to last.”
Ascension is the end of this part of the story, but it’s not the point. It’s not the climax; it’s a transition. It’s about “making space so that the mission of the church can begin.”
Jesus told his disciples before he was crucified, “it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you…when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”
You and I are called to do God’s work, to participate in what God is doing in the world, empowered by the Holy Spirit. God’s work on earth continues.
As Jesus says, “You are witnesses of these things.” You have seen what God has done, now go and tell about it. Continue Jesus’ work. And Jesus promises to come back, not in the same way he came at Christmas, not as a human baby, not to experience death and provide a way into God’s kingdom, but as the King.
In the Ascension, Jesus takes his place as the king of kings and lord of lords, the head of the church, the firstborn from among the dead. We confess Jesus has ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God. That’s not a geographical description; it’s a way of saying Jesus has come into the fullness of his power, robed in majesty.
No longer is Jesus limited to working in one time and one place. You don’t need to come and touch his cloak to find healing. You don’t need him to physically walk through the door of your house to experience his presence with you. The resurrected, ascended Christ is present in all times and places, in cathedrals and sanctuaries, as well as in prison cells and hospital rooms. Where two or more are gathered, in the midst of suffering, in the bread and wine of communion, in the water of holy baptism, in the dark night of the soul.
Ascension may literally look like Jesus’ departure, but it is Jesus unleashed in the world, and that is good news for us today. Jesus is present among us as we gather right now as the Body of Christ in the world, as we proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name to all nations. Ascension is the culmination of Jesus’ victory over death. It’s a promise that we have a future.
As I’ve led funeral services, one of the most common readings people select is John 14, where Jesus tells his disciples that in his Father’s house there are many dwelling places, and he’s going ahead of them to prepare a place for them, and he’s going to come again and take you to himself.
There is an eternal home waiting for you – what a beautiful promise. But in the Ascension, we see the other side: Jesus is going ahead of us to prepare the way.
Back in 2009, the San Francisco Bay Bridge had been closed for structural repairs. They thought they’d fixed it, but then some of the new tie rods and brackets fell off, down onto traffic. Once the engineers finally said the bridge was repaired, the first cars to cross at the reopening were five California Highway Patrol cars driving abreast.
Cindy Brucker writes, “It may well have been an act of bravery and potential self-sacrifice if those bridge repairs had been inadequate. Going first and leading the way is a great service to those who will follow.
Those patrolmen trusted that the repairs to the bridge had been made… [By ascending,] Jesus showed us that the repairs to the relationship between heaven and earth had been made and were trustworthy. The repair worked in the way it had been planned.” (This illustration comes from Proclamation & Celebration, page 99, which quotes Cindy Brucker’s “Sermon on the Ascension” preached at Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary)
Jesus goes ahead of us to prepare the way, because the promise of faith is that this life is not our final destination. Our eternal citizenship is in God’s kingdom. As we’ll talk about on Trinity Sunday, we are invited into the life of God, invited to join the dance of Trinity. God has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ to bridge the gap caused by our sin, restoring us to our Creator.
Finally, Jesus’ ascension is a striking image for religious art, but I think most of the portrayals aren’t actually helpful, because seeing the story illustrated literally mostly just brings up those questions of physics, and again, that’s not really what this story is about. But I do want to highlight one portrayal by Albrecht Durer.
“In his depiction of the Ascension, most eyes are looking upward at the disappearing Christ, yet one figure is clearly looking at the ground that had been under Jesus’ feet – where it is marked by the footprints of Jesus.
The Enfleshed Word has left – AND his footprints are left behind –Footprints, it seems that are not simply scars in the sand to dissipate on the winds of that holy hilltop, but FOOTPRINTS that we who are called to be witnesses, we who are now the Body of Christ on earth – not metaphorically, but literally – as in, we really are Christ’s body, Enfleshing Jesus – Enfleshing Love Divine.
In the world today – we are called to continue to make the footprints – and dare I say hand prints and heart prints of Christ on earth. Begging the question, of course, what kind of footprints and hand prints and heart prints are we leaving?”
Ascension Day calls us to live as God’s people in this world, even as it’s a promise that this world is not our ultimate home. May the promises of this day give you comfort and courage, knowing God is present with you, here, now, and for eternity. Amen