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Ascension Day

Readings: Daniel 7: 9-14; Acts 1: 1-11; Luke 24: 44-53

05/05/05

This evening we are gathered together to celebrate the Ascension of our Lord. This event can
be seen as the completion of God’s work of salvation, Jesus has lived, died and risen to new
life, and now we celebrate the fact that God took him up into heaven to reign at his right
hand. His plan is still coming together.

Jesus was very patient with his friends and disciples. He had spent three years teaching
them from the scriptures, answering their questions, and telling parables to convey the
reality of heaven in a way they could understand. On the night before his capture by the
authorities he knew that his friends still didn’t understand entirely what was going on, but
he reassured them that this was not the end, there was more to come. He made it clear that
this was all part of a plan, and that they each had a part to play and a place in his
father’s heart and home.

Jesus had died a horrible death, been dead for three days, risen from the grave and here is
again for another forty days, teaching his disciples about himself, his father and the
kingdom of heaven. And still, Luke tells us, they were asking questions that showed him they
didn’t fully understand: “is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”
They were still thinking in terms of earthly kingdoms and revolutions against Rome. And
still, Jesus told them it was all in hand and everything would happen according to his
father’s will.

And on the day that he ascended he was still teaching. But he finally took a special step,
“opening their minds to understand the scriptures”. He explained that everything written
about him in the laws, the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled, that he had suffered
and died and risen from the dead in order to win for us forgiveness of our sins and a place
in God’s kingdom. Then he set them a mission: part of God’s plan was that “repentance and
forgiveness of sins is to be in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” He told
them, you’re the witnesses to these events, and it’s up to you to tell the good news.

But still, they had to see that they would no longer have his physical presence as a crutch
to hold up their faith. Jesus could only complete his mission by ascending into heaven, as
he had told them he was going to prepare a place for them in his father’s home. But he would
be back, it was all known and planned long ago, Daniel had seen it in his vision centuries
before: “I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven… To him was given
dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him.”
Jesus also left them with the promise that the Holy Spirit of God would clothe them with the
power to fulfill their mission.

Then he went up into heaven, seemingly physically, before their eyes. As Luke describes in
Acts “a cloud took him out of their sight.” And, in the Gospel story, they worshipped
together before returning to Jerusalem “with great joy”. Their joy is so great, after this
momentous event, that they spend their time in the temple blessing God. The temple was the
heart of their community in Jerusalem at that time, so the point is that the disciples were
so filled with joy that they wanted to share it with the rest of their community.

You might have heard the story about the angels questioning Jesus when he’d returned to
heaven. Gabriel says, “You must have suffered terribly for those people down there.” “I
did,” replies Jesus. And Gabriel asks, “so, do they all know about how you loved them and
what you did for them?” “Oh no,” says Jesus, “not yet. Just a few in Palestine.” “And what
have you done to let everyone know about it?” asks Gabriel. Jesus tells him, “I’ve asked
Peter, James and John, and a few others to make it their business to tell others about me,
and the others to tell others and others and others, until the farthest people know what
I’ve done.” But Gabriel’s not quite convinced by this plan, and he asks: “What if Peter,
James and John and the others get tired or scared or forget? What happens if it gets to,
say, 2005 and people just stop telling others? What’s your Plan B? What’s the back-up?” And
Jesus says, “No Plan B. I’m counting on them.”

And he’s still counting on us to take our joy in Christ’s good news out into our community.
The joy we have in Jesus Christ is different from joy in our circumstances, which is
sometimes hard to come by. But that joy in Christ comes from the Holy Spirit in us, and it
draws others to him, so that we can all be part of the plan to spread the good news of Jesus
to all the world.