Sunday 05/21/23 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “The Ascension Of The Lord!”
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 47
New Testament Scripture: Acts 1:1-11
Gospel Lesson: Luke 24:44-53
What’s it like to lose your hero? What’s
it like to lose someone who just made everything better, and who made the world
seem to make more sense? What is it like to lose your best friend? Or your favorite
sports player? Or that person that you greatly admired?
Sometimes, and I think we have all
been guilty of this, we can take people for granted, can’t we? We might think
that they will always be there, but they won’t. There is a really good country
song by Cody Johnson called “’Til You Can’t”. In this song, Cody Johnson among
other things, says:
… You can tell your old man You'll do some largemouth fishing another time You just got too much on your plate to bait and cast a line You can always put a rain check in his hand 'Til you can't (LyricFind).
Once again, what is like to lose your hero, a person you
greatly admire, or your best friend?
I still remember the summer of 2015, when my Grandpa
Winkelman died. My father called me to tell me the news, which was an emotional
moment for both of us. Then my father asked me if I would officiate the funeral
for my Grandpa Harold. I had officiated the funeral service for my Grandma
Winkelman, and now I was officiating the service for my Grandpa Winkelman.
I remember, as I did, when I did my Grandma Winkelman’s
funeral, that I was now the “family’s pastor”. As Melissa and I headed to Chicago,
for both funerals in fact, we were of course saddened, but I felt a heavy
weight on my shoulders. You see, my call to ministry became even more real, as
I was asked to do the funeral for my grandmother, and then in 2015, for my
grandfather.
My Grandpa Winkelman was a great person, and was like glue
that held the family together. Then he went to be with my grandmother in eternity.
To lose a hero, a beloved family member, or someone else, makes us realize that
we then have to step up to the mark. It makes us realize that this departed
person’s gifts and talents are now gone from this earth. As a result, the duty
now falls on us to carry on.
When I was young and I had my grandparents there and my parents
there, it felt really good. As you get older though, you slowly become the wise
old one. You become the one that the family or friends look to as the person to
give advice, help, etc. It is an important, but a humbling roll to play. I felt
humbled to do the funeral services for my Grandma and Grandpa Winkelman.
Now I tell you all of this on this Ascension Sunday,
because this morning the disciples lose their hero. The disciples lose the
greatest person that they had ever met in their lives. The disciples lose God
in the flesh, Jesus Christ. It’s not necessarily a day of misery though, as the
gospel of Luke for this morning says after Jesus ascended in heaven in Luke 24:52-53,
once again:
52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God (Lk. 24:52-53, NRSV).
Jesus had been crucified on God Friday, resurrected on
Easter Sunday, and then had appeared post-resurrection to the disciples and
hundreds of others for 40-days. In our readings this morning from the Book Acts
1:1-11 and the gospel of Luke 24:43-53, we hear that Jesus ascends to heaven.
This is why we call this Ascension Sunday, as the actual Ascension Day was this
past Thursday. This past Thursday and or this Sunday commemorates and marks
Jesus ascending into heaven. In commemorates and marks Jesus no longer being
physically on earth.
In fact, we hear in our reading from Psalm 47 for this
morning, once again, in 47:5-7:
5God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. 7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm (Ps. 47:5-7, NRSV).
Today, Jesus ascends to heaven, and will only be seen in
the flesh again when he returns to earth in glory. While the scripture accounts
speak of the excitement of the disciples this morning, I can imagine at points that
they missed Jesus. God in the flesh, there Messiah, their teacher, physically gone
until his second coming. Jesus promises though that the Holy Spirit will come
to them soon, and that they will understand more of what Jesus taught them. Further,
they will be empowered to go forth with the mission of the gospel, the mission
of the church, which is the great commission.
Next Sunday, we will celebrate Pentecost Sunday, which is
the Sunday that the Holy Spirit shows up in a powerful way on the day of Pentecost.
On Pentecost Sunday, which is next Sunday, the Christian Church will be born,
and the disciples will be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is why our
paraments will be red, and this is why we are encouraged to wear red next
Sunday. This is to celebrate the fire of God’s love and the power of the Holy
Spirit.
Today though, or this past Thursday to be precise, Jesus
goes up to eternity, as he came from eternity. Pretty simple in a way, Jesus
was crucified on Good Friday, resurrected on Easter Sunday, then appeared to
his disciples and hundreds for 40-days. This all culminates in Jesus’ ascension.
In fact, the Book of the Acts of the Apostles begins with Jesus’ ascension, as this
is the same story also told in our gospel of Luke 24:44-53 reading for this
morning. Luke, who wrote the gospel of Luke, also wrote the Book of Acts.
Let’s look at our reading from the Book of Acts 1:1-11 for
this morning once again. It starts in Acts 1:1-5, giving a summary of the gospel
of Luke, saying:
1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote
about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day
when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy
Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his
suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing
proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of
God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them
not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,”
he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5 for John
baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many
days from now” (Acts
1:1-5, NRSV).
This
summary of the gospel of Luke in Acts 1:1-5 sets the stage for the rest of the
Book of Acts. In Acts 1:1-5, Luke says that he wrote about Jesus’ life, his teachings,
his post-resurrection appearances, and Jesus telling the disciples to not leave
Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit showed up, after his ascension.
After
this in this Book of Acts reading, Luke continues in 1:6 speaking about the
actual moment of Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Beginning in 1:6 the scripture
says:
6 So when they had come together, they
asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to
Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the
times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth.” 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he
was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While
he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white
robes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do
you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you
into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Certainly, this is a powerful moment in
the narrative, and the two angels tell the apostles who are in awe, that Jesus
went to heaven the same way that he came down from heaven. Soon very soon, the
Holy Spirit will come upon and fill the disciples, and when this happens, the
Christian Church will be born. This is what we will celebrate next Sunday on Pentecost
Sunday, which will be in the Book Acts 2. Once again, feel free to wear red!
Even
though our Book of Acts 1:1-11 reading for this morning ends with the disciples
being excited and jovial about Jesus’ ascension, I can imagine that they were
at the same time saddened that he was officially psychically gone from earth.
Maybe not in those exact moments, but I can imagine throughout the rest of the
disciples lives that they missed having Jesus psychically. I mean how could
they not? Many of us miss our heroes or the people that we loved and admired.
They have gone to glory like Jesus does this morning. We will see them again.
sure, but it is still hard to not have them here with us. I can imagine then
that the disciples had times when they just missed Jesus.
In looking at our gospel of Luke 24:44-53 reading for this
morning, Luke gives his second account of the ascension of Christ. Sometimes
Luke and the Book of Acts is referred to as Luke-Acts, as both books are
attributed to the Apostle Luke. So, in looking once again at out Luke 24:44-53
reading for this morning, it says:
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words
that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me
in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then
he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and
he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer
and to rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that
repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all
nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses
of these things (Lk. 24:44-48, NRSV).
Similar
to his summary in the Book of Acts 1:1-5, where he mentions a convert to Christianity
name Theophilus, Luke summarizes Jesus’ whole life and his mission on this
earth. This summary, in fact, is the actual words of Jesus. Jesus explains that
he came to earth to fulfill the law of Moses, and to fulfill the prophecies of
the Old Testament and the Psalms. Jesus explains that he died for
our sins, rose again, and that we are all called to proclaim repentance and
forgiveness in his name. Jesus said to his disciples that they were all eye
witnesses of all of these things that he said and did.
After
this summary of the life and the mission of Jesus in Acts 1:1-15, Jesus says in
24:49:
49 And see, I am sending upon you what my
Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with
power from on high (Lk. 24:49, NRSV).
Jesus
tells the disciples and us that he is psychically leaving this earth soon, to go
to heaven and to sit at the right hand of God the Father. He then tells the
disciples to stay in the holy city of Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit shows up
giving them power form on high. Next Sunday on Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit will
show up, filling the disciples, and as Jesus said, clothing the disciples “with
power from on high”.
Our gospel
of Luke reading for this morning then concludes with Luke 24:50-53 saying, once
again:
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany,
and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he
was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And
they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and
they were continually in the temple blessing God.
Just like in our reading from Acts 1:1-11,
Jesus is ascended, and similar to that reading, the disciples have a positive
response to this. In fact, in our gospel of Luke reading, once again, it says
that the disciples worshiped Jesus, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
Why? Well Jesus promised to send them the Holy Spirit soon, and as a result,
they were constantly in the temple blessing God.
Yet,
may before Pentecost next Sunday, or maybe after, I can imagine that the disciples
and all of the early converts to Christ missed him physically. I mean how could
we not miss Jesus? How could we not miss our heroes, and those whom we love and
admire more than anyone else.
Whatever
way that we look at it, today Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God the
Father, and will be doing so until he returns in glory. The Holy Spirit is
coming, Pentecost in coming. While many surely missed Christ being physically with
them in the flesh, they still had joy in that he was alive, and heading back to
eternity, as we will all one do, as well. In similar way, while we miss those we
love, admire, and look up to that are no longer with us, it is not forever, it
is just for now. Whether we go to be with Christ someday, or Christ comes to be
with us, we will not be separated from the physical presence of Christ or those
we have lost forever. Ascension Day, Ascension Sunday then, is not the end, but
just the beginning. Amen.
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