Sermon - Ascension Day

Christ has ascended into heaven. 

This is kind of a big deal. 

Holy Scripture teaches us that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared, over the course of 40 days, to his apostles and to many others, to prove he was alive.  He walked with them, talked with them, even ate with them, to prove he was bodily risen from the dead, and was no ghost. 

40 days, of course, is that special biblical number which indicates a time of testing or proving, like the 40 days he spent in the wilderness being tempted by the devil at the beginning of his public ministry.  Now, at the end of his time walking this earth, he again proves and demonstrates his victory over sin and death. 

But there’s more. 

Christ began his saving work for us with his incarnation, as he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary, and was made man.  At that time, he set aside his divine power and majesty, choosing not to exercise it by and large, to enter our human world, our human experience, even our human nature.  He took on flesh.  He was made man. 

And we call this phase of his work, in theology, his “state of humiliation”.  From his incarnation, his conception, to his death and burial, Jesus does not generally exercise what is his by divine right.  He sets it aside, with rare exceptions. 

At times, we do get a peek at his glory, say, at the Transfiguration, or in his miracles.  But for the most part he submits to the limitations common to all humans – location in space and time, along with all the suffering of human life – poverty, scorn, exhaustion, pain, hunger, thirst, etc.  He submitted to it all.  He humbled himself, to take our place, to walk our walk, as one of us.  As the representative of all of us. 

And then, of course, he went to the cross.  The ultimate humility.  Submitting to an unjust death in order to justify us all.  Humbling himself in obedience to death, even death on a cross, to make atonement for sin, to bear the brunt of God’s wrath, and to shoulder on himself the punishment we so richly deserve.   

But all of his humiliation for us was not the end of the story.  He would not remain in the grave.  Death doesn’t have the last word.  Christ rose on the third day and from then on... things were different. 

No longer does he limit himself as before.  No longer is he bound by time and space.  For only a little while does he visibly walk among us, talk and eat and such.  He begins taking back, exercising more and more his divine power and majesty and glory.  Until finally we get to this day, his ascension.  When he fully reclaims his throne.  When he leaves behind earthly humility for heavenly glory.  When he takes his rightful place at the right hand of the Father, and begins his reign over all things. 

If his baptism was his ordination, his ascension is his coronation.  It is the finishing of his course, from heaven, to earth, to death, to life, and to heaven again.  But as with everything Christ does, he does it not for himself, but for you. He ascends into heaven for you. 

At first you might not think so.  At first you might be like those disciples, standing there mouths wide open in amazement, trying to make sense of it all.  Well the angels smack that out of them but quick, and so also for us.  This is no time to stand around wondering.  Nor is it a time to be filled with grief as he departs from our sight.  Indeed, the disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 

One way to see Christ’s ascension being for us is this:  that we, in a sense, ascend with him.  For one, he takes our human nature with him, in his person, and is enthroned.  That means this:  A man is seated at the right hand of the Father!  True God, yes, but also true man, in the person of Christ.  He elevates our human nature in himself, and now, “one of us” is also in charge of all things!  Thanks be to God! 

Furthermore, Christ is our forerunner.  Where he goes, we go.  To death, yes.  To life again, yes, for us, too, when we rise at the resurrection.  But he also goes before us to reign in heaven, of which he promises us a share.  He who is faithful unto death will receive the crown of life. 

Christ’s ascension, visibly, is a sign to his disciples, and us.  He didn’t just randomly disappear.  We would be left wondering.  But he goes, intentionally, specifically, to show us, and to comfort us.  He’s reigning in heaven, that is to say, over all things, for us.  He is the kindest friend we’ve ever had, but also the most powerful, most wise, most good.  A benevolent monarch if there ever was one, and he, our king, rules all things for us. 

He rules even over the powers of this world.  As Luther said, “even the devil is God’s devil”.  That is, nothing happens without his permission.  And while we don’t blame him for evil, we can find comfort that the evil he allows, he will also both limit and bring to a close.  For he works through all things for the good of those who love him.  And the worst that this world can through at us, the sufferings of this age, are not worth comparing with the glory that is yet to be revealed.  We have confidence, faith, hope and trust in Christ because he has ascended to his throne and rules over all, for our good. 

That’s what it means, as we say in the creed, that he “sits at the right hand of the Father”.  It’s not a physical place, it’s not even literally in the heavens.  But it’s a status.  A state of exaltation to the highest place, the name over every name, the authority that he shares with the Father.   

The Ascension is also a comfort to us, a blessing to us, in that Jesus goes in order to “fill all in all”, as St. Paul puts it in Ephesians1.  Rather than locked up far away in a place called heaven, Christ’s ascension signifies he now fully exercises his divine omnipresence – and what a comfort that is.  Christ who is for you, is everywhere, for you. 

But he is particularly located, for you, in the bread and wine of his Holy Sacrament.  Unlike the false teachings of the Reformed, who want to limit Christ’s power to be truly present in the meal, we regard his ascension as part and parcel of his divine prerogative to be just where he promises to be – in the bread and wine – for you. 

And finally, though we could certainly say much more, Christ’s ascension also comports with his promise to send the Holy Spirit.  Yes, the Spirit has always been active in the church, through the word.  But now, that Holy Spirit will empower the preaching of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and even, dear Christians in Keller, Texas, to you.  And so by “going away” Christ has come ever closer to us, in word, in sacrament, and by his Spirit. 

Thanks be to God for the glorious exaltation and ascension of Christ to the very throne of heaven, the right hand of the Father.  Thanks be to God that he reigns and rules for you and me, fills all things for our good, and will come again, just as he departed, on the last, glorious, victorious day when he makes all things new, and puts even death under his feet forever. 

In Jesus’ Name.  Amen. 

Sermon - Easter 6 - John 16:23-33

 

Many of us have at least a passing interest in sports.  Whatever it is, baseball, football, hockey.  It’s a distraction from the stress of life, a way to pass the time, and mostly just good clean fun, even some people overindulge.

I’ve always wondered, though I will never know, what it’s like to be a world champion – of anything. To be the best runner, or gymnast, or weightlifter. To wear that gold medal around your neck and know that at least for a moment – you are the best of the best. I think we all have a certain respect for someone who can achieve such a rare status as “world champion”.

Jesus concludes his remarks to the disciples today with the words, “take heart; I have overcome the world.” But he’s not talking about overcoming in some kind of sporting competition.  And what he wins is not a gold medal, a trophy or a championship belt.  Our Lord Jesus Christ is about winning, for us, forgiveness, life and salvation. He overcomes the world by dying, rising, ascending and reigning for all eternity.

“The World” is a theme running through our readings today. The nations of the world, anyway, have come into focus in this late Easter season. The book of Acts has been detailing the inclusion of the Gentiles into God’s people. Today we read about Paul going to preach in Macedonia. We see also, the holy city of Jerusalem, a picture of the Christian Church in her glory – and into that city the “kings of the earth will bring their glory”. And we already know the inhabitants of heaven are “from every tribe, nation, people and tongue.” There is a missionary undercurrent and backdrop – the message of Christ crucified and risen is a message that must be shared with the world!

But “The World” can also mean (and usually does in John’s Gospel) all that which is opposed to God. Being “in the world but not of it” is this same idea – that though we Christians must live in this hostile territory – behind enemy lines – our true citizenship is in heaven. And we are on our way home. But we must deal with the world. We must face it, for we live here, in the world. And the world, Jesus says, hates his disciples. This can be a problem.

It can be a problem when we are persecuted for our faith.  You never have to look to hard to find stories about persecution of Christians – not being crucified or thrown to the lions, like in the days of Rome.  But surely in certain places Christians are still under fire and threat of death, or even just loss of property and rights. We don’t face that kind of persecution where we live- but it could happen some day.

The hatred of the world works on us in more subtle ways. Our world hates God’s ways, and fills our heads with lies and temptations. The devil is always at work, the prince of this world, tempting us any which way he can. But the world around us also seeks to shake our faith in the truth of God’s word, to make us doubt the perfect standard of his law, and in our me-first culture, to elevate our own needs and wants above everyone else’s. By our sinful nature we are selfish, greedy, petty, insincere, gossip-mongering, self-aggrandizing, fearful, disrespectful, and many things worse. And the world would cultivate all these things within us. The world would have us, too, be enemies of Christ and of his word and his way.

But Christ has overcome the world. And in Christ, so do we.

Christ has overcome the world by his death. A funny way to fight a battle, by laying down your life. A strange way to win the ultimate victory, by counting all as loss. God’s power is made perfect in weakness. So instead of climbing the pedestal to the tune of a national anthem with a gold medal around his neck, Christ’s victory over the World is seen hung on a cross with thorns around his head, for all the world to see his shame and agony. But he himself declares the contest over with those powerful words, “it is finished”.

And though the price of our redemption was paid, and the work of our salvation was finished at the cross… Jesus’ work as our savior would go on. He would rise for us, appear for us, ascend for us, and reign in heaven for us. There, on his divine throne, at the right hand of the Father, with everything under his feet, Jesus has surely overcome the world, and rules it for us in love.

When Jesus was speaking to his disciples in our reading today, he had not yet gone to the cross. But he knew he would, and that by it he would conquer all his enemies. He speaks of his victory as a present reality, even though it hadn’t been fulfilled just yet.

We too know Christ’s victory over the world as a now-and-not-yet reality. For the cross and the empty tomb are accomplished and stand behind us in history. And yet, his return in glory is still on the future horizon. We are the victorious people of God, but when we look around us we see defeat at every turn. The world seems to have its way with us. Sometimes it all seems hopeless. But all is not as it seems.

“But take heart; I have overcome the world” Jesus says.

We get a glimpse of our future as we read Revelation and see the glories of our heavenly home. Our imaginations run wild at the promise of the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. So that even in the darkest moments of life, even in the valley of the shadow of death, we can and do “take heart” for Christ has “overcome the world”.

He does it not for himself, but for us. We couldn’t have done it ourselves. When it comes to the world, we win some, we lose some. We have our ups and downs. But we could never be free of worldliness, were it not for someone “out of this world”, namely Jesus Christ. He who “came from God” and has returned to God, also came to bring us back to God.

His victory is not a moment in time, or 15 minutes of fame. He will not be defeated by the next challenger. He has overcome the world. His victory wasn’t a narrow one, just barely winning the day. This contest was decided long before it started. He has overcome the world. His victory over the sin-filled and sin-scarred world brings wholeness and restoration, as he makes all things new. He has overcome the world. And in him, so do we.  Take heart!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.