Sermon Seventh Sunday of Easter

Sermon

Text: Acts 1:6-14

I love space stuff. When I was growing up it was a very close second to Dinosaurs in the order of stuff I was obsessed with. Well, when I was really small I was obsessed with Garbage Trucks. I would watch them, get them as toys and “drive” them around the house. My parents would go out to eat with people after church on Sundays and we would eat on a second floor balcony, they would talk to their friends, and I would stand looking over the edge into the alley watching the garbage truck.

Ok, space. I love watching shuttle and rocket launches. I often find myself tuning into the NASA online channel to watch count-down coverage, and have watched footage taken from camera's attached to the rocket itself. I've always wanted to go to Florida and watch a launch from Kennedy Space Center. I'm sad that there is only one more shuttle launch left. I would have loved to be able to watch the moon landings when they happened. Standing looking up as the shuttle grows to a small streak in the sky. A crowd just standing staring at the sky.

That scene reminds me of the Ascension from the first part of our reading from Acts. In it the disciples gather with Jesus on the top of the mount called Olivet and they ask him a question, “is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus responds, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 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.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”

Then comes my favorite part, as they watch two men in white robes appear and say “‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven?”

an author I read this week answered this in this way. “Dear white-robed guys, who appear out of nowhere, WE’RE WATCHING JESUS FLOAT AWAY IN A CLOUD—that’s why!”

It's one of those questions that makes me think, umm, shouldn't it be obvious, did you miss the lifting up, and the cloud, and the disappearing?

Then the disciples return to Jerusalem with no actual response to the two men. They go to the upstairs room where they were staying, the same one they hid in after Jesus' death, and spend their time devoted to praying together.

I feel bad for the disciples, the recent past for them has been somewhat of a roller-coaster. Palm Sunday they travel to Jerusalem with Jesus, expecting that he will restore the Kingdom to Israel, and he is arrested, tortured, and crucified, dies, and is buried. Taken from them. Scared, they hide in the upper room. Then on the third day they find out that Jesus is risen from the dead. They are ecstatic and head off to find him on the top of this mount. They get to him and as they should, they ask him. Ok, now is it the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel? And Jesus again has his own plans for why he draws them to places. He tells them they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. I think that's the main reason for drawing them out of Jerusalem, to accent the call to witness to all the world, not just Jerusalem and Judea. And then in what seems like a cruel twist to the disciples Jesus is drawn up from them, a cloud comes and lifts him away. Taken again from them.

In this roller-coaster you would think that the disciples would just be crushed. But, there is nothing to suggest that. Yes, they return to the same room. But, it seems so much different this time. It was waiting both times. But very different waiting. The first, dreadful waiting. The waiting of unwanted death, or of waiting for a deep pain. The first time they gathered there they are fearful for their very lives. Now the waiting feels different. It is what is often called pregnant waiting, or anticipatory waiting. You would think that they would be all over the place emotionally, but they don't seem to be. It seems as if Jesus has again been taken from them, abandoned once again. It leaves us asking, how is Jesus with them, let alone with us, if he has been taken up into heaven? Why aren't the disciples constantly talking about the ascension? Why aren't they distraught over being without Jesus?

Pastor Danielle Shroyer remarks about this.

In fact, what happens to the disciples is just the opposite. They go back to their beloved upper room and constantly devote themselves to prayer. And soon, Pentecost happens just like Jesus promised, and they find themselves out on the street, prophesying and spreading good news to the ends of the earth. This is no late night ice-cream binging depression. They are just fine moving forward without Jesus. So perhaps the strangest question is this: Why aren’t the disciples more bothered when Jesus leaves them?

Personally, (and with a little help from Jurgen Moltmann) I think it’s because the disciples see Jesus not as removed from them, but ahead of them. Jesus is preparing a way for them, and for us, and our job is to go forward, to venture out in that direction.

That is the thing about the ascension, we see Jesus lifted up and think taken away. But, the ascension is different, it is not removing Jesus, but restoring Jesus to all times and places. A line from the Gospel reading can help us understand, “So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.”

Jesus is the Word of God and Son of God. As Son of God, Jesus is 100% Human and 100% Divine. The 100% human Son of God, who is Jesus of Nazareth, sprang to life when born from Mary, and the 100% divine Son of God, the Word of God, second person of the Trinity, exists at and in all times and places. In the beginning it is the Father that spoke creation into being through the power of the Word of God . Now, if you didn't understand that at all, that's fine, I took a whole class on it, and still am trying to figure it all out, and in many ways, it is beyond our comprehension to understand the nature of the Trinity. But, what is important is that this is not a removal of Jesus, but Jesus as a complete part of all of creation, past, present, and future. When we say Jesus is with us it is still literally true.

For once it seems the disciples understand something and we are the confused ones. So they wait, anticipatory waiting, knowing that soon the spirit Jesus promises will come to them giving the them the strength to go out and tell others that Jesus is with them, that Jesus has prepared a way for them, both for eternal life, but also a way here in this place at this time. In our lives, through the ascension which touches all times and places, Jesus prepares a way for us to follow, a way of life, one of devotion and servitude. And Jesus promises to be with us in it, and promises that the spirit will give us strength to follow Jesus' way.

For our prayer I want us to pray like we did in Vacation Bible School this last week. When I say For you prepare a way for us, I want you to yell, Thank you, God.

Let us pray,

Lord, When we feel weak we know you give us the strength to help the needy, for you prepare a way for us. Thank you, God.

Lord, When we are hungry you give us food and water, and work with us to reach out to the hungry, for you prepare a way for us. Thank you, God.

Lord, help us to remember the strength given to us through the Spirit, for you prepare a way for us. Thank you, God.

Lord, we thank you for always being with us, for you prepare a way for us. Thank you, God.

Amen.