Göttinger Predigten
Göttinger Predigten im Internet hg. von U. Nembach
The Ascension of Our Lord, 05/10/2018
Sermon on Luke 24:44-53, by Judson F. Merrell
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.
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."
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. (Luk 24:44-53 NRSV)
Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today is what is sadly becoming known as the “Forgotten Festival of the Church”, at least around here. I do not know of any of our area churches that are celebrating the Ascension today. There are some that are moving this festival to this coming Sunday, but that just isn’t appropriate. The Ascension of our Lord is one of our most important church festivals. It is an essential part of our faith, so essential that we confess in our creeds that it happened. Today we have our Gospel lesson an abbreviated account of the ascension. Luke gives us a longer version in his opening chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Personally I like reading them both to get the bigger picture of what the Ascension of Jesus was. In our Gospel lesson, the context almost makes it seem as though Jesus ascends into heaven on Sunday evening. Luke records Jesus appearing on the road to Emmaus, then appearing to his disciples. That appearance is picked up with the beginning of our pericope today. This leads directly into Luke’s Gospel account of the Ascension. But if we read Luke’s second book, we see that the Ascension happened 40 days after the resurrection. All the post-resurrection appearances, such as Jesus’ appearance on the road to Emmaus, happened within those 40 days. Knowing that, we get a bigger picture of what is going on here. What we find is the shroud of mystery being lifted from the eyes of those that believe in Jesus. Back in Luke 18 Jesus foretold his death and resurrection to his disciples, one of the several times he does so. But this time it includes an interesting ending. Luke tells us that although Jesus predicted his death and resurrection, the disciples didn’t get it. Luke’s words were: 34 But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. (Luk 18:31-34 NRSV) In our Gospel for this day, Luke tells us that they finally understand. Jesus opens the disciples’ minds to the scriptures, followed again by a declaration that the Messiah will suffer, die, and rise. Unlike his previous predictions of his death and resurrection, this time Jesus tells us why. Jesus went through his cruel and humiliating death so “repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luk 18:47 NRSV) Now that their minds have been opened and now that the scriptures have been explained and fulfilled, the disciples become witnesses to the work of God. Their transformation from fisherman, tax collector, and everyday person to disciple and now to apostle is complete. Jesus’ earthly ministry is complete and the next step in God’s plan for salvation of the world can start.
Jesus has told his disciples many times that one day he would not be with them, but that he would send another, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to be with them. Each of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances is like a mini version of the ascension, in that he leaves his disciples for a short time. In doing so, he prepares them for his ascension into heaven on the 40th day after his resurrection. It prepares their hearts for the gift of the Holy Spirit that Luke recorded as coming to them on Pentecost. Equipped with the understanding and knowledge of the scriptures and guided by the Spirit, the apostles help spread the message of the Gospel, beginning in Jerusalem and going throughout the world, even to where we worship today.
As we celebrate this festival day today, let us do our best to not forget this important festival. Instead, like the disciples, let us have hearts filled with great joy as we worship God, continually blessing Him for his plan of Salvation for the world. For when it comes to this plan, we too are witnesses, filled with the knowledge of the scripture, and guided by the Spirit. In the name of the Father, and the +Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.