Text: Luke 24:44-50, Acts 1: 9-11
Forty days after Jesus rose from the grave and conquered death, he led the disciples out to the countryside to the little town of Bethany. And he reminded them of everything he had done.
Jesus reminded them of how he healed and forgave.
He reminded them of his words and truth.
He connected the dots for them and helped them to understand his suffering and death.
I’m pretty sure that he probably talked about love.
And then he said five simple words: “you will be my witnesses.”
He blessed them.
And he left them.
On that day, forty days after Easter, Jesus was taken up into heaven.
And the disciples, our scripture says, returned to Jerusalem with joy in their hearts to spend time in worship and prayer and to wait.
You will be my witnesses.
You know, we started this series on what it means to practice resurrection by talking about how we are called to be the living witnesses of the resurrection.
We are the proof that Jesus is alive and that God is real and that the Holy Spirit is moving.
Everything we say and do is a sign to the world of the reality of resurrection power.
There are some days, however, when I wrestle with why Jesus couldn’t have just stayed with us and done all of this himself.
Wouldn’t it be so much better if Jesus was standing here teaching and preaching? Leading us? Showing us how to live?
There are so many problems that we face in the world today…
The ravages of illness and death…
The exploitation of workers…
Natural disasters…
And then there are the political tensions and violence…
Our scripture today takes place in Bethany – just two miles from Jerusalem in the time of Jesus.
But today, that journey would require traveling from Israel into the West Bank through a separation barrier.
Today, the conflict between the Palestinian and Israeli people over land and the right to exist and live and move freely makes this a dangerous place.
As rockets and missiles fire, and the death toll rises… especially among the Palestinians who are far more vulnerable.
How I long and pray for peace for these peoples.
And how I wish that in that very spot where Jesus once stood, he might stand again, raise his hands, and breathe peace upon the world.
What is the ascension all about? Why is it good news?
Why were the disciples… who were so scared and timid in the days after his death, so filled with joy at this experience?
This language of going up or ascending is really the “language of enthronement.” (GBOD)
In the ascension of Jesus, he rises not simply from the grave, but up to his full authority.
He no longer walks and talks among us but he is now “seated at the right hand of the Father.”
He is no longer the prophetic carpenter from Galilee, but he has risen to his fullest stature as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The ascension is the completion of the resurrection.
And that is a good and holy and awesome thing.
But there is something else to the ascension that we often miss.
In the incarnation of Jesus, we celebrate the word of God was made flesh. We witness how God came down and was born as a tiny babe in Bethlehem.
Every aspect of our human life was experienced by God.
Love and loss.
Stubbed toes and broken promises.
Laughter and tears.
Disappointment and overwhelming joy.
Fear and grief.
Jesus experienced the fullness of our lives – and the ultimate depths of suffering and death.
God entered our humanity in the birth of Jesus… that little child who was fully divine.
And when Jesus Christ – a man of flesh and blood, a fully human being who ate and drank and lived and died – when Christ is taken up into heaven, all of humanity is taken up to God also.
These two moments: the incarnation and the ascension unite the human and the divine. They establish an unbreakable relationship.
And so we don’t need to stand on the Mount of Bethany, with our mouths open, staring at the sky waiting for Jesus.
As the angels – those messengers in white robes who show up remind the disciples – ask, what are you doing standing around for?
Jesus has not left us… he has united us with the divine.
“You will be furnished with heavenly power,” he says as he is carried up into heaven.
You will be my witnesses.
You are going to tell my story.
Jesus blesses us and empowers us to carry on the work of love and grace and transformation in the world.
To be the people of the resurrection.
As I think about our graduating seniors, I think about how this time of transition is just like that blessing and ascension moment.
For years, we have been pouring our love and faith into you.
Today, we have the opportunity to bless you and send you out into whatever God has prepared next for your lives.
But you aren’t leaving us.
And we aren’t leaving you.
We are simply moving into a new phase of our relationship and lives together.
You are crossing a threshold and claiming your lives in new ways.
You are going out to be witnesses for Jesus.
To tell the world what Jesus has done.
To love people as Jesus has loved us.
To share God’s kingdom with the world… as you learn and grow and teach and play and serve.
But there is another truth here…
Sometimes, I bet you as students have heard that your real life begins after you graduate.
But you have been pouring love and ministry back into us through your leadership and energy and service and witness this whole time.
You are not the future of the church… you ARE the church and have been the church.
You didn’t have to wait until you graduate or until you finish college or get a job… you get to serve Christ right now.
One church put on their sign, “We believe in life before death.”
And in the church, just like we sometimes get it wrong about our young people…
We can get so caught up in life after death, in what happens up there with Jesus and whether or not we are going up there, that we forget about this life.
Jesus invites us to live before we die.
He invites us to go and share and tell and bless and love.
He invites us to not only live, but to share new life with the broken and hurting of this world.
William Herzog II writes that “neither resurrection nor ascension is about human longing for life after death. Resurrection is a call to mission. Nothing is said about the disciple’s resurrection… they are focused on waiting… until the mantle passes to them and the power from on high endows them for the mission ahead.” (Daily Feast, Year C, pg 277)
We practice resurrection and work to make God’s will happen on earth as it is in heaven.
We practice resurrection because the Kingdom of God has come.
And in the ascension, we are connected and reminded of the divine power that will allow us to do so.
You know, those disciples were asked to wait… but they didn’t have to wait long.
Next week is Pentecost Sunday and after just ten days of praying and praising and expectation, the Holy Spirit rushed into their lives and forever changed the world.
You know… if Jesus had simply stayed with us – he would have just been one person.
But the Body of Christ… the church… is greater than one man.
And we are going to explore in these coming months how those first disciples claimed the power of the resurrection.
How they found the courage to speak God’s truth.
How they reached out in love.
And how the message of Christ moved from Jerusalem, to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Quick spoiler alert… it wasn’t easy.
At times it felt impossible.
As impossible as it might feel today to pray and work for peace for the Palestinian and Israeli people… or to respond to a natural disaster… or to navigate forces of oppression… but…
That is our mission.
To receive God’s power.
To share God’s love.
And to change the world.
May it be so.
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