51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, Luke 24.51-52
“They Worshipped Him.” That was different - a different kind of action, a whole different relationship with Jesus. They were no longer seeing Him with their eyes. Whatever he might be doing was hidden from their senses. Now they had to believe in Him. The apostles had to believe that He would hear them when they worshipped Him. They had to trust that He was still graciously caring for them and guiding them. They had to believe.
That was what Jesus wanted. As He told Thomas on the 2nd Sunday of Easter. “You believe because you have seen. Blessed rather are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
I can say with certainty that Jesus wants each one of you to believe. And as in the case of the apostles, He is pleased to have you worship him on this the day of His Ascension.
This idea, that Jesus wants you to believe, might seem like something everybody should know. Of course He wants us to believe. But no it must be said, because some don’t get it. They think, They wish, that the Lord would do something to make it easier. Like the rich man in hell says to Abraham, “Can you send Lazarus back to my unbelieving brothers? They will believe if they see someone come back from the dead.”
Some people might even think, “What if Jesus hadn’t ascended into heaven bodily? What if He would’ve stayed around longer and straightened out all this mess of a world? What if he would rule this world visibly? What if He would restore the kingdom to Israel?” That's what the disciples were asking.
Jesus answered them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”
Their question betrayed their wrong thinking. Jesus showed people over and over again that His Kingdom is not of this world. His is a Kingdom of faith. He wants you to believe.
And if you ever think “That’s easy”. Stop, it’s impossible. We are good at remembering God created me and all creatures. And that the Lord redeemed me, without any merit or worthiness in me. But it seems like we more often than not need to be reminded that we can’t take any credit for our faith either. We believe that we cannot believe. We need the help of the Lord. We need help from the ascended Lord.
I’m not the best person in my family at shopping. I can't find my way around in stores. Nor can I navigate the online stores without much frustration and confusion. More often than not, I will choose to go without the thing I’d like, rather than shop for it. Some people enjoy shopping. Some have been known to go so far as, if they have a couple days free they will drive all the way Minnesota, to shop at the Mall of America. That place gives me the heeby geebies. I can get lost in there, not in a good way. There are escalators. I can handle those alright. I can go up. But the problem is, it’s not readily apparent where the down escalator is. I have actually spent more time in the Mall of America than I ever intended, partly because I got up and couldn’t get back down.
I’m worried some people have the idea, that’s what it’s like for Jesus and His ascension. We know He went up. We expect He’s going to come back down. Don’t know when. In the meantime, we’ve got our shopping to do. We don’t really need His help to try on shoes, or pick out an appliance.
Jesus our ascended Lord told us what to believe about His ascension into heaven. He said “I am with you always.” He said, “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.” Which is the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is in heaven at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus is with us, especially where two or three are gathered in His name. Jesus dwells in each believer. Christ in us. We in Christ.
We can say this because the one person Jesus is God and Man. Two natures in the one Christ. And of those two natures, there is a communication of attributes. They share attributes. Some of us remember learning about the attributes of God, remember the omnis: Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent. Jesus divine nature and human nature has those attributes. And the divine nature shares in the human attributes too. It’s not like the man side of Jesus has human things, and the God side of Jesus has God things. No Jesus has God things and Human things. So the Apostle Paul can speak of God’s blood. He says, God obtained the sheep of His flock by His own blood. Likewise the human nature of Jesus is Omnipotent, and omnipresent. He ascended to heaven to fill all things in heaven and in creation.
This gets a little technical, I suppose, but it’s good for you. Jesus our Lord, Son of God and Son of Man, has not left us alone and lonely. He wants us to believe and He gives us the gifts that we may believe. The means of faith.
He’s with us in the Sacrament. His body is not confined to one place. But by divine omnipresence it is where He says it is. He says this is my body given for you.
His blood is Divine. It’s God’s blood. By divine omnipresence it is where He says it is. He says this cup is the new testament in my blood.
He’s with us and He still speaks to His believers through the Scriptures. Earlier on that day of His ascension, “He opened the apostles’ minds to understand the Scriptures.” (vs 45.) everything written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms and poetic books, the three sections of the Old Testament, foretold how He would die, and on the third day rise and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” With these words He’s directing His apostles' attention away from what’s right before their eyes, toward the means of faith, the Word of God. When you read it and when you hear it. You are with Jesus and He is with you.
He’s with you and gives good gifts. Thank God for His gifts given along with the preaching office. Dear friends of St. Peter Lutheran Church, Your pastor is God’s gift to you.
“When he ascended on high.. . he gave gifts to men. . .he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
The Sacrament leads you to Christ. The Scriptures lead you to Christ. Your pastor leads you to Christ. And Christ leads you to where He has gone, through death, through the resurrection from the dead and beyond to the eternal life with God.
Amen.
