The Ascension of our Lord
Luke 24:44-53
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dearly Beloved,
Because our Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, He is here with us this evening in the preaching of His Word and in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
That doesn’t sound like it makes too much sense. However, you will remember from your training in Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism that we speak of the Lord Jesus in two states: the state of humiliation and the state of exaltation. In the state of humiliation Jesus did not always or fully use all of His divine powers. That means that Jesus was always able to be all places at all times, but chose not to be while He was dwelling among us as a humble man.
Now, Jesus is in the state of exaltation: that is, He always and fully uses all of His divine powers. That means, among other things, that Jesus is everywhere, all at once. St. Paul says in Ephesians 1:20-23 that “[God the Father] raised [Christ]from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
All at one time, Jesus is in heaven and everywhere on earth, all at once, filling all things. That’s a little hard to understand. And if we wander around looking for Jesus, we won’t find Him just everywhere. That doesn’t mean He isn’t wherever we look, it means that He has not chosen to reveal Himself in everything.
But He has chosen to reveal Himself in some very select and very clear ways and places. Do you want to see Jesus? Do you want to find Jesus? Look for Him where He has promised to be.
Look at Jesus’ disciples. There they stand on the mount of ascension. Jesus has been taken from their sight, so they stood and looked up into the sky where they had seen Him go. As we read earlier St. Luke records in Acts, “While they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
In other words, don’t be looking for Jesus in the sky. He hasn’t promised to reveal Himself there. Don’t be looking for Jesus in your heart, He hasn’t promised to reveal Himself there. Look for Jesus where He has promised to reveal Himself.
When Jesus led Peter, James and John up onto a mountain He was transfigured before them. There Moses and Elijah stood with Jesus and discussed with Him His departure that would soon take place at Jerusalem.
Now, Jesus has again met with His apostles on a mountain and two men appear in white clothing. On the mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John were overwhelmed with the revealed glory of Christ and missed the point of what they were seeing. Now, at His ascension, the two men in white must remind them of Jesus’ state of exaltation.
What does all of that mean for you, here, today in Beatrice, Nebraska? It means that because Jesus ascended to the right hand of power of Almighty God, He can be with us here, now, today, in the way He has promised.
God loves you so much, that Jesus willingly suffered and died on the cross and rose again from the grave so that He could ascend and be present with you everywhere, all the time.
Jesus was present with you in Holy Baptism. That doesn’t mean that Jesus was some sort of good feeling, or some word or name spoken just to make your parents and sponsors more assured about what was going on. In the water of Holy Baptism, the crucified, risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ physically touched you in water and word. Because He is ascended, He is present in your baptism, and in every baptism done in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Martin Luther said that it is not the pastor’s hand which baptizes, but the hand of Christ. The ascended Christ baptized you, and all Christians.
Jesus is present with you in Holy Absolution. That doesn’t mean that when you hear the words of Holy Absolution you know that because Jesus died your sins are forgiven. It means that in Holy Absolution, the voice of the crucified, risen and ascended Jesus Christ proclaims to you that your sins are forgiven for His own sake. It isn’t just some nice words that make you feel better about yourself, it is the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, imparting to you the forgiveness of your own, specific sins: sins for which He willingly and agonizingly died.
Jesus is present with you in Holy Communion. This is not some kind of presence that means whatever you want it to mean. It means that according to His promise and His great work, the crucified, risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ is present with His own holy body and precious blood, in, with and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion. We certainly celebrate this precious Sacrament in remembrance of Him, as He has commanded us to do. But He is here. He is there! The same holy and Almighty God who was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger is laid here upon this altar. The same holy body pierced with nails upon the cross is placed upon your tongue. The same precious blood, spilled out of His hands and feet and side is poured into your mouth, over your tongue and teeth in into you.
This is the same Jesus who is present with you in the preaching of His Holy Word. Though you can neither hear nor feel Him, God the Holy Spirit implants the Holy Son of God in you when His Word is taught in its truth and purity. The crucified, risen and ascended Jesus Christ is present where His Word is rightly proclaimed.
I would be so bold as to suggest that that makes a difference. It matters that Jesus ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father, Almighty. The right hand of God is everywhere, all the time.
And when time has run its course, where there is no longer any need for clocks and calendars, this same eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent Jesus Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead.
“Men and women of Beatrice why do you stand looking up into the heavens?” This same Jesus whom you have seen ascend, you see before you here in Word and Sacrament, as He has promised.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. |