Ascension Sunday
Holy Wisdom Sunday Assembly
May 12, 2024
Terry Larson
Acts 10-11
Mark 16: 15-20
Ephesians 4: 2
It’s unbelievable. It would have been easier to believe in the physical ascension of Jesus prior to the audacious claim, first by Copernicus, and then by the real trouble-maker Galileo, that the earth revolved around the sun. Our beloved mother earth is not the center of our solar system. Yes, I know it’s mother’s day, but our earth is just among the planets, asteroids, comets, and space junk held steady by the sun’s gravity.
The heliocentric cosmological model (I found that phrase when I googled Galileo) describes the reality of our solar system. It means the sun is at the center or near the center of our solar system. That raises havoc with the ancient view of the earth at the center, sheol below, the firmament above with the sun, moon. and stars moving around the earth, the waters above the firmament, and then above that the dwelling place of God: heaven. The Ascension of Jesus, the risen Christ, certainly is a fitting conclusion to the amazing story. If Jesus could break the bonds of death, enter the upper room with locked doors, he could certainly smash through the vault of heaven to be seated at God’s right hand.
But in our amazing age of marveling at the incredible images sent by the James Webb telescope of the billions of stars, solar systems, black holes, and newborn stars in our ever-expanding universe, the physical ascension of Jesus is unbelievable.
No, not for all. My beloved sister who lives in Iowa says: ‘If it’s in the Bible, I know it’s true and I believe it literally happened.’ I tell her I don’t need to believe everything in the Bible literally happened in order to believe in the truth of the Bible as well as belief in a loving God who has shown God’s self in the person of Jesus. Hearing me say that, she shakes her head…worrying about my eternal destiny, gives me a hug, and then we talk about the weather or Iowa women’s basketball.
So what are we to think on this Ascension Sunday if we may not believe in the literal Ascension of Jesus? Eduard Schweizer, author of a commentary on the book of Mark, suggests these verses which were read in Mark’s Gospel today were added later by a helpful scribe who didn’t like the conclusion of the book which ends with these words: ‘they (the disciples) said nothing to anyone because they were afraid.’ It may help knowing the added verses of today’s Gospel don’t have as many divine ingredients as Mark’s original Gospel. So maybe that makes it easier not to believe the literal nature of those words?
Then there is today’s first reading from Luke/Acts. It’s the mystical account of Jesus being raised up into the clouds. The same two mysterious figures Luke described at Jesus’ tomb appear with the disciples at Jesus’ ascension. They ask this question: ‘Why are looking up toward heaven because just as Jesus was taken up to heaven, that’s how he’s going to return, don’t you know?’ Is this another unbelievable Ascension story? Maybe. But maybe there’s a better way of understanding the meaning of Christ’s Ascension.
A very helpful resource I’ve found on the Ascension of Jesus is from Tom Zanzig’s book ‘Jesus of History, Christ of Faith.’ That book was written to guide the faith formation of high school students in the Catholic church. As a Lutheran pastor, I taught faith formation classes/‘confirmation’ classes to middle school children…talk about pushing a broken rototiller up a steep hill! Wednesday afternoons at 4:00pm after these youngsters had a long day at school we studied Luther’s Small Catechism…a little orange book that easily fit in pocket or purse for quick reference. I needed to tell jokes to keep any semblance of attention…such as: ‘If God wanted us to use the metric system Jesus would have had 10 disciples.’ But the Catholics got it right and worked with high school students who were guided by fine resources such as Tom’s book.
His statement about the main lesson the scriptural authors wished to teach by describing the Ascension was this: ‘Following his Resurrection, Jesus passed totally into the presence of God, and in doing so, he moved beyond our experience of space and time. And then, (this statement knocks my socks off!) instead of Jesus being removed from our earthly realm,or being separated from us, the reign of God, the presence of God is among us right here, right now! Jesus is more present now because of the Ascension than he was when he walked the roads of Palestine.’ …. Reading that, I have the same response I had a month or so ago when I looked at the eclipse of the sun through the darkened glasses: ‘That’s unbelievable!’ Words can’t sufficiently describe the presence of Christ with us here, with us now, with us forever.
In response to Christ’s Ascension into our lives, into our community, we may get pretty pumped about following Christ’s ‘Great Commission:’ “Go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to all creation.” What is this Good News we are to proclaim, to share, to live? I’ll paraphrase the words we heard from Ephesians this morning….’In Christ, we have been treated with all humility and gentleness, with patience, with love, and unified as God’s people by the Spirit to be people of peace.’ So, in response, we treat all with humility and gentleness, with patience, with love, so they too will know God’s unifying Spirit of peace in Christ. And the outcome will be……. unbelievable!!
Amen.
Let us turn to God in prayer.
- Oh God, you break the power of death. Break down the walls and hostilities that divide people and nations especially in Gaza and the Ukraine. Teach us to be neighbors to each other. Risen Savior, Hear our Prayer.
- Oh God, you sustain the weary. Give rest to those who struggle to survive the challenges of day to day living. Bring life and hope to those who are ill, or homeless, unemployed, imprisoned, besieged with addiction or who are hungry. Risen Savior, Hear our Prayer.
- Oh God, you give wisdom to political leaders. Turn their hearts toward peace, toward a sane understanding of personal freedom, toward care and respect for immigrants, and toward working together for the good of all people. Risen Savior, Hear our Prayer.
- Oh, God you fill the world with beauty. Empower us to work to restore the earth to the goodness you provided at creation. Embolden to work to protect and renew the prairies and woodlands, fields and pastures, streams and rivers which provide life-giving nurture for all creatures. Risen Savior, Hear our Prayer.
We now lift up all the prayers listed in our book of intentions. The prayers we hold silently in our hearts, and speak the names of those people we wish to pray for.
(Pause)
O God, We bring you these prayers, and the needs that are in the hearts of each one of us. Continue to show your saving grace in our lives
through Jesus the Christ. Amen.