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by The Rev. Charles Henrickson
Scripture: Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:1-11
Luke 24:44-53 (ESV)
Then Jesus 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 and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.
Acts 1:1-11 (ESV)
In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And 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."
Welcome to the Forgotten Festival! Today is Ascension Day--or to put it more fully, the Festival of the Ascension of Our Lord. But there is reason to call it, as I say, the "Forgotten" Festival. Even though Ascension Day is classed in the church year as a major festival, and thus a day for to church to gather for the Divine Service of Word and Sacrament, the sad fact is that in recent decades many congregations and many Christians have forgotten all about celebrating this important festival. It used to be that you could go to any liturgical church and they would have a service on this day. But with the decline of Christian culture and with the "wussification" of the church, it's pretty hard to find churches that are having service today, and where you do, usually it's only the hardy few who turn out. You see, Ascension always comes forty days after Easter, which means it always falls on a Thursday, and it's hard enough these days getting people to come to church on a Sunday, let alone on a Thursday.
By the way, there is another major festival in the church that likewise has fallen on hard times, and that is the Epiphany of Our Lord. Epiphany is twelve days after Christmas, thus it always falls on January 6, which means it almost always falls on a day other than Sunday. Besides which, early January is cold and dark, and that cuts down even further on attendance. So I guess we could say Epiphany and Ascension are the two Forgotten Festivals.
But happily, we do not forget these festivals here! And today, being Ascension Day, I want you to know why we do not forget this day. For the Ascension of Our Lord really is a wonderful festival, deserving of a day all its own. My goodness, the fact that Christ "ascended into heaven" even rates a line in our Creeds! Tonight, then, I want to tell you why we remember and rejoice in the Ascension of Our Lord.
And the reason--or one of the reasons, at least, I've got to have something left to preach next year--one reason we remember and rejoice in this festival is this: The Ascension tells us that Christ is working in and through his church by the ministry of the gospel. The accounts of the Ascension that St. Luke gives us, both at the end of his gospel and at the beginning of Acts, show Christ preparing his disciples for the ministry that the church will undertake once he ascends.
The risen Lord Jesus appeared to his disciples a number of times during those forty days from Easter to Ascension, and it says he was "speaking about the kingdom of God." Jesus had given the disciples their M.Div. training over the previous three years, but now he takes them to graduate school. They had a lot to learn. They hadn't really "got it" up to this point. Oh, they had heard and seen a lot from their master during those years, but it hadn't really clicked-- especially the suffering and death part. But now the light bulb comes on. "Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures," it says. Now they will understand how it all fits together.
"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead." All the Bible, all of God's plan for humanity, is focused on the suffering Christ. Not a glory Christ, but a suffering Christ. That's what it would take to accomplish God's plan of salvation. It takes the suffering and death of God's only Son to achieve our salvation. Nothing less would do. You could not pay for your sins. You could die on a cross a thousand times over, and you would not even pay for your own sins, let alone the sins of the world. But Christ could, and did. His holy blood shed on the cross, his perfect righteousness, makes the perfect sacrifice to atone for all our sins in God's court of justice. And with sins paid for, peace with God once more is made, death is overcome and conquered. And so, on the third day, that is, on Easter, Christ did indeed rise from the dead. The suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ are at the very heart of the gospel these disciples will be preaching, and so before he ascends, Jesus impresses the centrality of this upon them.
"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name." It's not just the events themselves, it's what they mean for us, how they are applied to us. The death and resurrection of Jesus are preached to us for the purpose of repentance and forgiveness. The proclamation of God's word first puts us to death. The Law condemns and kills us sinners. God is calling us to repentance, to mourn our sinful state and turn from empty self-justification. But the proclamation is not complete. The Gospel then comes and raises us to life. We hear the life-giving word of what God has done for us in Christ, the Holy Spirit works faith in our heart, and we receive the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name. That is the gospel, dear friends, that is the good news, and it is for you!
"Repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name," Jesus says, "to all nations." "To all nations." Not just to Israel, but to the Gentile nations too. That is something the disciples, all Jews, would need to get used to. So Jesus is preparing them for that here before he ascends.
Jesus is teaching his disciples, his "learners," so they can be his apostles, his "sent ones." He will be sending them out on a worldwide mission with the gospel when he ascends, and he wants them to be ready. The teaching goes on right up until the moment he ascends. There's still some "not getting it" in their heads. "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" "Well, no, boys, it's not like that. Don't worry about the exact ‘time.' It will happen when it happens. And the kingdom is not just for Israel. It's bigger than that, a lot bigger."
"You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Yes, you who have been with me all this time, you who have seen and heard so many things, now I will be sending you out to more than just the house of Israel. This gospel I have entrusted you with is for the whole earth, every nation. God will be saving people from every nation through your apostolic ministry. That's been his plan all along. That is how his kingdom will come.
Now this might seem a daunting task. It is. The disciples might want to shrink back in fear, especially with their master "going away." What will they do without him? But they won't be "without" him. He will be with them, all the days, to the close of the age, even though they will see him no longer. Before he ascends, Jesus assures them that he will give them the help they need: "And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you."
Ascension Day is forty days after Easter, but it is also ten days before Pentecost. And here Jesus is promising his disciples that he will pour out upon them the gift of the Holy Spirit, which he would do ten days later on Pentecost. Ascension points us to Pentecost and the Spirit's empowering of the church's ministry.
The Spirit will work through the apostolic preaching to deliver God's forgiveness to people, to bring people to faith in Christ, and to keep them in that faith. It's still happening today. You are being given forgiveness, you are being strengthened in your faith, even here tonight, as this gospel preaching comes into your ears and Christ's body and blood come into your mouth.
My friends, your ascended Lord has left nothing out. He has arranged everything in his church to deliver to you the forgiveness of sins and to keep you strong in the saving faith. He not only won your forgiveness and salvation by his death and resurrection, his ascension shows that he has not left us on our own in these days before he returns. Jesus has not gone away and forgotten his disciples. Rather, he has ascended into heaven for the very purpose of being with all his people all around the world, in all times and at all places. And he does this in and through the church's ministry.
Ascension Day tells us that our Lord Jesus Christ is working in and through his church by the ministry of the gospel. For this reason, the Ascension of Our Lord really is a wonderful festival--and for more reasons besides. But that will have to wait till next year.
Ascension Day, the "Forgotten" Festival? Well, much of the church may have forgotten this festival. But fortunately for us, our ascended Lord has not forgotten his church! Remember and rejoice in that!
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