Luke 24:44-53
“With Great Joy”
Preached Sunday, May 12, 2024
Have you ever said to yourself “Now what???”
There are times in our lives we all ask this question. Graduation is a big one - whether it’s high school or college or whatever. The future can seem wide open and we may be filled with excitement and anticipation. I still recall this feeling post high school and college…but I also remember the stress and anxiety of it all too. Where am I going to live? Am I going to have a job? What’s next? The future was supposed to be exciting but it also stressed me out!
And there are other times we ask ourselves “Now what?” I know many of you asked that of yourselves when you retired or even now as you approach retirement. It’s a huge life change and I bet it is also a mix of anticipation and excitement and maybe a little bit of loss and anxiety too. Just all wrapped up together.
There are the “now what”s of divorce, of a diagnosis, of the death of a loved one, of becoming empty nesters, of pastoral transitions, of…anytime when our lives as we know them changes.
Perhaps you are at a “Now what?” moment in your own life - or you can certainly recall a time that you were in this liminal space.
The disciples asked “Now what?” after Jesus ascended. The Ascension is what we call that event that we read about in Acts today. When, 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus ascended into Heaven. After dying, rising again, and making many appearances among his disciples, it was time for Jesus to pass the baton. To give the gift of the Holy Spirit. And to ascend to his eternal throne. The book of Acts starts with the Ascension. You may have noticed that in the bulletin or when our liturgust read the Scripture out loud today. Chapter 1, Verse 1. Because the rest of the book of Acts is the disciples trying to figure out what’s next for them as followers of Jesus. “Now what?” they asked. What do followers do when the one they are following is no longer here?
When Jesus was arrested and put on the cross the answer was run away, scatter, deny, hide. But this time was different. Jesus was not here anymore but he was not dead - he was alive - they had seen him with their own eyes, touched him with their own hands - everything had changed. They no longer believed that death had the final say and that changed everything for them. So the “Now what?” could not be to give up and go home. It could not be to continue business as usual. It had to be something new. The followers of Jesus now became leaders of a whole movement. Leaders of the church. They were now the only hands and feet and mouths that Jesus had on this Earth.
The disciples were followers when Jesus was alive, almost more observers than anything.
When Jesus died, they went on the defensive, scared and afraid.
And now, after their Lord’s resurrection, after his ascension…it was finally time to say, “Now what?”
And to look at, and partially answer, this “now what?” question, we are going to kind of combine the two tellings of the Ascension that we heard from today’s Scriptures.
In the telling of the Ascension that we have from Acts, Jesus Jesus gathers his disciples together, blesses his disciples, commissions them to be his witnesses, and then is lifted up toward heaven and disappears from their sight.
At that time, two men in white robes appear and ask them, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?”
Uhhh...Cause Jesus just went, you know, up, there…
But I don’t think they were simply asking why their heads were upwards. “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” Maybe it was more, “Get your heads out of the clouds and look around.”
Friends, sometimes as Christians, as the Church, and just as people - we have the tendency to look in the wrong directions.
Sometimes we look up. Now, don’t get me wrong. We are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. And I can’t say that without thinking of a favorite hymn, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace…”
And yet, sometimes we can only look at Jesus as up there, our heads in the clouds, and fail to see the Jesus with us here and now: moving around, through, and with us in our world. Jesus in the face of our neighbors. Jesus, ascended, yes, but active in this world through the Spirit and through the actions of our siblings in Christ. God is not just in a distant heaven, Christ is here, now, as we embody his love and mission to the world.
So look up - yes, but don’t get a crick in your neck.
Now I said we often look in the wrong directions - plural. Just as our heads can get stuck in the clouds, a crick in our necks, it’s all too easy for us to look backwards.
Raise your hand or nod your head if you’ve ever said or heard the phrase in the life of the Church, “We’ve always done it this way…” Okay, good. Hands down. Now what about having said or heard the phrase, “We USED to…” Hands or nods? Yupp. Now, tradition can be a good, beautiful, and gratifying thing. We can also give thanks and learn from ministries in the past… The trap we can fall into, however, is looking backwards not with gratitude, appreciation, and learning, but with an all-consuming desire to live in the past - which is just not possible or healthy.
Following the Ascension, the disciples could have kept looking up. Their heads in the clouds, focusing on where Jesus went - rather than the gift of the Holy Spirit which they were about to receive, and how the Spirit, with and through them, was going to change the world.
Following the Ascension, the disciples could have just looked backwards, looked to the past. Focusing on what it was like when Jesus walked among them. What it was like when they sat at his feet. What it was like to see him heal, walk on water, perform miracles. What it was like to eat together, laughing, talking… What it was like for him to appear to them after the Resurrection. The shock and the joy. The disciples could have become an entirely backwards, past-focused group. Only ever talking about what was. Only ever talking about the glory days when there were 5,000 men plus women and children gathered to hear Jesus preach… They COULD have only looked up or looked backwards…
But instead they asked themselves, “Now what?”
And the answer was - look forward… and they did so, as it tells us in Luke, with great joy: “While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy…”
The disciples return to Jerusalem as Jesus told them to, to wait for the new thing that was about to happen, to turn toward the future. They did not yet know all that the future would hold for them - the day of Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the life and world-changing evangelism of the Gospel, how they would preach, teach, and perform miracles in the name of Jesus, and how many of them would become martyrs for the sake of the Gospel…
It’s surprising enough that the disciples didn’t get stuck looking up or backwards - that they instead looked toward the future and the amazing God-driven things that were about to happen. It’s even more surprising though that they looked toward the future with great joy.
It’s very human to look toward the future, especially the unknown and unclear future when everything has just changed, with uncertainty, anxiety, and trepidation… But the disciples had great joy for the new thing that God was about to do.
They didn’t yet know what that new thing was, they didn’t fully understand it, but they trusted in their Resurrected Lord. They trusted Jesus. And because they trusted in him they were not left panicking saying, “Now what??” Because they trusted Jesus they were able to be filled with JOY. Because whatever the future brought, it would be God-led. Whatever the future brought…God would be with them. Which is counter-intuitive because Jesus just said goodbye, Jesus left them…but he left with a promise that he would always be with them. And while at that time that may not have made any sense to them, they trusted God! And so they were filled with great joy.
On this Ascension Day, in the year of Our Lord 2024, I feel we have a lot to learn from the example of the Disciples.
We must ask ourselves: What direction am I facing?
We must ask ourselves: Do I trust God? Do I trust my future, the future of the Church, and the future of the world to God?
We must ask ourselves: Can we too be filled with great joy?
And here’s what I hope our answers can become even if they are not there yet:
We are facing forward - looking toward the new things that God intends to do with us, the Church and the world. Because yes! We trust God! We trust all that we have to the hands of Jesus. And yes, we can and are already filled with great joy!
May it be so.
And now, after their Lord’s resurrection, after his ascension…it was finally time to say, “Now what?”
And to look at, and partially answer, this “now what?” question, we are going to kind of combine the two tellings of the Ascension that we heard from today’s Scriptures.
In the telling of the Ascension that we have from Acts, Jesus Jesus gathers his disciples together, blesses his disciples, commissions them to be his witnesses, and then is lifted up toward heaven and disappears from their sight.
At that time, two men in white robes appear and ask them, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?”
Uhhh...Cause Jesus just went, you know, up, there…
But I don’t think they were simply asking why their heads were upwards. “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” Maybe it was more, “Get your heads out of the clouds and look around.”
Friends, sometimes as Christians, as the Church, and just as people - we have the tendency to look in the wrong directions.
Sometimes we look up. Now, don’t get me wrong. We are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. And I can’t say that without thinking of a favorite hymn, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace…”
And yet, sometimes we can only look at Jesus as up there, our heads in the clouds, and fail to see the Jesus with us here and now: moving around, through, and with us in our world. Jesus in the face of our neighbors. Jesus, ascended, yes, but active in this world through the Spirit and through the actions of our siblings in Christ. God is not just in a distant heaven, Christ is here, now, as we embody his love and mission to the world.
So look up - yes, but don’t get a crick in your neck.
Now I said we often look in the wrong directions - plural. Just as our heads can get stuck in the clouds, a crick in our necks, it’s all too easy for us to look backwards.
Raise your hand or nod your head if you’ve ever said or heard the phrase in the life of the Church, “We’ve always done it this way…” Okay, good. Hands down. Now what about having said or heard the phrase, “We USED to…” Hands or nods? Yupp. Now, tradition can be a good, beautiful, and gratifying thing. We can also give thanks and learn from ministries in the past… The trap we can fall into, however, is looking backwards not with gratitude, appreciation, and learning, but with an all-consuming desire to live in the past - which is just not possible or healthy.
Following the Ascension, the disciples could have kept looking up. Their heads in the clouds, focusing on where Jesus went - rather than the gift of the Holy Spirit which they were about to receive, and how the Spirit, with and through them, was going to change the world.
Following the Ascension, the disciples could have just looked backwards, looked to the past. Focusing on what it was like when Jesus walked among them. What it was like when they sat at his feet. What it was like to see him heal, walk on water, perform miracles. What it was like to eat together, laughing, talking… What it was like for him to appear to them after the Resurrection. The shock and the joy. The disciples could have become an entirely backwards, past-focused group. Only ever talking about what was. Only ever talking about the glory days when there were 5,000 men plus women and children gathered to hear Jesus preach… They COULD have only looked up or looked backwards…
But instead they asked themselves, “Now what?”
And the answer was - look forward… and they did so, as it tells us in Luke, with great joy: “While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy…”
The disciples return to Jerusalem as Jesus told them to, to wait for the new thing that was about to happen, to turn toward the future. They did not yet know all that the future would hold for them - the day of Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the life and world-changing evangelism of the Gospel, how they would preach, teach, and perform miracles in the name of Jesus, and how many of them would become martyrs for the sake of the Gospel…
It’s surprising enough that the disciples didn’t get stuck looking up or backwards - that they instead looked toward the future and the amazing God-driven things that were about to happen. It’s even more surprising though that they looked toward the future with great joy.
It’s very human to look toward the future, especially the unknown and unclear future when everything has just changed, with uncertainty, anxiety, and trepidation… But the disciples had great joy for the new thing that God was about to do.
They didn’t yet know what that new thing was, they didn’t fully understand it, but they trusted in their Resurrected Lord. They trusted Jesus. And because they trusted in him they were not left panicking saying, “Now what??” Because they trusted Jesus they were able to be filled with JOY. Because whatever the future brought, it would be God-led. Whatever the future brought…God would be with them. Which is counter-intuitive because Jesus just said goodbye, Jesus left them…but he left with a promise that he would always be with them. And while at that time that may not have made any sense to them, they trusted God! And so they were filled with great joy.
On this Ascension Day, in the year of Our Lord 2024, I feel we have a lot to learn from the example of the Disciples.
We must ask ourselves: What direction am I facing?
We must ask ourselves: Do I trust God? Do I trust my future, the future of the Church, and the future of the world to God?
We must ask ourselves: Can we too be filled with great joy?
And here’s what I hope our answers can become even if they are not there yet:
We are facing forward - looking toward the new things that God intends to do with us, the Church and the world. Because yes! We trust God! We trust all that we have to the hands of Jesus. And yes, we can and are already filled with great joy!
May it be so.
No comments:
Post a Comment