Thursday, May 21, 2020
Scripture for the Day
Luke 24:50-53
“Then (Jesus) led (the disciples) out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 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; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.”
Today is Ascension Day. It is the day we celebrate Christ’s being “taken up” into Heaven right in front of the disciples’ eyes. Despite its brevity, this is an incredibly important story for Luke. It is so important that he will actually tell it twice: once in Luke 24, and once again in the first chapter of the Book of Acts. To appreciate its importance, we have to know something about how the concept of “Heaven” was understood by Luke and his First Century readers.
Tom Wright is a New Testament scholar and he points out that the Bible’s cosmology (the Bible’s understanding of the universe) does not conceive of Heaven and Earth as two distinct or different locations – like Athens and Atlanta are two distinct locations – but rather Heaven and Earth are two “different dimensions within the realm of God’s creation.” Here is the point: Jesus was crowned Lord of the Earth in his resurrection from the dead and crowned Lord of Heaven in his ascension. Remember, only the Lord of Heaven and Earth is deserving of human worship. And by having the disciples worship and praise Jesus, Luke is conveying a deep theological conviction that Jesus is this Lord. “They worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.”
But how can they have joy now that Jesus is no longer with them? As we are far apart from one another, apart from our family in Christ and for some of us, far from our biological family and far from the most important people in our lives, we are not feeling joy. Distance from the ones we love does not produce joy. So, what gives? Turning back to Dr. Wright, he describes Heaven as the “control room for the Earth.” Heaven is “Mission Control” where the Divine authority provides instruction and guidance and provision for a faithful life. And here is what the Ascension is all about: Jesus is Lord of Heaven and Earth – which is another way to confess and profess his divinity – and because he has ascended and is enthroned in Heaven, he has the capacity and authority to provide for us the instruction we need to live faithfully and to live life to the full. Even when we experience times of uncertainty, times that are hard to manage, confusing, exhausting, and even disorienting, Jesus is Lord, and he is at the helm. He is running “Mission Control.” He speaks to us in prayer, in community, in worship, and in Scripture and guides our way. The disciples can experience joy (and we can experience joy!) because Jesus is still speaking and still leading as we continue to humbly follow him.
(This is an excerpt taken from Tony Sundermeier’s sermon on Sunday, May 17, 2020)
