In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen.
The
Feast of the Ascension is a feast day a bit like George Selkirk. “Who’s that?,”
you ask. That’s the name of the man who started in right field for the Yankees
the year after Babe Ruth retired. Today is a forgotten celebration in the
Church year. This day is actually one of the principal feast days listed in the
Book of Common Prayer, and the
theology and story of today are as important to our faith as any other.
There
are a few reasons why Ascension is an oft-ignored feast. For one, it always
falls on a Thursday, and that makes it less convenient than a Sunday morning.
We’re also part of the post-Enlightenment world. One astronaut is reported to have
arrived in orbit and said “I looked around, but didn’t see god.” The whole idea
that we live “down here” and that God lives “up there” is antiquated, and
Ascension Day operates under a view of cosmology that we no longer hold true. And
in the words of preacher Barbara Brown Taylor “it is hard to celebrate being
left behind.” After all, Jesus ascends into heaven to sit at the right hand of
the Father, and we’re left here with disease, famine, and war. The disciples
ask Jesus, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”
They’re wondering why Jesus didn’t go ahead and take care of all of their
concerns before leaving them behind. And so those are the three strikes against
Ascension Day.
Tonight,
I’d like to briefly consider three aspects of our faith that stem from the
Ascension. The first is that there can be no absence without first having a
great presence. Yes, Ascension Day is a day on which we celebrate being left
behind, but we only know that we have been left behind because we know that
Jesus was present among us. Absence is not the same as nothingness. In fact,
sometimes absence even makes presence stronger. Think about loved ones that you
knew who are no longer with us here on earth. I know that sometimes I am
reminded of them in their absence more than I was in their presence. I have very
fond memories of making peanut butter cookies from scratch with my grandmother.
And so when I eat one, even though death has made her absent, she is somehow
present in an even more profound way. Sometimes living up to the standards of a
deceased family member shapes us more than their lectures ever did. Absences
are only felt when there has been profound presence. And Jesus was profoundly
present, as evidenced by the fact that we gather here today in his name.
So
often people talk about feeling God’s absence. I’ve known people who have
talked about feeling “spiritual dryness” or going through a “dark night of the
soul.” Many today speak of being “spiritual but not religious,” explaining that
what they are searching for they don’t find within the walls of a church. In a
word, they are experiencing absence. But this sense of absence is some of the
best “proof” that we have ever known God. Again, you can’t miss what you have
never known. We long for meaning, for a sense of being loved, for companionship.
And it is precisely because we feel this absence that we know that there is a
great presence out there. That is the first thing that the Ascension does for
us- through Jesus’ earthly absence, it reinforces the profound presence that he
had among us.
Next,
the Ascension clarifies the Resurrection. Some of the confusion around
Ascension Day is because we tend to think of it in terms of location instead of
function. The Ascension is not about the departure as much as it is the
arrival. It is not that “Jesus is gone,” but rather that “Jesus has arrived;” he
has arrived at the right hand of the Father. The Ascension is primarily about
the sovereignty of Jesus. By going to the right hand of God, Jesus’ love,
service, and peace is affirmed as the very nature and actions of God.
One
theologian has said that Jesus’ ascension leads to the explosion of the Spirit.
Because Jesus is no longer confined to the realm of atoms and physics, he is
more able to be present through the Holy Spirit across space and time. Only
from God’s right hand can he usher in the Kingdom of God. In the Ascension, Jesus
finds the fulfillment and perfection of his mission.
Finally,
as the narrative in Acts notes, the angels ask the disciples “Why are you looking up?”
I can’t blame them. Sometimes something so unexpected happens that you get
stuck. When I was a child, I was playing little league and one game the coach
put me in at shortstop. I wasn’t a shortstop, I normally played outfield. The
first batter of the game came up and hit the first pitch of the game right to
me. I fielded the ball cleanly, and instead of throwing the ball to first, I
just stood there, not knowing what to do next. Can you imagine the setting?
Face to face with the Risen Lord and then watching him ascend to the right hand
of God. I’d be dumbstruck, too.
But
as Jesus says in the Luke version of the Ascension, we are witnesses, and a
witness has a testimony to give, news to spread. Jesus’ ministry is ours now.
St. Teresa of Avila is perhaps best known for the poem in which she writes “Christ
has no body but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes
with which he looks compassion on this world; yours are the feet with which he
walks to do good; yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world… Christ
has no body now on earth but yours.” Sometimes the parent has the leave for the
child to grow up, the master has to depart so that the apprentice can do what
they have been trained for.
When
I was serving at St. Francis in Greensboro from 2010-2014 this was a lesson
that I learned. I was there as the Assistant Rector, but for most of the
time that I was there, the Rector was, at best, working part-time due to health
and personal issues. It was in that absence that I grew up as a priest. Had
Jesus not departed, we’d look to him to feed the hungry and visit those in
prison, we’d ask him to mediate every global conflict, and to save the
environment while he’s at it. But we are created to be co-creators with God. Sure,
God could have made the world different, or stuck around to take care of
everything for us. But, it seems, that love is God’s primary concern. And the
Ascension gives us space to love each other, to be the image of Christ to each
other. So we can’t be stuck looking up because we need to be looking around at
all of the people to love and serve in Jesus’ name.
Ascension
Day is often forgotten, but when we take the time to celebrate this holy day,
we are reminded of God’s great presence with us in Jesus, we see the
fulfillment of Jesus’ Resurrection as he is brought to God’s right hand, and we
are charged with the task of continuing Jesus’ ministry of proclaiming the Good
News. May Jesus, who is God’s sovereign, continue to bless us and equip us for
ministry as his Body here on earth. Amen.
