Sermon for 5/12/24: Ascension of Our Lord (observed) (series B)

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Not Alone

Acts 1:1-11

 

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

As Jesus was received into the clouds, it was clear to the disciples that they had seen Him for the last time on this side of eternity. This was the end of His appearing among them, speaking to them, keeping company with them. It seems they were left alone, and it was apparent from the way they were gazing up into the heavens that they knew He was gone from their sight for good. Scripture rarely gives us psychological insight into those who inhabit its pages, but surely they must have felt an almost indescribable loneliness. And haven’t we all had moments like that?—moments when we felt alone, bereft of comfort, with no understanding company to reassure us. Moments like that can come upon us at unexpected times and places. Who among His disciples gathered that day expected Jesus to be taken from them suddenly?

Their loneliness, however, was compounded by a question that must have risen in their minds once they had taken their eyes off the clouds: “What do we do now?” It was bad enough to be left alone, but to be left alone without any true understanding of what Jesus had in store for them or any real sense of purpose had to be a startling experience. Jesus had spoken many times about the things of the kingdom of God, but what their task was in relationship to that kingdom was not clear to them. So what now?

It was true, of course, that Jesus had promised them that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” But what did that mean?

And then, just as suddenly, eleven became thirteen as “two men stood by them in white robes,” asking them why they were looking into heaven, as though the disciples could bring Jesus back into their midst again. And the implication of their words was this: “Do what He told you to do. Don’t leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father to be fulfilled. Just wait.”

Waiting is hard, though, isn’t it? There is an almost inescapable sense among Christians in our day that we must do something if the Kingdom of God is to be established among us. And that is what is so hard about waiting: waiting is so terribly passive! We wait for the action of another, and our own actions do nothing to end the waiting. In fact, our actions may get in the way. We can become so intent on “building the Kingdom” that we fervently devote ourselves to our own human devices at the expense of those means by which the Holy Spirit actually builds the Kingdom. The faithful proclamation of the Word of the Lord, the water poured, and the bread and wine distributed: these are the means by which the Holy Spirit moves. We can be so eager to prod the Kingdom into being through our worldly ways, through programs and pamphlets and schemes, convincing ourselves that numerical success and faithfulness must be the same thing.

So what do we do as we wait for the Holy Spirit to do His thing? In other words, how do we overcome the loneliness of feeling left alone and waiting for something to happen? We gather as those who believe and trust in this mighty Lord who subjected Himself to suffering and death, and who ascended to the right hand of the Father, to His power and glory. Through Him, forgiveness of sins is offered and given—forgiveness that bridges the gap between the Father and our lives. Through this we are comforted and assured, in spite of appearances, that we are not really alone, even when we feel so alone.

And so we are to wait…but not as people who are alone. In His own mysterious way, our Lord’s absence actually became the mode of His presence everywhere and for all time. Wherever His people are present, He is present in their midst: present in the Word proclaimed; present in the water of Baptism administered; present in the bread and wine, the body and blood, distributed and received. He is present in these powerful means: present in and through you and me and the whole Church on earth.

At times we feel so terribly alone, for this world presses in on us at every turn. At times we feel as though we have been left like orphans in a world that beats at us with messages and opportunities that are considerably different than the message and opportunity the Holy Spirit would have us seize upon. In that very moment, two men in white robes stand by us in spirit, saying: “Why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come...” And we, like those disciples, “worship Him with great joy, continually being in the temple, blessing God.” Here, gathered together, gathered in the presence of God, we hear Him say to us: “Behold, I am with you to the end of the age.” And we realize that what has been given us to do is to continue all that Jesus had begun to do and teach.

Alone is never really alone when we are accompanied by the ascended Lord. He is both a marvelous Comforter walking beside us in the midst of the turmoil of this life, and the One who bids us be His voice, His hands, His heart, into the world around us. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!