Sermon for 6/1/25: Ascension of Our Lord (observed)

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Heaven Opened

Luke 24:44-53

 

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

 

The Ascension of Our Lord is a celebration not at all unlike the celebration of Christmas. It is a celebration of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the One who both was and is “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God.” He took up human flesh through the virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit overshadowed her, and what was conceived in her, with only God as His Father, was the only-begotten Son of God in human flesh: a Man who is also God. The Father did all this to raise up for Himself a worthy Sacrifice to atone for all the sins of the world. And as a result, those cords that would bind us to eternal death and Hell were severed. By becoming and being Man, the Son of God fulfilled the will of the Father in His dying, in His rising, and in His ascending.

By becoming one of us, becoming a man, the Son of God has elevated human nature. One of the Holy Trinity was, and still is, also one of us. The Son of God has become not only our Savior; He has also become our Brother. Because He took on our human flesh, His Father is our Father. And for the same reason, the Holy Spirit comes to us to be our Defender and our Guide, our Comforter, our Sanctifier. Throughh the Incarnation of Jesus, we enjoy an even greater honor and privilege than Adam and Eve did before the fall, for as wonderful as the Garden of Eden certainly was, heaven is even more wonderful.

The Son of God, still in His human flesh that was mocked and beaten and nailed to the cross, still in the flesh that was raised again to life, has gone into heaven. From there He sends His Holy Spirit: the Spirit of Truth; the One who lives in us by faith and leads us into all truth; the One who bears witness to Jesus and to all that He has said and done. And from there, Jesus continues to intercede for us, for He is our advocate. At the right hand of the Father, Jesus pleads our case based on the wounds in His hands and feet and side. But His Body is now exalted and glorified, for this Man, flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone, the Ransom for our sin, is also God, has always been God, and will never cease to be God. There is no division between His natures. There is but one Christ, who is at the same time both God and Man, and He is capable of all things and of being everywhere. He has no limitations apart from those He set for Himself during the days of His humiliation on earth. So it is that He who ascends into heaven promises His disciples, and us as well, “I am with you always.” And He is.

He ascended in His body…and yet, He is not gone from us. He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is present with us in Word and Sacrament. He is present with us in His body in the Holy Communion. He who died, lives. He who went away is here still. This was His dying promise. He said, “This is my body, given for you.” It was given on the cross, a sacrifice for sin and guilt.

And that same body is now given to you as the benefit of that sacrifice: the removal of your guilt. It is the same body of Christ: crucified, risen, and ascended for you. It joins you to Him in this most miraculous way, by His entry into you. It is a most Holy Communion, a uniting of the God/Man to your sinful flesh; and, through His forgiveness, you are pure as He is pure. In Holy Communion, you experience the same blessing as Simeon received in the Temple as he held the Christ Child in his arms and declared that his life had seen its fulfillment. In the Holy Communion, the Feast of Christ’s body, you join with angels and archangels who descend to join with you; you join with the saints and martyrs who went before you. Christ ascended into heaven, but still He is here! He joins you to heaven, to angels, and to all who have gone before you. You are given a glimpse of heaven, though you are still on earth, for you are with Christ and His holy angels. Your sins are removed, forgiven by Divine grace and declaration. You feast on the foretaste of the Feast that will never end.

This is what the Ascension is about. It is not about Christ leaving us, for He has not left. It is about Christ going before us. He goes to prepare a place for us even as He is still with us, still for us, still in us. He who broke down the gates of Hell that would lock us in has also opened the gates of Heaven that would keep us out. His holy, precious blood, and His innocent suffering and death have paved our way and broken the trail before us. He is the Captain of our salvation. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There is no one left who can hold our sin against us. There is no more guilt, no more shame, no more regret. Our sins are forgiven.

Death is dead. Life lives. Heaven is now open, for Christ, our Savior and our Brother, has ascended. As we prayed in the Psalmody, “God has gone up with a shout...” Let that shout be: Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.