Jesus Leaves Again (But This Time It's Better)

Luke 24:44-56

May 8, 2016

Jesus is gone. Again.

Ascension, Brian Whelan, 2011

I mean this time he just went up in to the sky,

instead of dying horribly. But he’s still gone.

And yet, the disciples seem happy about it.

It says they went away joyfully.

I would think that it would still be

as un-joyful as the first time 43 days earlier.

Because Jesus is still gone. 

For me, that’s what is the worst about death.

The person is gone.

I have sometimes thought that

it would have been a better choice on God’s part

if Jesus had just stuck around with us forever.

If he just stayed on earth in his resurrected form

and lived in some house down by the beach.

Then when we needed to,

we could make an appointments

with him and ask him questions

and he could keep sharing his definitive

wisdom and parables with us about current topics

so there wouldn’t be any infighting.

And since he would be around and

would be alive for so many thousands of years,

no one would have any doubt that he was God

and things would be great.

But then I think of the things that would go wrong.

Where would Jesus live? Who would have access to him?

Wouldn’t someone inevitably try to limit that access,

or do away with him,

or lock him up so no one could get to him.

Or, maybe worse, we’d always rely on Jesus

we’d always be going to the beach to ask Jesus what to do

and we’d never learn for ourselves.

It’s like the best parents start to leave their older

children to learn and do things on their own.

That’s how we learn and become independent

If a parent is always there correcting them,

or making decisions for them, or doing everything, we don’t learn.

Jesus was a leader who left his followers in charge

in order for us to embody his ministry and

to truly understand and to learn by doing.

Jesus sacrificed his life so that his power would be given to us.

And that’s what Jesus instructions are before he leaves.

He explains the scriptures to the disciples,

he tells them that the Messiah had to suffer and die

and that gospel of repentance and forgiveness

should be told to the whole world.

Then he tells them that they will receive power.

They would be taking over the work that Jesus started.

  

In the Acts passage -- by the way,

Acts was written by the same person as the gospel of Luke was--

When Jesus is finally carried up into heaven,

the disciples look up and follow him and keep staring.

Which seems to be the natural thing to do

when someone rises up into the air like that.

But then two mysterious people in dazzling white robes

come by -- maybe it’s the same two people

in white robes that met the women at the empty tomb --

and they give the disciples some good advice. They say:

“What are you looking up there for?”

They say, “that’s not where you’ll find Jesus.

Jesus will come the same way you saw him go.”

In other words, look for Jesus the same way

you met him the first time: in a real human life.

He will come to you as your neighbor.

So, “stop looking in the clouds,

you’ve got a lot of work to do.”

So this time when Jesus leaves,

the disciples feel joyful.

Instead of feeling hopeless

and neurotic and thinking about

everything that they did wrong

and being all gloom and doom about

what’s happened, they leave with

great joy and blessing God.

They understand that Jesus death

was not some big mistake and failing on

their part or the part of Jesus or God.

And they know that it wasn’t the

empire and the religious leaders winning

and God losing, it was part of the plan.

They have a promise of power,

they know that Jesus hasn’t left them

completely alone, they will be given the tools

to do the work that they need to do.

And, they know that they have a job

a mission, a purpose, something to do,

and that God trusts them to do it

and will give them the power to do it.

And they know where they will find Jesus,

in the world, in other people,

in the city of Jerusalem and then to all the

ends of the earth.

So Ascension is about Jesus going away.

But it’s also about finding Jesus again.

But not up in heaven.

it’s about us finding Jesus here in others,

it’s about finding Jesus mission in our lives

it’s about finding Jesus power in us,

and it’s about finding Jesus Spirit alive in this world.

And it’s about knowing that in the end, the Love of God will win.

I think again, Luke has again left us with a story about us.

We are alive in Christ and Christ is alive in us.

We are God’s complete ministry plan.

A great delight and a great responsibility.

So let us be joyful and bless God continually,

in our worship and with our lives.