“No Fear of Things Unknown”
“No Fear of Things Unknown”
Luke 24.44-53
Luke 24.44-53
In the name of the Living God and the risen Christ. Amen.
They had abandoned him. They had denied him. They were utterly confused by the most important parts of what he came to teach them. In jealousy and competition, they fought amongst themselves about who was greater. They showed an incredible lack of faith so many times. And yet, and yet, after he had risen from the dead, his mission on earth complete, the Lord Jesus chose to spend an extra forty days with these “yahoos” we call the disciples.
How different it is with us! When people forsake us, we forsake them back; when people curse us and deny our friendship, we block them or cut them off; when people misunderstand or misinterpret what we’re all about, we respond with exasperation and resentment. We’re the “peace out” people: “See ya later; ain’t got time for this; I’m so done!” But our Lord Jesus—given every reason to never speak to them again—continues with them for forty days after the resurrection. He stays with them, forgives them, keeps teaching them, speaks peace to them. We might say, instead of “peace out”, he’s “peace in” with the disciples… and with us.
But in today’s gospel the time has come for him finally, physically leave their presence, after forty days of preparation. We call this day the “Ascension of our Lord” because it’s the day when Jesus Christ ascended bodily unto glory as king and ruler over all things. (The actual day was last Thursday, forty days after the Resurrection, but we observe it today, on Sunday.)
I want you to think about where Christ goes on Ascension Day. But I want you to think about it not so much geographically, but rather to see it as Christ entering into another dimension—the dimension of the eternal realm of God. He’s seated now on the right hand of the Father amid the sights and sounds of eternity—a wondrous glory that we can’t even imagine. He’s about to leave them, in today’s gospel account, and so like our departures it’s a mixed moment for them. If you read through the various accounts of this moment in the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles, you’ll notice a range of human emotions: there’s sadness and joy; apprehension and exhilaration; questions and contentment.
What’s most important about this day is what he’s promised them and to us. Jesus gives two promises before he leaves them. First, although he’s leaving, something else is coming. Someone else is coming. He will send the Holy Spirit upon them, and the Spirit then will dwell within them as they continue the Lord’s work on earth. Jesus told them this, you’ll recall, when they were at the Last Supper together in the upper room: “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16.7)
So although he will physically depart from them, he will dwell with each of them by the Spirit. In a mysterious and powerful way—a way that could never happen had Jesus stayed physically with them—they embody Christ. You see, although we cannot see the physical Jesus standing with us—just as they would soon discover—yet he is more real and more powerful in us through the Spirit than even if he were physically among us. We are his body, his flesh and blood. So, the first promise is: Where we are, Christ still is, by his Spirit within us.
This means that you and I—we who believe in Jesus and are baptized into his name—we carry on the work of God as the embodiment of Jesus in this world. We are baptized into his name and therefore carry his name; we hear his word and therefore spread his word; we receive his body on the altar and therefore become his body here and to the ends of the earth.
So, the first promise to his disciples as he leaves them is that, though he leaves them physically, he sends them the Spirit who will dwell within them forever. Where we are, Christ still is, by the Spirit. That’s so comforting for us too, to know that as we carry out the work of Jesus, he’s actually with us in a more powerful way than when he stood among them physically! Through his word and sacraments, he dwells within us “even to the very end of the age.” Where we are, Christ still is.
The second promise Jesus gives them as he departs from them is equally a promise given to us: where he goes, he will bring us to be with him one day. Where he goes, we will go. Jesus goes to glory, to angels and archangels surrounding the throne, to the place of light and love and life; to the place beyond all our tears and trials; to the place of perpetual peace. And just as he passed through suffering and death, rising again to new life and ascending to the Father, so also he promises this to us—to all who believe in him and are baptized into his name.
This promise of glory with him is given to us not because we’re sinless—we’re not. Not because we’ve tried hard enough—we haven’t. Not because we’ve got it more together than the bumbling disciples did—not a chance. But solely because of God’s grace alone. Jesus came to earth to save sinners. By his blood, he makes us right with God the father and reconciles us to one another. His cross wrought forgiveness for all of our sins and his resurrection brought new life and eternal life. Because of what Christ Jesus has done for us, we will be with him in glory, forever. One day, one glorious day, he will return and take us to be with him forever.
My friends: we abandon, he abides with us; we deny him, he claims us his own; we get it wrong so many times, he got it right by his cross; we “peace out”, he “peaces in.”
Be not discouraged. Don’t be afraid. The Lord Jesus is with you by his Spirit. Continue to do his work, be his body, bear his word, for he is indeed enthroned forever, and he will bring us to be with him one day.
Come soon, Lord Jesus. Amen.