Join us today as we celebrate Holy Communion for the Ascension of the Lord, 5/29/22. To follow along at home, click here and print the Holy Communion Program. Text of today’s homily below.
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Homily for the Ascension of the Lord
Readings: Acts 1:1-11, Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9, Heb 9:24-28; 10:19-23, Lk 24:46-53
Luke 24:46-53 American Standard Version
46 and he [Christ] said unto them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 Ye are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high.
50 And he led them out until they were over against Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 and were continually in the temple, blessing God.
Brothers and sisters, in today’s Gospel reading, Christ says four things. First he says look, I’ve been telling you this stuff for my entire ministry. I’ve been telling you how events were going to unfold, and you’ve been pretty dense. You knew this was coming. This shouldn’t be a shock. Get with the program. Next he tells them that everything written about him in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms was being fulfilled in him. He says, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” You should note that your Bibles do not footnote this statement to a specific Old Testament passage because there isn’t one. Nowhere does the Old Testament literally say that the Messiah was to suffer and rise on the third day. It’s all allegorical, metaphorical, typological, and tropological. Luke says that Christ, “opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” This is important, because it emphasizes a less fundamental way of approaching, not just the scriptures, but all things of ultimate concern.
Third, Christ says “you are witnesses of these things.” You’ve seen it with your own eyes. So don’t let anybody convince you that you didn’t see the things you saw. When people state falsehoods, set them straight on the facts. And lastly, Christ says, “I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power on high.” He’s telling them not to go wandering about proselytizing, healing people, casting out demons, and so forth until the Holy Ghost has descended upon them. And that’s what they do — the the disciples are obedient — they stay in the temple, continually blessing God.
Okay, so I’ve broken it down completely for us. Great. Terrific. But what are we supposed to do with it? Well, look here: these aren’t dusty old words in a book spoken by some wise moral teacher who may or may not have really existed a couple of thousand years ago. These are not the words of some dead social reformer. Nor are they the musings of another political activist or community organizer from a history book. These are the words of the risen Christ. He’s very, very alive. And he wasn’t just talking to the disciples back then – he’s speaking to you right now. So let’s run through them again.
Don’t be bullheaded, dense, and deliberately ignorant. Get with the program. Everything that that was written in the scriptures is fulfilled in him. So, as you go about proclaiming the good news to all the nations, don’t be fundamentalists and harsh literalists – use all your interpretive faculties to see things metaphorically and allegorically. But you are also witnesses to the fact of the Resurrection. Don’t let anybody convince you that it didn’t really happen.
And don’t you dare leave the temple until the Holy Ghost has descended upon you. Don’t you dare go out there witnessing, preaching, and proselytizing until you are filled up with the Holy Ghost. You need that. Because everybody knows that mere mortals – human social reformers, policy makers, and activists – are only able to achieve modest, temporary successes. If you believe that’s all Jesus was, you’ll never withstand persecution, negativity and evil. If you think you’re working for temporary change on behalf of just another wise, but deeply flawed human activist, you’ll very quickly run out of steam.
But if you are filled with the Holy Ghost – if you always have in mind that you are in the service of the risen Christ – you will never be deterred from your mission to bring permanent change to the form of life everlasting, and the coming of a new heaven and a new earth.
Christ is risen indeed, brothers and sisters – he his risen indeed!