Luke 24:44-53
Listen here.
How good, Lord, to be here! How good to see you here too!
What a sacred season this has been! The last time most of us were together here was the middle of Lent. We were still building up to the dramatic climax of Holy Week. Then along came Coronavirus and COVID-19. Our governing and medical authorities advised us to stay home, stay apart, not gather, wash hands and so forth. Out of love for our vulnerable neighbors, and with godly submission to our governing authorities, we willingly did so. Then the authorities chose to force the issue by declaring states of emergency and ordering us to be locked down. Thankfully, we could still proclaim God’s Word by other media. But still, it wasn’t as it should be. So as a gathered congregation we missed the rising tensions between Jesus and the religious authorities of His day. We missed His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We missed receiving His Body and Blood on the night when He was betrayed. We missed His bloody battle on the cross and His cosmic victory over death and devil. We missed holding vigil and joyfully ringing in His glorious resurrection. And we’ve missed gathering together these past weeks to revel in His resurrection.
It’s almost like sitting down to watch a favorite movie—for the 100th time. You know the story and you love the story. You’re enjoying the story. Then the drowsiness creeps in and you doze off just before the climactic, most important part. As you snooze, the story moves along. Then suddenly you wake up. The music is triumphant. Peace is restored. All is well once again. Yes, you missed the best, climactic part of the story, but you know the story well enough and the denouement—the final resolution—still brings great joy.
This is where we are now—the denouement, the final resolution. “See, the Lord ascends in triumph; / Conqu’ring King in royal state, / Riding on the clouds, His chariot, / To His heav’nly palace gate” (LSB 491:1).
Our Lord’s ascension really does put everything else in perspective. Before He was lifted up and hidden by the cloud, Jesus put all things in perspective for His eleven disciples. Everything written about Him in Moses’ Law, in the Prophets and in the Psalms—in all of the Old Testament Scriptures—must be fulfilled. Everything we read and hear from Genesis through Malachi points us to Jesus. The creation shows us God’s eternal will and plan—perfect life with Him. We humans fell into sin, brought death into the world, and spoiled God’s creation. But God promised to set things right. He chose a people through Abraham. He rescued His people from slavery and led them into the Promised Land. He even elevated a king named David to point us to our true, eternal King. The prophets proclaimed repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The psalms sang of Christ and His works of salvation. Through it all, our God was working to return His human creatures to His perfect Eden.
And He still is. Moses’ Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, and especially the New Testament still point us to Christ Jesus, our true King. “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.” As St. Paul proclaimed, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7). This is what makes Jesus our King of kings, our Lord of lords, and our highest authority above all authorities. After all, now that Jesus has ascended, He is far above all rule and authority and dominion. All things are put under His feet and He rules all things for the good of His Church.
This puts all things in perspective. Even pandemics. Even lock downs. Even the fears and uncertainties of our time. When Jesus ascended, He gave His apostles and His Church a singular mission: “that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.” How has your ascended Lord led you in repentance for the forgiveness of sins these past few weeks?
What or whom have you feared, loved or trusted above God Himself? That tiny microscopic virus with the crowned spikes has been causing a lot of fear. Even the omnipresent pictures on TV and the Internet look frightful. Pictures and news stories of those infected and badly suffering are most unsettling. Now simple handshakes, coughs and sneezes set off the fear response. We’re practically in fight-or-flight mode whenever we encounter another human being outside our own home. We have been trusting the authorities to keep us safe and the media to keep us well-informed, despite the ever-changing and often-conflicting information. We fallen human beings have been trusting ourselves to overcome both the pandemic and the now shattered economy.
As I’ve said before, times like this are God’s way of tapping us on the shoulder, getting our attention, turning us toward Him and saying, “Hey, I’m still here. I’m still in charge. And I still want you to fear, love and trust Me above all things.” For this, we can actually appreciate this pandemic and all its fallout. Some speak of their new found appreciation for family time during the lock down. Some speak of cooking meals rather than dining out. Others find other blessings. These can be good things. The greater “blessing” of a time like this, though, is being drawn back to our true King and Lord. God always seeks to dislodge us from our misplaced fear, love and trust. If only we got as worked up about our infection of sin as we have about COVID-19! At least most people recover from COVID-19—one source says about 85% recover, other sources say up to 98%. But none of us can recover from our disease of sin and being separated from God.
Our ascended Savior is our loving Lord who says, “There is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal” (Dt. 32:39). And heal He does. He, the Son of God, took on our frail human nature. Though He Himself had no sin, He was made sin “so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Our Lord’s death on a Friday and resurrection on the third day is the only perfect healing medicine for all time. “With His wounds we are healed” (Is. 53:5). It’s the only medicine for what truly infects each and every human being of every time and place.
So when Jesus ascended to the Father’s right hand, He showed that all is fulfilled and completed, all is well between us and God, even in this broken world. With our Lord ascended in triumph and crowned in glory, we need not fear, love or trust anyone or anything else for our ultimate health and well-being. One commentator explained the significance of this day this way: “Christ’s ascension confers divine honors upon us” (Parsch, III:164). Neither pandemic nor social, cultural disruption can change that.
In a very short time we will break our Eucharistic fast. As we rejoice in being together once again, let’s rejoice even more in what brings us together—our ascended Lord who now comes to us in His very Body and Blood. It’s much more than a community meal. It’s the genuine “medicine of immortality.” And pay close attention to the Proper Preface—the prayer—leading up to our Lord’s sacred Meal. What was the purpose of our Lord’s life, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension? What is the fruit and benefit of His Holy Supper? “That He might make us partakers of His divine life.”
When you, by His grace and His working, partake of His divine life, you have forgiveness for your fears. You have life in this world of death. You have rescue and healing from the sin that infects.
What a great day to do what the disciples did. As Jesus “parted from them and was carried up into heaven,” they worshiped Him with great joy. And they were continually in the temple blessing God. What a great day to return to this place of worship and joy. Blessed by our ascended Lord, we bless Him in return. Amen.
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