In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus
began to do and to teach 2 until
the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through
the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he
presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He
appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom
of God. 4 On one
occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do
not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you
have heard me speak about. 5 For
John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the
Holy Spirit.” 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are
you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the
times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their
very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They
were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men
dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here
looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven,
will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts
1:1-11)
Transition is in the air...
This week—whether the
Sunday readings are taken from Ascension Day (Thurs the 14th, 40 days after
Easter) or the 7th Sunday of Easter, it is obvious that we’re almost done with
the Easter Season and preparing to go somewhere else.
Like many congregations, we
will spend this Sunday contemplating the Ascension of Jesus. It would be easy
to turn this into a dogma lesson. The Ascension is fairly important to the
creedal tradition of the Church. The Nicene Creed states:
On the third day he rose
again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is
seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge
the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
In the Apostle’s Creed we
find the words:
He ascended into Heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall
come again to judge the living and the dead...
Whereupon we learn that at
Christ’s Ascension he was given all power, dominion and authority by the Father
(sitting at God’s “right hand” is not a ‘place,’ but rather a ‘status’). This
power, dominion and authority doesn’t mean that it’s the ascended Jesus causing
tornadoes in Missouri, but rather that HIS GOSPEL KINGDOM will be established—literally,
come hell or high water. Nothing can stop it. It will happen.
It is also from this
passage of the creed (and the day’s reading from Acts, specifically vs 11) that
we get the dogma of the RETURN of Christ. Current and past wacky preachers have
always ended up with egg on their face when they try to predict the precise
date of the return of Jesus. The words from this Acts passage: It is not for you to know the times or
dates the Father has set by his own authority seem to be some of the most
forgotten words in the Bible. And yet, the fact IS that Jesus really will come
again.... and this is a truth the Church has always believed.
But beyond the dogma, what
are we to take from this passage?
One of my favorite Charlie
Brown clips shows him sitting slouched in front of the tv. On the tv, the voice
of a little boy is saying, "Shane! Come back, come back!!" Charlie
Brown glumly responds: "I've seen this movie a dozen times... and he
*never comes back." It would be easy for the disciples that day, and US today,
to have the same glum attitude about the Ascension. Jesus is gone and we're on
our own. Forever. But that's not it at all. Jesus is *ascended--not gone.
There's a huge difference. And, when the work of the Gospel is complete--unlike
the scenario with 'Shane'--He **will return. In the meantime, it's our turn.
The mission of one man has been handed on to us: men, women, boys, girls, rich,
poor, young and old.
Cheers,
T.M.
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