Ascensiontide
May 5, 2024
Year B; Ascension Day observed
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 93
Luke 24: 44-53
Acts 1:1-11
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
Homily by Rev. Megan Limburg
All week, when I’ve seen folks from the churches, as we finish our conversation, I’ve said: “See you Sunday, and we are observing Ascension Day!”
My parting words have resulted in a slight pause, and then a polite smile as response to my exciting news, and occasionally a: “Oh! Nice.”
Ascension Day is hard to remember and I understand folks’ response, which were less uninterested and more, what is she talking about?
So, let’s start there: Today is our last Sunday in the 50-day season of Easter. And today we are celebrating Ascension Day, observed. Ascension Day occurs at the 40th of the 50 days of Easter, and always falls on a Thursday, and occurred this past Thursday, May 9th.
Ascension Day is the bridesmaid of holidays. Many churches do not bother to observe it. Easter, Pentecost, Christmas! They get all the glory and fun, and Ascension Day stands by the wall, glad just to be invited.
However, The Rev. Rebecca Hansen, an Episcopal priest and writer, speaks up for Ascension Day:
“Lest we downplay the Ascension as an event, it should be noted that the Ascension is one of the few affirmations we make about Jesus’ life in our ancient creeds. In the Nicene Creed, we proclaim that Jesus, “ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” The Ascension has also been observed universally by Christians since at least the 4th century and it ushers the Church into a liturgical period known as “Ascensiontide” that lasts until Pentecost Sunday, when the Church celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit.”(Sermons That Work, www.episcopalchurch.org May 9, 2024)
And I’ll add that Eucharistic Prayer A includes the Ascension:
We celebrate the memorial of our redemption, O Father, in
this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Recalling his death,
resurrection, and ascension, we offer you these gifts.” (BCP, page 363)
But most of all, if we skip Ascension Day, we miss a crucial step in the story, and we miss this day’s beautiful and challenging message, a message that seems especially appropriate as we all are coping currently, with a time of transition.
But before we get to that message, we need a quick review of the story.
Jesus has been appearing to his closest friends, assuring them he has been resurrected, showing them his wounds, and encouraging them forward into the next steps of their calls, that began the day he asked each to join him three years before.
The disciples are alternately terrified, overjoyed, and bewildered by Jesus’s appearances. And keep hoping that things might get back to normal soon.
They had hoped that Jesus would appear soon and stay, and they can maybe get back to traveling with him while he continue preaching and healing.
But getting back to the ways of the past is not the message of the resurrection, and Jesus finally takes his friends to a hill outside Jerusalem, and tells them they are stay in Jerusalem and WAIT, and as our reading from Acts notes, Jesus says to his friends:
“This is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but YOU WILL BE baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
And then Jesus ascends to heaven, going up into the clouds, into the sky, and disappearing quickly from their sight.
Yes, Jesus has left them there on that hill, but he told them what to do next, to go to Jerusalem and wait, that “YOU WILL BE baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
But they cannot let go of THEIR vision of what was next, that things would get back to normal, that Jesus would be with them, and they would travel together again. They did not want this new unknown; the Holy Spirit will baptize them? What does that even mean?
So instead of this scary unknown, they stay right where they are.
Staring up into the sky, hoping Jesus is going to come right back!
They stand staring up at the sky, all of them.Until angels appear, and ask them:
“(People) of Galilee why do you stand looking up toward heaven?”
I love the way The Message version interprets this question from the angels:
“You Galileans!—why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky?”
Why keep looking at an empty sky, what keep looking in an empty direction, the wrong direction?
And so finally, his friends bring their vision down again, they stop staring towards the past.
And his friends do as Jesus told them, to go to Jerusalem and wait, wait for the future, this Holy Spirit’s arrival, and their new call to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth, to share his love and peace.
Those dear friends of Jesus, and we, are so tempted so drawn to going back, but our God is a God of the future, our God calls us all forward, onward to our new calls and new ministries.
And Jesus reminds us all that God will never leave us alone, and that the Holy Spirit will be with us in these new calls, these new ministries, these new days.
May Trinity, may St. Mary’s Whitechapel, may Megan and Tim, turn away from the past, from the empty sky, and on this Ascension Day prepare to again “…..be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Amen.