Bible Text: Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:44-53 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
In 1990 Bette Midler released a single called, “From a distance.” The album was nominated for best record of the year and best female pop vocal. The song has lyrics like, “From a distance the world looks blue and green, and the snow-capped mountains white.” and “God is watching us from a distance.” I remember having an in depth conversation at the age of 10 about why this song was so theologically wrong. And yet, on a Sunday like Ascension Sunday it is often not hard to see why this song was so popular. Today we commemorate that one line in our apostle’s creed that states, “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” We just heard the version in Luke’s gospel of how Jesus was carried up into heaven, leaving the disciples behind. We heard in Acts how Jesus was “lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.” In effect Jesus has left this earth and therefore God is only watching us from a distance. But that just can’t be right. Yes, the ascension is reminiscent of Moses’ “departure” and yes, the Gospel of Mark says that Jesus was, “taken up into heaven.” But does this mean that all we do down here on earth is seen from a distance?
Prominent homiletics professor and current bishop of the United Methodist Church, William Willimon tells of a similar revelation when he was a student in 1970, during the Black Panther trial. Willimon was attending a choral mass near Yale University and the boys’ choir was singing a composition entitled “Deus Ascendit”, meaning God has gone up. As Willimon listened he found himself reflecting, “How appropriate. God has gone up. Gone up and away. God has left us to our confusion. Abandoned us in the midst of the angry shouts of the mobs, the sound of gunfire and the rhetoric of the revolutionaries.” While Willimon’s thoughts reflected the racial conflicts happening in the United States in 1970, it is certainly a thought that can cross our minds today in the midst of religious radicalism, rhetoric of fear, and suffering throughout our world. God has abandoned us. God has gone up. Gone up and away. But as Willimon sat listening to the choir he realized that the words were not “Deus Abscondit” which means “God has abandoned us.” But rather that, God has gone up but God has not given up on us. The revelation was that the ascension did not symbolize abandonment but rather that what Jesus had begun on earth would be brought to completion in heaven. Jesus ascended not to leave the disciples behind but to complete what he had started through the work of the Holy Spirit, through the church, his body in the world, and through his faithful disciples.
For Luke the story of the ascension was so important that he writes about it twice, first in the closing of the gospel and then in the first chapter in Acts. In the church we celebrate the day of Ascension forty days after Easter Sunday which means that it is actually this coming Thursday. However, in our lectionary we celebrate the ascension today. It states in Acts that 40 days have passed since the resurrection of Jesus. Interestingly the number 40 comes up often in the Bible. Forty days could represent a literal 40 days, but in Scripture it also symbolizes times of trouble and hardship and overcoming adversity. Whenever God’s people are confronted with challenge it is reflected in the number 40. For example, the story of Noah and the rain for 40 days and 40 nights. After Moses killed an Egyptian he spent 40 years in the desert. The Israelites wandered for 40 years in the wilderness. Jesus, of course, was tempted for 40 days by the devil. All of these symbolize overcoming a great difficulty or challenge. Spending days in meditation, isolation, self-discovery, prayer, and most importantly working through this turmoil with God. It is not so much about a literal 40 days but rather what the number 40 has come to represent. So, it is interesting that there were 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension since 40 is a symbol of hardship. It is hard for me to say that there were days of turmoil for the disciples following the resurrection. The Scriptures certainly do not discuss any moment between Jesus and the disciples in those 40 days that required deep prayer or involved major conflict. You would think those 40 days would be the happiest days in the disciples’ lives. The man they thought was dead, was alive! But therein lies the problem, imagine trying to explain the Easter story to others, imagine trying to articulate what this means theologically or within the realities of faith. Imagine trying to convince others that the man they saw put to death was alive and well. Imagine trying to convince Jesus to stay, after all death had been defeated and the disciples knew they would be more confident with Jesus around. It was a time of fear, of doubt, of confusion, of frustration and likely a feeling of abandonment.
Nevertheless, the 40 days have passed and it is time for Jesus to ascend to heaven. He worships with them, breaks bread with them, and states that they will soon receive the Holy Spirit, which we know will happen another 10 days later at Pentecost. Jesus is leaving them with assurances that they will not be abandoned. In Matthew’s version of the ascension Jesus’ final words are, “And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.” Jesus is stating that no matter how far, or how high up, or how great the distance, they will be connected to him through the Spirit. And that God does not watch from a distance but is ever present.
While there must have been some difficulty in saying a final goodbye the disciples do indeed worship and return great joy at this event. This is because the disciples understood that Jesus had ascended to heaven to be with God, the Father, and that was good news because they also knew that they were connected to Jesus. And that being connected, eternally, to Jesus, gave them the confidence of faith to face these challenges without Jesus constantly in view. They could trust God because they knew Jesus. The disciples could now bring about the church, the body of Christ at work in the world, with the help of the Holy Spirit. In both Luke’s Gospel and Luke’s version in Acts Jesus commissions them as witnesses. God has not abandoned them but rather has bestowed upon them a vocation filled with promises of grace and mercy and the Spirit.
So, what happens, when in the midst of natural disasters, terrorism, hatred, violence, or in the midst of personal struggle, grief, loneliness, confusion or pain, we begin to feel abandoned? What happens when the church, this Body of Christ, experiences conflict and division? What happens when we feel that the church has abandoned us? We need to hear Jesus’ promise again. That the same Jesus who welcomed little children, the same Lord who healed the lepers or cured the hemorrhaging women, the same Christ who offered himself on the cross now sits with God and rules over all creation as the head of the church, and Jesus can be trusted. God has gone up but God has not been abandoned. It also explains why the disciples seem so happy to return to Jerusalem. They joyfully accepted Jesus’ mission to take the news of his resurrection into all the world. It is a privilege for them to represent God in the world because they knew they were connected to God.
Just think of that privilege, because it is passed down to us too and so is that connection, that direct line to God. God is not watching us from a distance through rose coloured glasses or distorted lenses. God is with us when we experience that sense of abandonment. God is with us when God’s name is used in vain for violence. God is with us when natural disasters destroy communities. God is with us when we are experiencing physical pain, spiritual lethargy, and emotional distress. Jesus knows what it feels like to suffer, and thankfully, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the father, ruling with compassion. And we, his subjects, have the great honour and privilege of joyfully worshipping and witnessing to all these things. Amen.