Ascension Thursday

Luke 24:44-53

Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you--that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled."Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to 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 are witnesses of these things.And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.  While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

When I was a young child there were really only two stores in my village where my mother could go to buy clothes.  My mother wasn't a shopper, which was good because I dreaded going to those stores.  One was owned by a family friend and I enjoyed visiting when she was around.  She would let me play in her office in the back - with all of her paperwork.  The other store owner wasn't so kid-friendly.  She had a few toys in a corner closet to entertain children while mothers shopped for clothes.  The toys were from a by-gone era, and they look much like the Soviet era toys that Petro Pyatichki plays with at his kindergarten.  When we would go to this store my mother would plop me down in the "toy room" and go shopping.  One time, after I picked up each toy and assessed which toy was the least broken, I picked a toy-car on a string that was only missing two tires and began running around the store with it.  I was afraid of getting caught, so when I saw one of the shopkeepers, I darted into the center of a round rack of clothes.  I was completely hidden by the circle of long dresses.  As I hid there, I apparently became quite tired and fell asleep.  I woke up to the sounds of my mother's panicked voice screaming my name as she ran out of the store to see which busy street I had run into.  At this point I became very scared and very alone.  My mother had left me alone in the scary store with the broken toys and the mean old women who worked there.  I was leaving my hiding space for fear of being caught by the old women who worked there.  The fact that my mother was also scared and panicking never entered my brain.  As my mother came back into the store to tell them that I wasn't on the street, I came running out from behind the clothes and hugged her knees.  It was so good to have my mother back, and I'm pretty sure she felt the same way about having me back as well.

Some of us have some attachment issues.  Some people don't like saying goodbye.  Every time I say goodbye to my elderly grandmother to return to Ukraine it gets harder and harder to see her fade in the distance as my mind entertains the very real possibility that it might be my last time to say goodbye.  Goodbyes are hard, and maybe the loss of a loved one or the reality of emigration makes this story a little bit unpleasant for us.            

As we finish out the semester, some of us are finishing out our educational careers.  A few of you are finishing up your fourth or fifth year as students.  You are looking forward to what is next in your life.  It's an exciting time - you've worked hard for many years for this accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself.  But this time is also confusing.  Many graduates don't know what they will do next.  Will they return home to live with their folks?  Will they be able to find a meaningful job in their field?  Is Chicken Hut hiring?

I love that the day of Ascension falls right around this time.  That's a nice little addition to our calendar.  Because the disciples had undergone so much stress and duress.  They had faced the execution of their leader.  They had rejoiced at his resurrection.  They had walked, talked, and once again shared meals with their teacher who had died and rose again as promised three days later.  And then, on this day - Jesus blesses them and returns back to heaven.  And the twelve, fully filled with all of God's goodness, are left to wonder the eternal question, "What's next?  Where do I go from here?  Is Chicken Hut hiring?"

Because these men could have returned to their ordinary.  They could have stepped back into the boats they had once stepped out of to walk on water.  Their hands which had counted out baskets full of leftovers after feeding thousands could go back to counting out the taxes owed.  They certainly could have returned to their 9-5 jobs and moved on with their lives.

But these men realized something on this Ascension Sunday.  They realized that Jesus was just as real and present with them after his return to heaven as he had been when he was eating fish with them on the beach.

And on this day, thousands of years later -  we must remember that Jesus is just as real and present with us as he was with the disciples.  Jesus is here.  He lives in our hearts.  He calms the storms of our lives and calls us to great things.

The ascension of Jesus is not a story of goodbye.  It's a story of trust and independence.

When I was young I was in speech therapy for years.  I couldn't say my S, Sh, Th, Ch, P, R, or L sounds.  My mom was the only person who could understand what I was trying to say. At first, I really hated being in speech therapy.  I fought every step of the way.  My teacher worked with me, letter by letter, sound by sound as she taught me how to form my mouth and where to place my tongue for every word.  I can remember repeating sounds after my teacher, just mimicking what she was saying - but as soon as I would leaver her classroom I would return to the easy way of doing things.  As long as she wasn't around to correct me or cheer me on I didn't need to put the extra effort into trying to say things correctly.  But my teacher was a very wise woman and one day she told me that our lessons would be ending.  If I wasn't willing to put in the extra effort outside of her class, then she shouldn't bother anymore.  But by this time I liked having class with her - I liked that I could be understood by adults if I needed to be.  I begged her to let me keep having classes - and she promised that if I put in some effort and she overheard me speaking correctly three times outside of the classroom that we could keep having classes.  For the next few weeks I used all of my energy to speak correctly and she spied on me from time to time.  She finally called me to her room to tell me that she had heard me speaking correctly and we could continue working on the last few mistakes I was making.

For years when I read the story of the ascension I didn't like the story.  I counted it as a sad story in the Bible.  I would read it and it would remind me of painful stories of goodbyes.  Finally, I understood that in this moment Jesus released the disciples into joyful obedience.  Up to this point Jesus had taught, healed, prayed, and performed the miracles.  The twelve had been passive observers or casual participants.  They relied on Jesus to do all the work and they enjoyed the great joy of being present for everything.

But no more - as Jesus clears up all the confusion in their minds, he blesses them and he sends them off on their way.  Now they are the ones who will teach, preach, heal, feed, and perform miracles.  They have grown in their faith - they are no longer just students but they must now be teachers as well.

The fear and anguish that the disciples felt when they lost Jesus to death on a cross is replaced by a great and powerful sense of purpose as he ascends to heaven.  This is not a story of loss - this is a story of bold empowerment.

My mother's great agony so many years ago as she ran out of the clothing store to search for her little boy who she thought was playing in the streets is replaced by her pride and joy as she sends me overseas for years at a time.

As Jesus ascends into heaven the images that form in our heads are images of long, sad goodbyes.  But this is a joyous moment.  This is commencement ceremony after long years of study, this is the trust and joy of a great mentor as he places real responsibilites in your hand.

You are witnesses of these things.

You see the ways that God is present with us.  You see people's lives being changed for the better.  You see people believing in God for the first time.  You see all the ministries that happen here at the Molod' do Isusa student center.

If you come here to Pilgrims on Thursday nights you see the efforts of a great group of people.  Our leadership team works to keep this ministry going.  They work behind the scenes to make sure that our music is great, that our English Club opens the doors for new people to enter and feel comfortable in this space, that our social events bring us together and help make us a community - they keep the student center clean and they make sure that things work together to make this place better.  Our leadership team does a wonderful job of welcoming young people from all different Christian backgrounds and even students who don't believe anything.  Our leadership team works to make a difference in their lives.

Our leadership team is open to new people stepping up to serve.   We are actively searching for the next group of students who will work to make this student center all that God dreams it to be.  We are looking for who will help keep this place open and welcoming to all.    

Would you be willing to step up?  Would you be willing to work behind the scenes or so step up infront of students and model what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?

When Jesus sends his disciples out into the world he calls them to do great things -  But he promises that he will be with them until the very end of time.  This scripture passage ends "they were continually in the temple praising God."  But that's not how this story ends.  After they were clothed with power from on high, these men left the temple.  They went out into the world and they changed it.  Two thousand years later we are the result of men who fearlessly left the temple and went to all corners of the world to teach and preach about Jesus.

This story doesn't end with them and it doesn't end with us.  The people who learn of the goodness of God from us will go on to share God's goodness with others.  As Jesus moves back to his place in heaven, his triumphant call resounds across the whole earth - That all the world may know, will you follow Christ wherever he calls?