Ephesians 1:22-23 *
Dear Friends in Christ,
There is a certain perspective that accompanies the completion of a trip that has gone well. The memories that it produced may often remain with us for the rest of our lives to be relived again and again. At the same time, having seen things we may have never seen before sometimes gives us a new outlook and can have a profound impact on how we view the future.
There is, again, a certain perspective that is found only at the journey’s end…
This evening we are coming to the end of a journey we began
last December. In some ways this is a
companion sermon to the worship service we held on the first Sunday in
Advent. You may or may not recall that
on
That was six months ago. Now we have come to Ascension Day, which, in a sense, marks the
JOURNEY’S END
We’d like to spend our time this evening contemplating what it all means, as we, viewing things through the lens of the Ascension
Let’s begin by going back and retracing our steps this past Church Year…
The Church Year began with the Advent Season, a time of preparation to meet our Savior both as the long anticipated Babe of Bethlehem, as well as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who will come to judge the world.
Together we gathered for special midweek worship services under the theme of the great, ancient, Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” We heard Jesus Christ described first as the “Root of Jesse,” calling to mind that the promised Savior would come, according to his human nature, from the line of Jesse, father of great King David.
Then we heard him described as “the Dayspring from on High.”
“Dayspring” is a reference to
the light of dawn, and we were reminded that just as people look forward to the
dawn of a new day chasing away the darkness of night, so God’s people look
forward to the coming of the “Sun of Righteousness”(as Christ is
called in the Book of Malachi.)
Finally we heard him described as “the Key of David” who opens the door to the treasures of eternal life through his perfect life, sacrificial death and glorious resurrection.
Anticipation gave way to reality as we gathered for Christmas worship and marked the birth of our Savior. Using the un-Christmas-like text of God speaking to the prophet Elijah not through powerful things like a rock-shattering wind or an earthquake or a fire, but rather through a still, small voice, we were reminded of how sometimes God uses the little things to get to the big things. And we rejoiced that the little, brittle voice of a baby that shattered the Judean night was the announcement of Immanuel, God with us… who is the provider of big things like forgiveness and eternal life and hope.
The next stop on our journey was the Festival of Epiphany. On Epiphany and during the Epiphany season that follows we rejoiced in the fact that any mystery about our salvation has been solved by Jesus Christ, who revealed Himself as the Savior of all mankind through word and deed.
Then, passing through the portal of the Transfiguration, it was on to the somber season of Lent. There with heavy yet grateful hearts we traversed some familiar terrain as we contemplated the seriousness of our sin and the high cost of our redemption…
Under the theme “Places
of the Passion” we followed Jesus for the last and most important 72 hours
of His life and learned from Him. In the
upper room we learned about humble service.
In the
And on a lonely hill outside the city gates of Jerusalem called
Golgotha we learned about the depth of His indescribable, sacrificial, love as we echoed the question of the hymnist: “What
wondrous love is this, o my soul?”
But the tone quickly changed when we met on Easter with its antiphonal greeting of “He is risen, He is risen indeed!” On that blessed morning we gathered to hear “the greatest sermon ever written” – the proclamation of the angel at the empty tomb: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” And we were comforted once again with what the resurrection means: the assurance that Jesus, the Son of God, is who He said He is; the assurance that our redemption is complete; and the assurance that just like Jesus we, too, will rise from the grave and someday live forever both body and soul in heaven.
Forty days have come and gone since that glorious day. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus was instructing and preparing His disciples for what would soon become their life’s work – the spread of the Gospel message. But now it was time to complete the circle. He who came from heaven must return to heaven. As was the case with His resurrection, Jesus had told His disciples that this would happen. And today – the day we appropriately call Ascension Day – was the appointed time…
So, as the Gospel writer Luke tells us in the final verses
of his book (chapter 24): 50 When he had led them out to
the vicinity of
The Gospel writer Mark is even more succinct in his report
(a single verse), but adds a phrase we’ve become accustomed to in our
Creeds. This is what we read in Mark
16:19: “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven
and he sat at the right hand of God” – meaning a position of power and
honor and glory.
The point being made is this: With His ascension Jesus brings to a close
His earthly ministry and the work of our redemption. If the words from the cross were “it
is finished,” the act of His ascension is the declaration that “it is final.” For Christ and the work He did in our
behalf, the ascension is, in one sense, the journey’s end.
But at the same time it is a new beginning. In words heard earlier, the Apostle Paul
gives us insight to the meaning of the Ascension for us and for our
future. Listen again to what he tells
us: 22
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head
over everything for the church, 23 which
is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
What we are told here of our Ascended Lord is that “all things” are “under his feet,” meaning His authority and rule, and that God “appointed him to be head” (that is ruler) over everything…” And it is our great comfort to know that between the terms “all things” and “everything” there is very little wiggle room. Christ controls all.
But the key phrase is “for the church.” Christ rules the universe and is head over everything “for the church.” That means believers. That means you and me. What we are being assured is that Jesus Christ, the risen and ascended and all-powerful King of Kings rules the universe with a very specific, very narrow agenda: All is done in the interest of His church (which Paul refers to as “His body”) and His children. In other words, we are His agenda…
Remember the old insurance commercial, “You’re in good hands
with
This is the bottom line. Christ rules. That means tomorrow’s headlines will not be written without His permission. No nuclear war will commence unless He gives the okay. And no matter how big or insurmountable or confusing our own personal problems may be, Christ is bigger… and in control… and promises to work things out for our highest spiritual good.
And this is true, even if it doesn’t always seem that way. I recall the noted English author and Christian convert C.S. Lewis once making a remark about a difficult period in his life. He talked about how he prayed and he prayed and he prayed, but that God seemed either distant or disinterested, and that the only response that came back to him was the distinct sound of a door being shut, and then double bolted from the inside.
Maybe you’ve had the same experience…
Why God allows the things that come into our life when and to the degree that He does, we leave to His divine wisdom. And rather than speculate on why or for what reason, it’s much better if we simply cling to Him and find strength in His many promises that He will never leave us or forsake us and that He loves us with an everlasting love.
It may very well be that there are purposes behind God’s working in our lives which will become apparent to us in time. But it may also be that we will never fully know or understand on this side of heaven.
Yet while there are things we may not know, we do know the message of Ascension. And the message of the Ascension is that Christ is in control. And the whole history of Christ’s work on earth up until His Ascension is the rock-solid, incontrovertible truth that He loved us enough to die for us…
Which means we can go into the future with boldness and confidence, trusting that all things do indeed work together for good to them that love God. Because the ascended, ruling Christ has promised to see to it, and promised to keep us safe until we meet our journey’s end in heaven.
So we say, as we will sing at the end of this service:
On Christ’s ascension I now build
The hope of my ascension
This hope alone has always stilled
All doubt and apprehension
For where the head is, there as well
I know his members are to dwell
When Christ shall come and call them.
This is our comfort. This is our confidence. Of this we are assured. Amen.