Rev Hugh Perry
Readings
Acts 1: 1-11
This is the beginning of the book of Acts and the author, Luke opens this book, as he opened his Gospel, by addressing Theophilus and, then, like any good sequel, he recaps the ending of his Gospel.
Only Luke tells the story of the ascension, both here and in his Gospel, and the way Luke has constructed his Gospel makes the ascension vital to the narrative’s credibility. At the beginning of the Gospel he promises Theophilus an ordered account so having made certain that we understand that the Risen Christ is not a ghost, but a reality that can be touched and eats fish like anyone else, Luke has to explain to his readers why Jesus does not pop into visit them for a meal from time to time. William Barclay notes that ‘Jesus won an immortality of influence for his effect upon the world’ and then he goes on to say:
Above all, there is an immortality of presence and power. Jesus not only left an immortal name and influence; he is still alive and still active. He is not the one who was, he is the one who is. [1]
Luke 24:44-53
Earle Ellis comments on this passage by saying:
Luke’s story began with a righteous priest giving his blessing to the congregation of Israel. It closes with Jesus, the resurrected high priest, giving his blessing to the messianic Israel. The priest Zechariah went into the temple with a petition for the redemption of Israel. The followers of the resurrected Jesus also go to the ‘temple’. But their prayer is one of joy and thanksgiving. The redemption of Israel has been accomplished, and the messianic community, the new temple of God, has been established.[2]
What Ellis is saying is that in this closing passage Luke is referring to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, taking his turn as temple priest as was the practice in the past. Now, however the Risen Christ has passed on the role of temple to the followers of Christ who have direct access to God through and in Christ.
Sermon
This is the Sunday that we celebrate Ascension rather than the 9th of May presumably because contemporary people are unlikely to come to an extra service on a weekday. Furthermore, if we made Ascension a public holiday people would make a long weekend of it and certain business groups and politicians would wail that religion was wrecking the economy.
However there is an even more concerning element to our reading from Luke that William Barclay notes in his commentary. Firstly, he notes that Luke has to reinforce Jesus’ presence in the heavenly realm. For two thousand years and counting Jesus has not be available to attend a youth group fish and chip night or even a parish dinner. That is despite the resurrection appearances we have been reading about since Easter.
So Luke answers that concern by having those first disciples witness Jesus not only go back up to heaven but he also promise to come back. As Barclay notes, by promising to return Jesus introduces the idea of a second coming and two thousand years and counting of speculation on timing.
Furthermore some Christians have seen that as removing their obligation to transform the world by acting as Christ to others. Super Jesus will fix everything.
But we are looking at the work of Luke the Gospel writer not Marvel Comics or Tika Waititi. In next week’s exciting episode, the Holy Spirit will descend as of tongues of fire on a representative group of Jesus disciples. By that Spirit we will all be empowered and obligated to change the world through the power of Christ within us. Just like Arnold Schwarzenegger, ‘he’ll be back!’ But unlike any superhero he will be living and transforming the world through us.
The post Easter readings have unsurprisingly focussed on the resurrection appearances. They employ all sorts of symbolism and metaphors to convince the readers that they didn’t imagine it, they didn’t see a ghost, and locked doors couldn’t shut it out. Dominic Crossan, among others, suggest that what they were trying to impress on their readers was that resurrection is not something we try and persuade people happened. We must demonstrate it in the way we live.
Resurrection is witnessed as the followers of Christ participate cooperatively with God in the divine clean-up of the world.
Such an explanation suits a civilisation like ours that can reboot a computer on an unmanned spaceship far out in space. But I can also imagine the early readers of the gospels rebutting those resurrection stories by asking if those first apostles met the Risen Christ, then why can’t they.
Perhaps the community that gave birth to Luke’s Gospel were particularly cynical or maybe Luke’s narrative was most suited to answer such cynicism.
After all at the beginning of his Gospel Luke had promised Theophilus an ordered account and that order was symbolic and ran from significant events to explanations. It is structured like the torch relay to the Paris Olympics that takes in significant people, symbolic events and special places along the way.
In verse five of our Acts reading Jesus says ‘for John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.’ (Acts 1:5)
As part of Luke’s order that is an echo of Luke three sixteen where John the Baptist says, ‘I baptise with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire’. (Luke 3:16 )
So in this echo of those words Luke has the Risen Christ affirm that he is ‘the one’ John is talking about and also reassures the disciples in today’s reading that this is about to happen. As already mentioned if you read next week’s thrilling episode the Holy Spirit will come in tongues as of fire.
So, John the Baptist’s prediction had all the necessary elements. Although reality was that the Spirit was divided as it descended, and the apostles were fired up.
Also part of this literary relay is the fact that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism. Like an Olympic torch bearer Jesus was the Spirit bearer.
That fits the episode from John’s Gospel where Jesus breathes the spirit into the disciples. But Luke promised an ordered account. So, he wants the Holy Spirit to descend on the apostles, just as it descended on Jesus. It is the Spirit that empowered Jesus and will therefore empower Jesus’ disciples, and the flame will also empower Luke’s readers including us.
However, as Jesus is the bearer of the Spirit at this point in the narrative, order requires the Spirit to come from heaven. So, Jesus needs to get back to heaven in time to send the spirit down at Pentecost.
That both keeps the order of the Spirit relay and explains why we do not have the same experience of the Risen Christ as those first apostles say they do.
We the readers are assured that without meeting a resurrected, fish-eating Christ we can receive the power of the divine Spirit just as those first apostles did.
Allusion to earlier imagery in Hebrew Scripture is also part of Gospel symbolism. Therefore, we should note that men in white robes of various degree of dazzle are an Old Testament symbol for heavenly messengers, or angels. (Daniel 7:9) Furthermore heavenly messengers are referred to as God’s presence (Genesis 19:1,2).
So the two angels in white robes that speak to the disciples as they look upward towards the disappearing Jesus are also a reflection of two men in dazzling clothes that confront the women in the empty tomb. (Luke 24:4)
But it is what these heavenly messengers say to the disciples in this passage from Acts that is most significant.
‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go to heaven.’ (Act’s 1:11)
As Barclay points that sentence introduces the idea of the second coming and two millennia of speculation about timing. But if we are open to the symbolism of the text we could understand the Risen Christ as a Spiritual Jesus, a heavenly being who can visit us in Spirit at any time as easily as he came and went to those first disciples. Indeed, as we have already observed the Holy Spirit, the Spirit from Jesus, and the Spirit of Jesus, comes into and commissions the disciples as apostles or ambassadors of Christ, at Pentecost.
Those disciples were a representation of all followers of Jesus, male, female, black white and rainbow.
Indeed, in both Luke and Acts, women made a significant contribution and were undoubtedly disciples who became apostles. In Shirley Murray’s words ‘they were the women who brought the Church to birth’.
The challenge that the heavenly messenger gives the disciples, and by symbolic implication gives us, is to stop looking to heaven and get on with being Christ to others in our world.
As Jesus proclaimed in Mark’s Gospel ‘The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand.’ (Mark1:15) As that is what Jesus proclaimed so we, as Christ filled individuals, must also proclaim. However, in the realm of symbol and metaphor, proclamation is both words and action.
Indeed, the gospels are full of stories of Jesus proclaiming God’s realm through inclusive table companionship and the healing and acceptance of the marginalised people of his world.
In the story of the Emmaus Road two disciples share the scriptures with a stranger along the way and their hearts burn within them. But when they share a meal with that same stranger, they find themselves in the presence of the Risen Christ. (Luke 24:13-31)
That is a resurrection account from Luke’s Gospel that literally drips with symbolism and instructs us on our own Christian journey. A journey where we all share the scripture with each other along the way until our hearts burn with the passion of the Gospel for empathy, justice, and lovingkindness.
It is as we share a meal together that we find ourselves in the presence of the risen Christ. Certainly as a sacrament, a sacred worship event, we share a symbolic meal together and focus on the presence of Christ both in and around us. But that sacrament is also a reminder that whenever we share food with others Christ is present with us.
The church has spent a good deal of the last two thousand years with its eyes looking to heaven and has used various images of a heavenly or other worldly realm, as a recruitment tool. The church has also seduced the marginalised into enduring suffering with the offer of a better world to come.
Yet the message from the heavenly beings in today’s ascension episode is that we must take our eyes away from the heavenly mystery and focus on living as Christ to those around us. We must also see the crucified Christ in the suffering we see in others.
As death is inflicted faster than the speed of sound and children die in crumbling ruins, we must remember that exterminating perceived, or even real, evil is not the same as doing good.
Sharing food along the way might be a fancy metaphor for the Eucharist but making sure every child has a school lunch can also be a religious experience.
Our challenge is to get with, and stick with, the programme till we feel the spirit burning within us.
We don’t meet Christ by gazing up into the sky.
We demonstrate the Resurrected Christ by the way we live as Christ to others.
[1] William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, Revised Edition (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press1976), pp.9-13
[2] E. Earle Ellis The New Centaury Bible Commentary: The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, London: Marshal Morgan &Scott 1991), p.278