Sermon for the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord - Acts 1:1-11

 

                                                                                    Ascension

                                                                                    Acts 1:1-11

                                                                                    5/13/21

 

            The most difficult goodbye that Amy and I have experienced took place during February last year in the El Paso, TX area.  Timothy’s National Guard infantry unit was at Ft. Bliss as they prepared to leave for a deployment in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. 

            Timothy would be gone for almost a year in a combat zone.  The troops had leave for several days, and so we flew down to El Paso to see him.  We enjoyed our time with Timothy greatly, and we ate really well.  However, I had to return early because of Ash Wednesday.  It was very difficult to say the final goodbye to him at the airport.  However, it fell to Amy to take Timothy back to Ft Bliss and see him for the very last time.  I received a tearful phone call that night after she had done so.

            It is not a happy thing to say goodbye.  Now often we only expect the absence to last for a fairly brief time. And of course, we have many forms of communication by which we can stay in touch.  Nevertheless, we are sad to see our time together come to an end. When the goodbye leads to a very lengthy separation, and the options for communication are going to be somewhat limited, it can be very difficult.

            Tonight we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord.  We celebrate the event in which the crucified and risen Lord Jesus departed into heaven as he withdrew his visible presence.  Now based on what I have just said about goodbyes, it probably sounds rather odd to say that we celebrate this event.  In fact, it doesn’t seem to make much sense when you compare our situation to what the disciples had been experiencing.

             As Luke indicates at the beginning of our text, the Book of Acts is the second volume that accompanies the Gospel of Luke.  There in chapter twenty four Luke had told about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The women had gone to the tomb early on the morning of Easter and had seen two angels who said: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”

            The two disciples on the road to Emmaus had talked with Jesus and learned from him in an incredible way as he explained the Scriptures to them. Then they had recognized Jesus as broke bread and disappeared. They returned to Jerusalem where they learned that Peter had seen Jesus. And then the risen Lord had appeared in the midst of the room as all present learned that the One who had been crucified was now alive.

            As we know from Matthew and John, these were not the only times when the risen Jesus was with the disciples.  Nor was Jerusalem the only place, because as Jesus had told them before his death they also saw in Galilee.  These appearances in different places took time.  And in fact Luke tells us, “He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” For forty days the risen Lord was with the disciples teaching them.

            During that time Jesus ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”  Later, when they had come together, the disciples asked: “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

            Now this question has often been viewed as if it shows disciples’ complete lack of understanding.  But actually it is entirely sensible.  Jesus had risen from the dead, and this was an event of the end times.  Now Jesus had said that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  The Old Testament was filled with prophecies about how God would give his Spirit to Israel at the time of its restoration. All the end time things were coming together, and so what other conclusion could the disciples be expected to arrive at?

            The disciples weren’t completely wrong. But they didn’t understand the timing. And they didn’t understand what “Israel” really meant.  With regard to the first, Jesus said, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” As for the second, I can summarize Jesus answer with these words: “Think bigger.” The Lord told them, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

            Then we learn in our text: “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”  Jesus was lifted up into the air as he ascended, until a cloud hid him.” As you and I would have, the disciples were gazing into heaven as he went. But then, two angels stood next to them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

            We must acknowledge that in his ascension our Lord has left us.  We don’t presently experience Jesus Christ the way the disciples did in those forty days from Easter to the ascension. And as far as we are concerned, that is a bad thing. To us, this is not something to celebrate.  Christmas celebrates the Son of God’s arrival in our world in the flesh.  That service also occurs on an evening, and think about how many people attend it.  Easter celebrates Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, and think about how many people attend at that time.  Ascension celebrates Jesus’ leaving – and well, look around and consider how many people showed up tonight.

            Yet God’s Word tells us that we are wrong.  Jesus’ ascension is not a bad thing.  In fact, it truly is something to celebrate. The first reason is that Jesus’ ascension is part of his exaltation by the Father.  On the day of Pentecost, Peter explained what was happening as he said, “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”

            The ascension of Jesus Christ is part of his exaltation.  St. Peter wrote, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”  Jesus’ ascension is the fulfillment of Psalm 110:1 where David writes: “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’”  Jesus Christ has been seated at God’s right hand.  That means he exercises all power and might.  It means that angels, authorities and powers – everything has been subjected to him. The ascension of Jesus means that you believe in the ultimate and almighty winner. God the Father has declared this through the exaltation of Christ’s ascension.

            We think the absence of Jesus’ visible presence is a bad thing.  However, in the Gospel lessons during these weeks of Easter we have been hearing how Jesus says that his upcoming departure is a good thing, because it means that Christ will send the Spirit. Indeed, just before his ascension in our text Jesus promises the Spirit who will give the disciples power to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. The ascension does not mean the absence of Christ.  Instead, it means the presence of Christ’s Spirit. We will celebrate on Pentecost that as the exalted Lord, Jesus has poured forth the Spirit who has been at work through the Gospel everywhere in the world to call people to faith.  He has called you to faith. The exalted Lord is present in our midst as his Spirit works through the Means of Grace to create faith, give forgiveness and sustain faith.

            Jesus has ascended into heaven.  But remember who Jesus is and what he was like when he ascended.  The Son of God entered into the world in the incarnation as the One who is true God and true man.  In the resurrection, Jesus did not cease to be true man. Instead, he still is.  On the evening of Easter Jesus said “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”  Jesus rose from the dead with a real material body.  But as the second Adam he rose with a body transformed so that it can never die again.

            When Jesus ascended, he ascended as true God and true man. He has taken renewed and restored humanity into the presence of God the Father. And because he has, we know that this is our future as well. Our bodies will be renewed and transformed, and we will dwell in God’s presence.

            In our text we learn that Jesus was lifted up “and a cloud took him out of their sight.” This fact is very significant because Jesus had said of himself during Holy Week: “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” The ascension of Jesus points us to the fulfillment of all that God has done and is now doing.  It directs out hope and expectation to the Last Day when he will return in glory to give us a share in his resurrection.  As the angels said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

            We celebrate the ascension because the crucified and risen Lord who fulfilled the Father’s saving plan has been exalted – he has been seated at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. Our Lord is the ultimate winner.

            We celebrate the ascension because it is as the exalted Lord that Christ has poured forth the Spirit – his Spirit. The Spirit carries forth the work of our Lord – the Gospel – into all the world. And we are not without the Lord’s presence, for the Lord is present through the Spirit as he is at work in the Means of Grace.

            And we celebrate the ascension because Christ has taken our renewed humanity into the presence of God.  He has guaranteed us that we too will dwell with God. And we will do so, renewed in body and soul.  We will do so with bodies transformed so that they can never die again, because the risen and ascended Lord will come in a cloud with great power and glory on the Last Day.

 

           

           

              

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord

 

Today is The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord. Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and was exalted as our incarnate Lord He took His place at the right hand of God.

Scripture reading:

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.  And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you 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, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed 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 and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:1-11).

Collect of the Day:

Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 

Commemoration of Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs

 

Today we remember and give thanks for Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs.  Cyril   (826-69) and Methodius (c. 815-85) were brothers who came from a Greek family in Thessalonica. The younger brother took the name "Cyril" when he became a monk in 868. After ordination, Cyril became librarian at the church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) in Constantinople. In 862 the brothers were sent by the emperor as missionaries to what is now the Czech republic, where they taught in the native Slavic tongue. Cyril invented the alphabet today know today as "Cyrillic," which provided a written language for the liturgy and Scriptures for the Slavic peoples. This use of the vernacular established an important principle for evangelical missions.

Collect of the Day:

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for your servants Cyril and Methodius, whom you called to preach the Gospel to the Slavic peoples. Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.

 

 

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter - Rogate - 1 Timothy 2:1-6

 

                                                                                    Easter 6

                                                                                    1 Timothy 2:1-6

                                                                                    5/9/20

 

            A mediator is a person who works to bring two different people or groups together where there is a disagreement or a dispute.  Now for a mediator to be able to work, both sides have to be willing to talk and listen to each other.  Where there is sharp disagreement, the mediator is trying to work out some kind of compromise that both sides can accept. The mediator is trying to bring the two sides together.  If the willingness to talk and compromise is not present, a mediator will not be able to do anything.

            Recently, I have seen first hand what this looks like.  As many of you know, the accusation has been made that the Marion girls’ track coach made a racial remark against two black athletes. Spread and stirred up on social media, it has resulted in a bomb threat to Marion High School, and a series of protests.  The single unalterable demand of the protestors is that this teacher must be fired.

            Now these have not been large gatherings.  According to reports, the first protest had around thirty people.  The ones I have seen since then amount to maybe a dozen people.  But the common feature that unites them has been the intense anger and the singularity of purpose. They are not there to discuss the issue in any way.  They are there to get the teacher fired.

            And so sadly, there is no openness to any kind of mediator or mediation.  There certainly are things that need to be discussed.  As the school board president has reported, the version of the teacher’s comment being spread on social media does not match other accounts of what was said.  He has said the accusation that the coach kicked the student off the track team is not true.  And the track coach in question has had great relationships with black athletes and has been very supportive of them. 

            Perhaps a comment was made that had no racial intent whatsoever, but was later understood in a completely different way than it was intended.  Perhaps the teacher needs to apologize and explain this fact, or has already done so.  Perhaps the teacher has learned that in our current social climate, sadly, extreme care must be exercised in what is said. Perhaps the positive witness of black athletes about the teacher’s character should be taken into account.  Perhaps social media is not the way to address an issue like this. Perhaps anger clouds judgment.  Perhaps instead there is the need to admit where misunderstanding has occurred, to forgive and move on rather than holding on to anger which damages individuals and communities. Yet if one is unwilling to discuss these things a mediator can do nothing and there can be no mediation.

            In the epistle lesson this morning, the apostle Paul speaks about how Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man.  We learn that God has acted in Christ to bring us to himself.  He has done this in spite of the fact that as sinners we were the ones who did not want a mediator. We were the ones who didn’t want to listen.

            Paul begins our text by saying, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”  Notice how Paul begins by telling Timothy that Christians are to pray on behalf of all people.  This is not prayer that is limited to Christians and the Church.  He goes on to add government leaders, but his instruction is not limited to them.  Instead, Christian prayer is to be spoken on behalf of everyone. Remember, Jesus said that we are even to pray for those who persecute us.

            This is something that we do every Sunday in the Prayer of the Church. It is something that we do in an even more extensive way each Wednesday at Learn by Heart as we use the Litany prayer form that includes prayers for our nation, cities and communities; for those who labor in difficult and dangerous jobs; for those who travel; for the hungry and homeless; for the widowed and orphaned; for those in prison; and for the sick and dying. This is something that we are to do in our own individual prayer life, for this prayer is part of our ministry as the priesthood of the baptized.

            Paul then explains why our prayer is to be made on behalf of all people. It is because God himself cares about all people.  In fact, he wants all people to be saved.  The apostle says, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

            Now there are many things that we would like to see happen, but there is nothing we can do to help bring it about.  Contrary to popular opinion, wearing your special shirt, or sitting in your special place to watch a game does not actually help your team to win. But this is where God is different.  He can do something about this, and the Gospel tells us that he has.

            Paul writes, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”  The apostle begins by saying that there is one God.  This is a foundational truth of the Scriptures. There is only one true God.

            Then Paul adds a second statement: that there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He says that Jesus Christ is the mediator.  This immediately raises the issue of why a mediator is needed. You don’t need a mediator when everything is just fine.  You need a mediator when there is a problem – when there is conflict.

            The problem, of course, is not God. God is the Creator who has given us the gift of life.  He is righteous, holy, just and fair.  But that is also where the problem is to be found. Because while God is that way, and he created us in his image to be that way, since the Fall of Adam we are not.  Instead, we are sinners.  Paul told the Romans, “For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’”

            Sin evokes the wrath of the holy God.  It brings God’s wrath and judgment against those who sin. That is certainly not the way our world wants to talk about God, as it seeks to create a god in its own image.  But God’s Word is absolutely clear about this.  Paul also told the Romans about how God deals with sin when he wrote, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works.”

            Left to ourselves, we would get what we deserve.  And that would be very, very, bad … forever.  But God is also gracious, merciful, and loving.  In fact it is a repeating refrain in the Old Testament – a kind of “creedal statement” – that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Because he is, Paul tells of that God did something incredible.  He sent his Son to be the mediator between God and man.

            In our text, the apostle says that the man, Christ Jesus, is the mediator.  But Paul is very clear in this letter that Jesus is not just a man.  In chapter three he writes, “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh….”  The One who was manifested in the flesh is the Son of God.  Paul told the Galatians: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

            Jesus Christ came to be the mediator between God and man, because he is true God and true man at the same time.  Paul says in the first chapter of this letter, “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.”  In our text we learn how he did this. He did this as he “gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”  The incarnate Son of God gave himself up to the suffering and death of the cross in order to free us from sin. He received God’s judgment in death that our sin deserved.

            God did this for us in spite of the fact that as sinners we wanted nothing to do with him.  We wanted to be our own god. We had no desire for a mediator.  We did not want to be reconciled. Paul says of himself in chapter one, “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.” This doesn’t just describe Paul in his earlier life as a persecutor of the Church.  It describes every fallen person, who is conceived and born spiritually, blind, dead, and an enemy of God.

            Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and man, gave himself as the ransom for our sins.  But then on Easter, God raised Jesus from the dead.  He vindicated Jesus as the One who has reconciled us to God on the cross. And through Jesus’ resurrection God defeated the wages of sin.  He defeated death.

            This is the victory that Christ the mediator has won.  But it is not the end of what God the Father has done.  Thursday this week, we will celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord.  God exalted Christ when he ascended into heaven.  Paul says in this letter, “He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

            It is as the ascended and exalted Lord that Jesus Christ has poured forth the Holy Spirit.  Now, through the work of the Spirit, Christ has called us to faith.  We were people who didn’t want a mediator.  We didn’t want to listen to God. 

            So God spoke the Gospel to us.  In the verse just after our text Paul says, “For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”  Through his Word, Christ’s Spirit has called us to faith. He has given us rebirth in Holy Baptism.  Paul told Titus, “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

            Christ’s Spirit has given us new birth, so that now in we believe and trust in Jesus Christ our mediator.  We know God as our Father and that Jesus has reconciled us to him.  We recognize our sin and confess it. We find the assurance of our forgiveness in Christ through faith and baptism.

            And because we have been forgiven in Christ, we now share this forgiveness with others.  The Holy Spirit who created faith in Christ – who gave us new birth – leads and enables us to forgive others and to seek peace. As Paul told the Ephesians, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

 

 

           

             

 

             

     

 

 

 

     

 

           

               

           

           

 

Commemoration of C.F.W. Walther, Theologian

 

Today we remember and give thanks for C.F.W. Walther, Theologian.  Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther (1811-87), the father of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, served as its first president from 1847 to 1850 and then again from 1864 to 1878. In 1839 he emigrated from Saxony, Germany, with other Lutherans, who settled in Missouri. He served as pastor of several congregations in St. Louis, founded Concordia Seminary, and in 1847 was instrumental in the formation of the LCMS (then called the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States). Walther worked tirelessly to promote confessional Lutheran teaching and doctrinal agreement among all Lutherans in the United States. He was a prolific writer and speaker. Among his most influential works are Church and Ministry and The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel.

Collect of the Day:

Almighty God, you give the gift of teachers to your Church.  We praise you for the gifts of grace manifested in your servant Carl Ferdinand, and we pray that your Church may never be destitute of such gifts; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Commemoration of Frederick the Wise, Christian Ruler

 

Today we remember and give thanks for Frederick the Wise, Christian Ruler.  Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, was Martin Luther's sovereign in the early years of the Reformation. Were it not for Frederick, there might not have been a Lutheran Reformation. Born in Torgau in 1463, he became so well known for his skill in political diplomacy and his sense of justice and fairness that he was called "the Wise" by his subjects. Though he never met Luther, Frederick repeatedly protected and provided for him. In all likelihood he saved the reformer from a martyr's fate. Frederick refused the pope's demand to extradite Luther to Rome for a heresy trial in 1518. When Emperor Charles V declared Luther an outlaw in 1521 at the Diet of Worms, Frederick provided sanctuary for Luther at the Wartburg castle. On his deathbed, Frederick received the Lord's Supper in both kinds--a clear confession of the evangelical faith.

Collect of the Day:

Together with Fredrick and all your saints who now rest from their labors, we look forward to your future coming to usher in your new creation--a place free from sin and death, a place where all our voices will praise You without end for Your great glory. Until that appointed time, continue to sustain us in this certain hope throughout all our earthly days; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 

Commemoration of Friedrich Wyneken, Pastor and Missionary

 

Today we remember and give thanks for Friedrich Wyneken, Pastor and Missionary.  Friedrich Wyneken is one of the founding fathers of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, along with C.F.W. Walther and Wilhelm Sihler. Born in 1810 in Germany, he came to Baltimore in 1838 and shortly thereafter accepted a call to be the pastor of congregations in Friedheim and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Supported by Wilhelm Loehe's mission society, Wyneken served as an itinerant missionary in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, particularly among Native Americans. Together with Loehe and Sihler, he founded Concordia Theological Seminary in 1846 in Fort Wayne, Ind. He later served as the second president of the LCMS during a period of significant growth (1850-64). His leadership strongly influenced the confessional character of the LCMS and its commitment to an authentic Lutheran witness.

 Collect of the Day:

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank You for Your servant Friedrich, whom You called to preach the Gospel in America. Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of Your kingdom, that Your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.