Good-bye! ...Now What? (A sermon based on Luke 24:44-53)

Good-bye! ...Now What?
A sermon based on Luke 24:44-53
Sunday, May 24, 2009 - Ascension B

        Do you like saying good-bye? Maybe sometimes when the company's been invading your home for a while. After all, it's been said that guests are like fish in that if you keep them around for more than a few days, they begin to stink. But I'm guessing that most of the time when you're spending time with family and friends, with those you love and whose company you enjoy "good-bye" isn't always the easiest thing to say.
        Ask the family who relocates for a job and moves away from all their family and friends if they like to say "good-bye." Or ask the parent who drops off the kids at college before returning home to an empty nest for the first time. Saying "good-bye" can be downright tough. And when it's such a drastic good-bye it can leave people wondering what's next? Now that the kids are gone, what will we do with our time? Now that we're leave our friends behind, who will spend our time with?
        For the past three years the disciples had followed Jesus around and learned from him. And during that time he became much more than their teacher. He became their close companion, their defender, their provider... their dearly loved friend. What sorrow they must have felt at his death! What joy at his resurrection!
        But, now it was time to say, "Good-bye!" Jesus was not going to remain with them in the physical, visible way he had been. And it could have left the disciples, sad and depressed, lost and confused, wondering, "Now what?" But before he departed, Jesus told them "Now what..." He told them to be his witnesses and to worship him. And he gave them a comforting blessing, reminding them of what he had already done for them, and of what he would continue to do for them.
        Listen now to the account of our Lord's "good-bye" to his disciples, of his instructions to them (and us) before he left, and of his ascent into heaven, recorded for us in Luke 24:44-53, focusing especially on verses 50-53...

 ⁴⁴He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."  ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." ⁵⁰When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. ⁵¹While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. ⁵²Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ⁵³And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

I. Remember What He's Done for You.

        Do you find the Ascension of Jesus to be a bit confusing? In his parting Words he promised his disciples, "Surely I'm with you always..." (Matt. 28) Then two seconds later, he leaves! Imagine what might have gone thought the disciples minds. "Wait! What about what you just said about staying with us?! Where are you going? We thought you were going to drive out the Romans and show everyone your super-human might that not even death can contain! We thought you were just getting warmed up! Now you're leaving? So what are we supposed to do?! What now?"
        But Jesus didn't leave them wondering "What now?" He told them what was next for them... "You are witnesses of these things." Of course, witnesses don't just see what happens, but tell about it. Their task was simple: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." It was a simple task, that is, it wasn't complex. But it wasn't an easy task. So Jesus gave them some encouragement: "I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." Obviously, a reference to Pentecost, which we'll talk about next week.
        But notice what else Jesus did to encourage them... "When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them." Can you picture the scene? Jesus stands before his disciples with hands outstretched so they could clearly see the light shine through the holes in his hands. What a vivid reminder of what Jesus had done for them!
        A month and a half earlier as Jesus was being arrested, they may well have wondered "Now what?" But they answered that with running away. When Peter was called out as a disciple of Jesus, he may have wondered, "Now what?" And he responded with, "I swear I don't know the guy!" And when Jesus was dead, they surely wondered, "Now what?" And instead of responding with a bold witness, they hid behind locked doors.
        But now, instead of scolding them, he blessed them. Literally the word translated "blessed" means "spoke well of" them. Luke doesn't record exactly what Jesus said, but that's not as important as who was doing the speaking. This was the same Jesus who 43 days earlier had died on a cross to pay for their sins. The same Jesus who 40 days earlier rose from the dead to assure them that payment was complete. They were forgiven. And even though he was leaving them, he was not abandoning them.
        And he doesn't abandon us...
        When the economy stretches our dollars and we wonder "Now what?" do we sometimes respond with decreased giving while maintaining our personal spending? When the doctor delivers bad news and we wonder "Now what?" do we sometimes respond with fear and worry instead of trust in God's care? When being a bold witness for Jesus--and that's what we're called to do, to be his witnesses, not just seeing what he's done, but sharing it--when that witness is met with ridicule and we wonder "Now what?" do we sometimes respond with silence the next time round?
        For our sins we deserve to have Jesus depart for good and to be forever cut off from him and his love. But it's to us too that Jesus lifts up his hands, not to strike us, not to slap some sense into us, not to pronounce the eternal curse on us that we deserve, but to bless us. And Jesus speaks well of us too. He says, "See my hands. See the holes where they were nailed to the cross... for you. See the hands not cold and lifeless and dead, but alive in spite of the holes; alive to assure you that because I live, you too will live. I did not leave with my mission only half-finished, but my Ascension shows it's completely finished! Your sins are forgiven! And when you consider your sins and in your guilt you ask, "Now what?" remember what I have done for you. And be at peace."
        And with the same blessing the disciples received, we can do as they did and worship him and return to our business with great joy and continually praise him for what he's done.

II. Remember What He Still Does for You.

        And now, with such a blessing from Jesus and what he's done, we can't help but ask, "Now what? Now, how can we thank him for what he's done?" And his answer to his disciples is the same answer for us because where his work is done, theirs was and ours is, just begun. He told them and us: "You are witnesses of these things..." And yet, this can be a pretty challenging, even intimidating task, so at his Ascension, Jesus calls us to remember what he still does for us...
        Even though he was leaving his disciples he promised, "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." How could that be? How could he leave them and promise to be with them at the same time? Well, thought he left them physically, he would remain with them, invisible and undetectable, but there nonetheless. And he left them physically not to add to their challenges, but to help them. After all, if Jesus were alive physically today, who would listen to a word they would say. The message of why Jesus died and rose would not be spread as he intends. But Jesus left physically, that the focus might not be on his person, but on his message. The message the disciples were witnesses of.
        And understand that Jesus left his disciples, not to go take a break, to retire to heaven so he could play a little more golf, watch watch some TV reruns and sit in a hammock sipping a cocktail. No! Jesus work isn't done. He returned to heaven to sit at God's right hand and rule all things for his church--using the events of history to carry out his good purposes of sharing the gospel around the world.
        What comfort Ascension must have brought Jesus' disciples when they were hurting, emotionally and physically, when they were rejected for sharing the gospel and faced danger or even death for it. They could remember those hands lifted up in blessing and remember what Jesus continued to promise them every day. He was still with them. He was still in control. He was still blessing, not cursing, them.
        And these things that Jesus promised at his Ascension, he promises to you and to me. He continues to be with us and has promised to you: "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5) He has promised you that "in all things [he] works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) He has promised you that he's gone to heaven "to prepare a place for you" and that he will come back one day soon to take you there. (Acts 1:11)
        What comfort you have from Jesus' Ascension! When you're wheeled into the operating room you and wonder "Now what?" Jesus is with you! When you're you hear the bad news from the doctor and you wonder "Now what?" Jesus is still in control! When you're boss calls you in the office to say he has to let you go and you wonder "Now what?" Jesus is preparing a mansion for you! When you walk behind the casket of a loved one or rise to loneliness each day and wonder "Now what?" Jesus promises to come back soon to take you home. What comfort we have from Jesus' Ascension.
        And in the meantime... Now what? Let's follow the example of those first disciples. Let's worship him and return to our daily tasks with great joy! Let's continually praise him wherever we go--at church, at work, at home or on the road. And let's carry out the task that he's assigned to us and keep being his witnesses.
        This week I heard the news of the challenges that our synod's facing. With the economic downturn and reduced offerings to our synod, 19 missionaries are being recalled from the foreign mission field, 20 graduates of Martin Luther College, ready to teach wherever the Lord should send them, did not receive a call. Eleven graduates of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary eligible to become pastors were not assigned to a church or ministry. And dozens of mission congregation in our synod throughout the US will have the subsidies that they've been relying on drastically slashed or even cut altogether. This has left many in our synod asking, "Now what?"
        But Jesus answers that question by his Ascension. "Now what? See my hands and remember what I've done. Your sins are still forgiven. Hear my blessing and remember what I've promised to continue to do. I'm still at God's right hand, ruling all things for the good of my church. I'm still with you. And I'm still in control."
        Rejoice, friends, that even though Jesus left for a while, he didn't really leave us. And even though he said "good-bye," he didn't leave us wonder "Now what?" In Jesus' name. Amen.