Ascension of Our Lord
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series IX, Cycle B
Object:
Theme of the Day
The heavenly power and cosmic presence of Christ.
Collect of the Day
Two alternatives are provided. In the first, petitions are offered that the faithful and their prayers for the world be received and that in the end everything be brought to the glory of God. And in the second alternative, we pray for faith to trust that He abides with us on earth to the end of time. Sanctification, prayer, and eschatology are the prevailing themes.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 47
* A Torah Psalm celebrating God's enthronement as king of all nations.
* Summons to all the world to praise God (vv. 1-4). This universal theme is consistent with the theme of God's power manifested in the ascension.
* The Psalm is likely composed to accompany religious ceremonies connected with the Ark of the Covenant (vv. 5-9). God is proclaimed king over the nations.
or Psalm 93
* Hymn extolling God as king, composed perhaps for a festival.
* God is said to rule over the chaos (vv. 3-4). They testify to Him, disposing the divine goodness.
* God is praised for His law and for the holiness of the temple (v. 5).
Sermon Text and Title
"Since the Ascension, Captivity Became Captive"
Acts 1:1-11
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim the confidence we may have (Justification by Grace and Realized Eschatology) because Christ has overcome (Classic View of the Atonement).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* The introduction to the book and the account of Jesus' ascension into heaven.
* Addressing Theophilus, the author begins by noting an earlier book (Luke) in which all Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the ascension is recorded (vv. 1-2).
* Forty days of Jesus' resurrection appearances are noted. He is said to have spoken of the kingdom of God and ordering the apostles to remain in Jerusalem to wait for the Father's promise (vv. 3-4). As John the Baptist baptized with water, the apostles will be baptized with the Holy Spirit (v. 5).
* The apostles ask if their Lord will restore the kingdom to Israel (v. 6). Jesus replies that it is not for them to know the times or periods set by the Father (v. 7).
* They are told that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they will be Jesus' witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, to the ends of the earth (v. 8).
* Then Jesus begins to ascend. Next, two men in white robes appear. These men (angels) inform them that Jesus will come again the same way that they had seen Him ascend into heaven (vv. 9-11).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The ascension has implications for the Nature of God, Human Nature, Realized Eschatology, the Classic View of the Atonement (for Christ has overcome evil), and Justification by Grace.
* Karl Barth claims that the resurrection and ascension are two distinct but inseparable moments of the same event (Church Dogmatics, Vol. IV/2, p. 151). The ascension in his view is the joyous conclusion of the Easter history, showing that Jesus is not to be sought in any kind of hiddenness, but in the hiddenness of God suggesting the revelation awaiting in the future (Ibid., Vol. III/2, p. 454).
* John Calvin saw the text as a testimony to the kingdom of God and the things of heaven. He wrote:
Therefore, we may properly set the world, the flesh, and whatsoever is in man's nature against the kingdom of God, as contrary to it. For the natural man is wholly occupied about the things of this world, and he seeketh felicity here; in the mean season, we are as it were banished from God and He likewise from us; but Christ by the preaching of the gospel, doth lift us up unto the mediation of the life to come.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVIII/2, p. 37)
* Calvin also noted the cloud that overshadowed Jesus as He teaches "that our mind is not able to ascend so high as to take a full view of the glory of Christ; therefore let this cloud be a mean to restrain our boldness…" (Ibid., p. 50).
* Martin Luther preached on this text, seeing it as a time to preach on faith (in this case on an article of faith). About the perils of such preaching, he wrote:
Now it is true, the preaching of faith is very lovely and winsome, but coupled also with subtle and potential risk, particularly for the fleshly heart. For preaching about faith is preaching about grace… When one now preaches about this goodness and grace of God, coarse and fleshly hearts object and willfully distort the grace of God, as Saint Jude says, in lasciviousness. But if one were to preach faith, and not grace, then people resort to their own works, and eventually they despair.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 113)
I would rather have people say that I preach too sweetly and that it hinders people from doing good works (even though my preaching does not do that), than that I failed to preach faith in Christ, and there was no help or consolation for timid, fearful consciences.
(Ibid., p. 115)
* Luther applies Ephesians 4:8 to the ascension, contending that through it Christ has made captivity a captive. Death, hell, sin, and all that has ensnared us are now themselves captive (Ibid., pp. 118-119): "Christ's power and might over sin are now given to those who believe in Him, who know that they, too, are masters over sin, while heretofore they were its slaves" (Ibid., p. 121).
* Luther adds that though sin tries to allure us, we can trample it under foot, "and instead desire to be gentle and humble, patient and friendly, kind and benevolent…" (Ibid., p. 123).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Consider data indicating the captivity of the oppressed -- how poverty cuts off options. See this section for the First Lessons, Advent 3; Easter 2.
5. Gimmick
On this day the church has considered a glorious festival at least since the fourth century, there is a lot of despair and anxiety all around us. Ask the congregation if they are not perhaps experiencing such despair or know others who are.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Tell the story of Roland and Mae, members of your community who have been hurt by the Great Recession. Make them as demographically characteristic of your flock as possible. Perhaps they have lost jobs, retirement income, whatever. But no matter, they have lost hope and are feeling despair.
* Rehearse a dialogue with Roland and Mae. Get them to say how little hope they have for tomorrow, how isolated they feel, how they are wondering if their lives (how they have lived them) have really been worthwhile.
* Such despair takes a real cost in terms of our self-esteem, whether our lives have counted for something. The German-born philosopher of the last century, Theodor Adono, said it well: "But he who dies in despair has lived his life in vain." Life does not matter when we feel like it's all caving in on us. We feel so alone in those circumstances. The great nineteenth-century novelist George Eliot so powerfully communicated this dimension of our hopes and dreams: "But what we call despair is often only the painful eagerness of unified hope."
* It just seems like life is out of control in the midst of such pain. The devil, the forces of evil, have us in the clutches. It is as if we were captured, under their power.
* If it is difficult for us, consider the sense of hopelessness the poor in our nation must feel. Cite the data referred to above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
* John Calvin helps us to see how through His ascension into heaven Christ has a remedy for our ills. That's why this is such a great and glorious day! Read the quote in the third bullet point in Theological Insights.
* We are unhappy, feel depressed and trapped, because we are so occupied with the things of the world. Our mad quest for wealth, love, status, power, and reputation has made us captive. The ascension gets us looking up, gets us occupied with the spiritual things and with the life to come.
* The ascension gets our focus off immediate appearances to a hope that might lie ahead. It is a future-oriented word we preach today. That is evident in the story of the ascension itself, as Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will be given, that God has plans for his followers (vv. 5, 8). Quotations in Theological Insights for the Gospel for Advent 1 regarding the hope given by this word of Realized Eschatology might be employed.
* When you are focused on the spiritual and on God's great cosmic plans up ahead, the present and its sense of hopeless bondage are neither as gloomy nor as oppressive. The ascension seems to bear out the wisdom of Ephesians 4:8 and Psalm 68:18. Read one of these texts. They speak of Christ ascending and making "captivity a captive."
* The same word is present in Psalm 93 (vv. 3-4). The reference to the flood waters lifting up is a symbolic testimony to God prevailing over chaos. Chaos is overcome by God. Captivity is made captive!
* Repeat the phrase: Captivity has been made a captive. Meaninglessness, poverty, and despair are now in Christ's clutches up there on high, confronted by all God's power. Read the Luther quote in the next-to-last bullet point in Theological Insights.
7. Wrap-Up
What captured us is now itself captive. Help the congregation appreciate that the anxiety, the meaninglessness, the economic woes we face do not ultimately matter in the big picture -- not with Christ in heaven at the Father's right hand as our advocate. Ask the congregation to reflect again on what has held them in bondage. Remind them that those things are now themselves bound. When we contemplate the ascension vision, the ups and downs of life don't matter so much. Christ' exalted presence in heaven takes the power of those trials of ours away.
Sermon Text and Title
"Christ's Ascension and the Church"
Ephesians 1:15-23
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To explore the impact of Christ's ascension for His leadership of the church and the comfort this word brings.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* Praise of the Ephesians and a thanksgiving for the blessings of God's cosmic plans.
* Paul praises the Ephesians for their faith and love toward the saints (v. 15).
* He prays that they may receive wisdom regarding the greatness of God's power for the faithful (vv. 17-19).
* God puts His power to work in Christ in raising Him and seating Him at the Lord's right hand (in the ascension) (v. 20).
* The ascension entails that all things are under Christ, including the church of which He is head. The church is then His body, and He dwells in it (vv. 22-23; cf. Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-17).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text provides an opportunity to consider how Christology (since the ascension) is cosmic and how that impacts Christ's universal presence in and through the church.
* John Wesley notes that Jesus Christ is the fullness of the Father (Commentary on the Bible, p. 535).
* The ascension is a word that helps us appreciate grace even more. On this matter John Calvin wrote:
Paul's object, therefore, was not only to impress the Ephesians with a deep sense of the value of divine grace, but also to give them exalted views of the glory of Christ's kingdom. That they might not be cast down by a view of their own unworthiness, he exhorts them to consider the power of God; as if he had said that their regeneration was no ordinary work of God, but was an astonishing exhibition of His power.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 214)
* Calvin adds that Christ is a mirror of the glorious treasures of grace (Ibid., p. 215).
* He also contends that the right hand of God (v. 20) fills heaven and earth (Ibid., p. 216).
* Paul Tillich elaborated on this point, the meaning of the ascension: "The symbol then means that God's creativity is not separated from the new being in Christ…" (Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, p. 162).
* Martin Luther King Jr. further elaborated on this point:
Whether we call it an unconscious process, an impersonal Brahman, or a personal being of matchless power and infinite love, there is a creative force in this universe that works to bring the disconnected aspects of reality into a harmonious whole.
(A Testament of Hope, p. 20)
* The Westminster Confession of Faith explains how Christ's Lordship in these ways is exercised over the church: "By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit all believers being vitally united to Christ, who is the head, are thus united one to another in the church, which is His body" (The Book of Confessions, 6.054).
* Luther elaborates further on this union:
Now just as God and man are one indivisible person in Christ, so Christ and we also become one inseparable body and flesh… Thus we, too, have been joined with Christ into one body and being, so that the good or the evil that happens to me happens also to Him. When I strike you or harm you, or when I show you honor I strike Christ, I do him harm, I show Him honor; for whatever happens to a Christian happens also to Christ Himself; He has a stake in it.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 24, p. 149)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Nearly 3 in 10 of America's largest generation, the Millenniums, have no affiliation with the church or any other religious institution, as a 2010 Pew Research Center study found.
* A late 2008 Gallup poll ranked clergy only sixth (behind nurses and teachers) in terms of trust levels by the American public. Only 56% of Americans expressed trust in the religious leaders.
5. Gimmick
Things are not going well for the church in America. Cite figures from Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. The festival of Jesus' ascension that we celebrate today suggests some avenues for addressing the crisis, gives us the "spin" we need to make the church more attractive and more engaged in the issues of our time.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* In our Second Lesson today, Paul (or one of his closest followers) was praising the lively church life of the church in Ephesus (v. 15). He prays that they may know God's power (v. 19), a power evident in the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension (v. 20).
* But then the text proceeds. We are reminded that in the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension, God has put all things under Christ, including the church (v. 22).
* Get that? The church is under Christ. All things are -- the whole universe! They all reflect the glory of Christ.
* The church is under Christ; it is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (v. 23).
* The church, then, is not under the pastor or under the domain of all those religious leaders that the church doesn't trust. The church belongs to Christ! It is His body.
* Explore with the congregation how getting this Word into the community might be a way of addressing the younger generation's skepticism about the church. Don't get so hung up about the institutional foibles. The essence of the church is Jesus.
* What does all this mean? Use the next-to-last and final bullet points of Theological Insights. What happens in the church is about Christ, impacts Jesus. Since His ascension, we members of the church are part of Christ. If I hurt you, I've hurt Jesus. When you bless each other, Christ is blessed.
* Revel in this point: Since Jesus went to the right hand of the Father, He's everywhere! See Calvin's comments in the fifth bullet point.
* Follow with Tillich's observation in the next bullet point. All that God does in the world is in harmony with Christ and the word of grace and love. Jesus the Christ is everywhere! Christ's ascension put Him at the Father's right hand, meaning everywhere!
* Experience the peace this word brings! It is not just the church that is the body of Christ. The whole universe embodies Christ! Martin Luther King well expressed this point. A universe created in line with Christ's mission is a created order that drives for the kind of unity embodied in the church, that displays the sort of unity Jesus Christ displayed in His loving ministry. Cite the seventh bullet point in Theological Insights. Emphasize how according to King, the world is geared to do what should be happening in the church.
* The church at its best is a microcosm of what God is planning to do in every part of the universe. Christ has sure made relevant what the church does!
7. Wrap-Up
Christ is in heaven. No, His ascension means that He is everywhere, higher than the heights, deeper than the depths, more inside than the heart, yet enveloping all that is beyond us. Permeating the church; permeating the world! The Dutch heroine of the Holocaust, Corrie ten Boom, powerfully described the outcome of the ascension. It provides a word of hope while we despair over God's rule in the world, despair over the growing apparent irrelevance, despair over the direction of our own lives: "No matter how deep our darkness -- He is deeper still." No matter how low we go, Christ is there. The ascension entails that in the church, in the world, we are never alone. Where God is, there is Jesus and His guiding, unifying love!
Sermon Text and Title
"What Makes the Disciples So Darn Happy?"
Luke 24:44-53
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim how the ascension affirms us and makes Christ present to us (Justification by Grace).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* The conclusion of Jesus' commissioning of the disciples during His final resurrection appearance (vv. 44-49), followed by the account of His ascension (vv. 50-53). Only in Acts is reference to the latter also made.
* Jesus says that the words He uttered to the disciples (that the Messiah should suffer [v. 26]) demonstrate that the law of Moses, the prophets, and Psalms have been fulfilled (v. 44).
* Jesus opens the minds of the disciples to understand that His suffering and resurrection fulfill these Old Testament texts (vv. 45-46).
* This word is to be proclaimed with the word of repentance and forgiveness of sins (v. 47). As witnesses, the disciples are to receive what the Father promises (power from on high) and remain in Jerusalem until this is received (vv. 47-48).
* Jesus leads the disciples to the east of Jerusalem to Bethany, blesses them, and then ascends to heaven (vv. 50-51).
* The disciples respond with worship, returning to Jerusalem with joy, and they are continually in the temple blessing God (vv. 52-53).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* An examination of the relationship between the ascension and the joy it brings to the faithful (Justification by Grace). The implications of the ascension for the Godhead are also examined.
* Martin Luther commented in an Ascension Day sermon on the significance of the ascension:
We must, therefore, conceive of His ascension and lordship as something active, energetic and continuous, and must not imagine that He sits above while we hold the reins of government down here. Nay, He ascended up thither for the reason that He can best do His work and exercise dominion. Had He remained upon earth in visible form, before the people, He could not have wrought so effectually, for all the people could not have been with Him and heard Him. Therefore, He inaugurated an expedient which made it possible for Him to be in touch with all and reign in all, to preach to all and be heard by all, and to be with all.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 2/1, pp. 190-191)
* In an exposition, the Reformer commented on the significance of Jesus Christ's return to the Godhead:
For in Christ a part of our flesh and blood, that is, our human nature sits in heaven above at the right hand of God… It is an unspeakably great glory and honor for humankind to have been raised so high by Him, not merely to heaven among the holy angels and archangels... but to the level of direct equality with God Himself.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 13, p. 243)
* In a different sermon Luther was elaborating on Jesus' claim that the word of repentance and forgiveness is to be proclaimed (v. 47):
Because Christ wants this proclamation of repentance to go out among all peoples, there is no person on earth in His mind who is to be excused or excepted, but must confess and acknowledge they are sinners… For the cornerstone of this building, of how to become a Christian, must in every case be to confess our sins, for otherwise you can neither rejoice in your forgiveness nor be comforted.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 36)
* Elaborating on the need for this awareness of sin, he proclaimed: "So a Christian is at the same time sinner and saint. As people we are sinful by nature and in our own name are sinners. But Christ marks us with another name, forgiveness of sins" (Ibid., p. 39).
* This repentance is not our own doing, but a work of God's word, Luther insists (Ibid., Vol. 1/2, p. 340).
* Such repentance must be lifelong, the Reformer claimed in another sermon on this text: "For a Christian is not instantaneously or suddenly cleansed perfectly, but the reformation and change continue as long as he lives… For even though all wickedness be overcome, we have not yet overcome the fear of death…" (Ibid., Vol. 1/2, p. 315; cf. Ibid., pp. 340, 347).
* The Reformer notes that we do not want to believe that we are sinners (Ibid., p. 339).
* He compares forgiveness to the sun, which keeps shining in the darkness, and so keeps shining on us though we try to darken it by our falling away from it (Ibid., pp. 347-348).
* Knowing God's great love, Luther adds, makes us willingly do His will (Ibid., p. 316). About such forgiving love he writes: "But now forgiveness is so great and powerful, that God not only forgives the former sins you have committed; but looks through His fingers and forgives the sins you will yet commit" (Ibid., p. 317).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Fully 1 in 4 Americans feel that God is distant, according to a 2006 Pew survey. There is no reason to believe that these numbers have improved in recent years.
5. Gimmick
In dialogue mode, talk about how the disciples had it made, how lucky they were to have Jesus and to see Him while we do not. The ascension is a downer, it seems. We have lost direct access to Jesus. As a result He and God seem so distant compared what the disciples enjoyed.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Cite statistics noted above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. Ask the congregation if they ever felt that God was distant like so many Americans. Oh, how we envy the disciples.
* But in fact it's good that Jesus is gone back to the Father at his right hand! Not that I want to get rid of Jesus. But the Bible reports that the disciples rejoiced when He left (v. 52). How come? What makes those disciples so darn happy?
* By returning to the Father, Jesus Christ transcended His human limitations. As a result, He could be present everywhere at the same time. Martin Luther explained it well; use the second bullet point in Theological Insights.
* At the right hand of the Father, Jesus can be with us all!
* But the ascension gets even better. When Jesus the Son of God returned home to the Father it was forever and ever. The human being Jesus is forever and ever in God.
* Martin Luther explained it well. Use the third bullet point in Theological Insights. Our very human nature, our flesh and blood, sits with God forever and ever!
* This implies that henceforth God cannot escape us human beings. From now on, God is One with a man (the man Jesus). God can never again be God unless He is all wrapped up in a human being, all wrapped up in our lives.
* Because of the ascension of Jesus into heaven, we could now speak of a human streak to God. There is now something in God's personality entailing that He cannot be Himself unless He is all wrapped up in the lives of human beings. He is One with Jesus, and since in baptism we are One with Jesus, God is stuck with us. A little streak of Jesus' and our human nature is in Him.
* God is immersed in our lives, with us right here and now. This is what Jesus promises in our lesson about the disciples being clothed from on high (v. 29). It is the Holy Spirit, God constantly meddling in our lives. When we think that all this transpired in the ascension of Jesus to heaven, it sure is good He ascended, is it not?
7. Wrap-Up
Conclude with a lament about how nice it would be to have Jesus with us, how easy faith must have come for the disciples. Remind the congregation that if Jesus had not ascended, He would have been limited to some extent in place and time, not present to us and to the faithful in India at the same time. But now that the miracle is performed, He can be and is with us in every nook and cranny of our daily lives. It sure is great that He ascended!
The heavenly power and cosmic presence of Christ.
Collect of the Day
Two alternatives are provided. In the first, petitions are offered that the faithful and their prayers for the world be received and that in the end everything be brought to the glory of God. And in the second alternative, we pray for faith to trust that He abides with us on earth to the end of time. Sanctification, prayer, and eschatology are the prevailing themes.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 47
* A Torah Psalm celebrating God's enthronement as king of all nations.
* Summons to all the world to praise God (vv. 1-4). This universal theme is consistent with the theme of God's power manifested in the ascension.
* The Psalm is likely composed to accompany religious ceremonies connected with the Ark of the Covenant (vv. 5-9). God is proclaimed king over the nations.
or Psalm 93
* Hymn extolling God as king, composed perhaps for a festival.
* God is said to rule over the chaos (vv. 3-4). They testify to Him, disposing the divine goodness.
* God is praised for His law and for the holiness of the temple (v. 5).
Sermon Text and Title
"Since the Ascension, Captivity Became Captive"
Acts 1:1-11
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim the confidence we may have (Justification by Grace and Realized Eschatology) because Christ has overcome (Classic View of the Atonement).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* The introduction to the book and the account of Jesus' ascension into heaven.
* Addressing Theophilus, the author begins by noting an earlier book (Luke) in which all Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the ascension is recorded (vv. 1-2).
* Forty days of Jesus' resurrection appearances are noted. He is said to have spoken of the kingdom of God and ordering the apostles to remain in Jerusalem to wait for the Father's promise (vv. 3-4). As John the Baptist baptized with water, the apostles will be baptized with the Holy Spirit (v. 5).
* The apostles ask if their Lord will restore the kingdom to Israel (v. 6). Jesus replies that it is not for them to know the times or periods set by the Father (v. 7).
* They are told that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they will be Jesus' witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, to the ends of the earth (v. 8).
* Then Jesus begins to ascend. Next, two men in white robes appear. These men (angels) inform them that Jesus will come again the same way that they had seen Him ascend into heaven (vv. 9-11).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The ascension has implications for the Nature of God, Human Nature, Realized Eschatology, the Classic View of the Atonement (for Christ has overcome evil), and Justification by Grace.
* Karl Barth claims that the resurrection and ascension are two distinct but inseparable moments of the same event (Church Dogmatics, Vol. IV/2, p. 151). The ascension in his view is the joyous conclusion of the Easter history, showing that Jesus is not to be sought in any kind of hiddenness, but in the hiddenness of God suggesting the revelation awaiting in the future (Ibid., Vol. III/2, p. 454).
* John Calvin saw the text as a testimony to the kingdom of God and the things of heaven. He wrote:
Therefore, we may properly set the world, the flesh, and whatsoever is in man's nature against the kingdom of God, as contrary to it. For the natural man is wholly occupied about the things of this world, and he seeketh felicity here; in the mean season, we are as it were banished from God and He likewise from us; but Christ by the preaching of the gospel, doth lift us up unto the mediation of the life to come.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVIII/2, p. 37)
* Calvin also noted the cloud that overshadowed Jesus as He teaches "that our mind is not able to ascend so high as to take a full view of the glory of Christ; therefore let this cloud be a mean to restrain our boldness…" (Ibid., p. 50).
* Martin Luther preached on this text, seeing it as a time to preach on faith (in this case on an article of faith). About the perils of such preaching, he wrote:
Now it is true, the preaching of faith is very lovely and winsome, but coupled also with subtle and potential risk, particularly for the fleshly heart. For preaching about faith is preaching about grace… When one now preaches about this goodness and grace of God, coarse and fleshly hearts object and willfully distort the grace of God, as Saint Jude says, in lasciviousness. But if one were to preach faith, and not grace, then people resort to their own works, and eventually they despair.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 113)
I would rather have people say that I preach too sweetly and that it hinders people from doing good works (even though my preaching does not do that), than that I failed to preach faith in Christ, and there was no help or consolation for timid, fearful consciences.
(Ibid., p. 115)
* Luther applies Ephesians 4:8 to the ascension, contending that through it Christ has made captivity a captive. Death, hell, sin, and all that has ensnared us are now themselves captive (Ibid., pp. 118-119): "Christ's power and might over sin are now given to those who believe in Him, who know that they, too, are masters over sin, while heretofore they were its slaves" (Ibid., p. 121).
* Luther adds that though sin tries to allure us, we can trample it under foot, "and instead desire to be gentle and humble, patient and friendly, kind and benevolent…" (Ibid., p. 123).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Consider data indicating the captivity of the oppressed -- how poverty cuts off options. See this section for the First Lessons, Advent 3; Easter 2.
5. Gimmick
On this day the church has considered a glorious festival at least since the fourth century, there is a lot of despair and anxiety all around us. Ask the congregation if they are not perhaps experiencing such despair or know others who are.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Tell the story of Roland and Mae, members of your community who have been hurt by the Great Recession. Make them as demographically characteristic of your flock as possible. Perhaps they have lost jobs, retirement income, whatever. But no matter, they have lost hope and are feeling despair.
* Rehearse a dialogue with Roland and Mae. Get them to say how little hope they have for tomorrow, how isolated they feel, how they are wondering if their lives (how they have lived them) have really been worthwhile.
* Such despair takes a real cost in terms of our self-esteem, whether our lives have counted for something. The German-born philosopher of the last century, Theodor Adono, said it well: "But he who dies in despair has lived his life in vain." Life does not matter when we feel like it's all caving in on us. We feel so alone in those circumstances. The great nineteenth-century novelist George Eliot so powerfully communicated this dimension of our hopes and dreams: "But what we call despair is often only the painful eagerness of unified hope."
* It just seems like life is out of control in the midst of such pain. The devil, the forces of evil, have us in the clutches. It is as if we were captured, under their power.
* If it is difficult for us, consider the sense of hopelessness the poor in our nation must feel. Cite the data referred to above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
* John Calvin helps us to see how through His ascension into heaven Christ has a remedy for our ills. That's why this is such a great and glorious day! Read the quote in the third bullet point in Theological Insights.
* We are unhappy, feel depressed and trapped, because we are so occupied with the things of the world. Our mad quest for wealth, love, status, power, and reputation has made us captive. The ascension gets us looking up, gets us occupied with the spiritual things and with the life to come.
* The ascension gets our focus off immediate appearances to a hope that might lie ahead. It is a future-oriented word we preach today. That is evident in the story of the ascension itself, as Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will be given, that God has plans for his followers (vv. 5, 8). Quotations in Theological Insights for the Gospel for Advent 1 regarding the hope given by this word of Realized Eschatology might be employed.
* When you are focused on the spiritual and on God's great cosmic plans up ahead, the present and its sense of hopeless bondage are neither as gloomy nor as oppressive. The ascension seems to bear out the wisdom of Ephesians 4:8 and Psalm 68:18. Read one of these texts. They speak of Christ ascending and making "captivity a captive."
* The same word is present in Psalm 93 (vv. 3-4). The reference to the flood waters lifting up is a symbolic testimony to God prevailing over chaos. Chaos is overcome by God. Captivity is made captive!
* Repeat the phrase: Captivity has been made a captive. Meaninglessness, poverty, and despair are now in Christ's clutches up there on high, confronted by all God's power. Read the Luther quote in the next-to-last bullet point in Theological Insights.
7. Wrap-Up
What captured us is now itself captive. Help the congregation appreciate that the anxiety, the meaninglessness, the economic woes we face do not ultimately matter in the big picture -- not with Christ in heaven at the Father's right hand as our advocate. Ask the congregation to reflect again on what has held them in bondage. Remind them that those things are now themselves bound. When we contemplate the ascension vision, the ups and downs of life don't matter so much. Christ' exalted presence in heaven takes the power of those trials of ours away.
Sermon Text and Title
"Christ's Ascension and the Church"
Ephesians 1:15-23
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To explore the impact of Christ's ascension for His leadership of the church and the comfort this word brings.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* Praise of the Ephesians and a thanksgiving for the blessings of God's cosmic plans.
* Paul praises the Ephesians for their faith and love toward the saints (v. 15).
* He prays that they may receive wisdom regarding the greatness of God's power for the faithful (vv. 17-19).
* God puts His power to work in Christ in raising Him and seating Him at the Lord's right hand (in the ascension) (v. 20).
* The ascension entails that all things are under Christ, including the church of which He is head. The church is then His body, and He dwells in it (vv. 22-23; cf. Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-17).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text provides an opportunity to consider how Christology (since the ascension) is cosmic and how that impacts Christ's universal presence in and through the church.
* John Wesley notes that Jesus Christ is the fullness of the Father (Commentary on the Bible, p. 535).
* The ascension is a word that helps us appreciate grace even more. On this matter John Calvin wrote:
Paul's object, therefore, was not only to impress the Ephesians with a deep sense of the value of divine grace, but also to give them exalted views of the glory of Christ's kingdom. That they might not be cast down by a view of their own unworthiness, he exhorts them to consider the power of God; as if he had said that their regeneration was no ordinary work of God, but was an astonishing exhibition of His power.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 214)
* Calvin adds that Christ is a mirror of the glorious treasures of grace (Ibid., p. 215).
* He also contends that the right hand of God (v. 20) fills heaven and earth (Ibid., p. 216).
* Paul Tillich elaborated on this point, the meaning of the ascension: "The symbol then means that God's creativity is not separated from the new being in Christ…" (Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, p. 162).
* Martin Luther King Jr. further elaborated on this point:
Whether we call it an unconscious process, an impersonal Brahman, or a personal being of matchless power and infinite love, there is a creative force in this universe that works to bring the disconnected aspects of reality into a harmonious whole.
(A Testament of Hope, p. 20)
* The Westminster Confession of Faith explains how Christ's Lordship in these ways is exercised over the church: "By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit all believers being vitally united to Christ, who is the head, are thus united one to another in the church, which is His body" (The Book of Confessions, 6.054).
* Luther elaborates further on this union:
Now just as God and man are one indivisible person in Christ, so Christ and we also become one inseparable body and flesh… Thus we, too, have been joined with Christ into one body and being, so that the good or the evil that happens to me happens also to Him. When I strike you or harm you, or when I show you honor I strike Christ, I do him harm, I show Him honor; for whatever happens to a Christian happens also to Christ Himself; He has a stake in it.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 24, p. 149)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Nearly 3 in 10 of America's largest generation, the Millenniums, have no affiliation with the church or any other religious institution, as a 2010 Pew Research Center study found.
* A late 2008 Gallup poll ranked clergy only sixth (behind nurses and teachers) in terms of trust levels by the American public. Only 56% of Americans expressed trust in the religious leaders.
5. Gimmick
Things are not going well for the church in America. Cite figures from Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. The festival of Jesus' ascension that we celebrate today suggests some avenues for addressing the crisis, gives us the "spin" we need to make the church more attractive and more engaged in the issues of our time.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* In our Second Lesson today, Paul (or one of his closest followers) was praising the lively church life of the church in Ephesus (v. 15). He prays that they may know God's power (v. 19), a power evident in the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension (v. 20).
* But then the text proceeds. We are reminded that in the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension, God has put all things under Christ, including the church (v. 22).
* Get that? The church is under Christ. All things are -- the whole universe! They all reflect the glory of Christ.
* The church is under Christ; it is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (v. 23).
* The church, then, is not under the pastor or under the domain of all those religious leaders that the church doesn't trust. The church belongs to Christ! It is His body.
* Explore with the congregation how getting this Word into the community might be a way of addressing the younger generation's skepticism about the church. Don't get so hung up about the institutional foibles. The essence of the church is Jesus.
* What does all this mean? Use the next-to-last and final bullet points of Theological Insights. What happens in the church is about Christ, impacts Jesus. Since His ascension, we members of the church are part of Christ. If I hurt you, I've hurt Jesus. When you bless each other, Christ is blessed.
* Revel in this point: Since Jesus went to the right hand of the Father, He's everywhere! See Calvin's comments in the fifth bullet point.
* Follow with Tillich's observation in the next bullet point. All that God does in the world is in harmony with Christ and the word of grace and love. Jesus the Christ is everywhere! Christ's ascension put Him at the Father's right hand, meaning everywhere!
* Experience the peace this word brings! It is not just the church that is the body of Christ. The whole universe embodies Christ! Martin Luther King well expressed this point. A universe created in line with Christ's mission is a created order that drives for the kind of unity embodied in the church, that displays the sort of unity Jesus Christ displayed in His loving ministry. Cite the seventh bullet point in Theological Insights. Emphasize how according to King, the world is geared to do what should be happening in the church.
* The church at its best is a microcosm of what God is planning to do in every part of the universe. Christ has sure made relevant what the church does!
7. Wrap-Up
Christ is in heaven. No, His ascension means that He is everywhere, higher than the heights, deeper than the depths, more inside than the heart, yet enveloping all that is beyond us. Permeating the church; permeating the world! The Dutch heroine of the Holocaust, Corrie ten Boom, powerfully described the outcome of the ascension. It provides a word of hope while we despair over God's rule in the world, despair over the growing apparent irrelevance, despair over the direction of our own lives: "No matter how deep our darkness -- He is deeper still." No matter how low we go, Christ is there. The ascension entails that in the church, in the world, we are never alone. Where God is, there is Jesus and His guiding, unifying love!
Sermon Text and Title
"What Makes the Disciples So Darn Happy?"
Luke 24:44-53
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim how the ascension affirms us and makes Christ present to us (Justification by Grace).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* The conclusion of Jesus' commissioning of the disciples during His final resurrection appearance (vv. 44-49), followed by the account of His ascension (vv. 50-53). Only in Acts is reference to the latter also made.
* Jesus says that the words He uttered to the disciples (that the Messiah should suffer [v. 26]) demonstrate that the law of Moses, the prophets, and Psalms have been fulfilled (v. 44).
* Jesus opens the minds of the disciples to understand that His suffering and resurrection fulfill these Old Testament texts (vv. 45-46).
* This word is to be proclaimed with the word of repentance and forgiveness of sins (v. 47). As witnesses, the disciples are to receive what the Father promises (power from on high) and remain in Jerusalem until this is received (vv. 47-48).
* Jesus leads the disciples to the east of Jerusalem to Bethany, blesses them, and then ascends to heaven (vv. 50-51).
* The disciples respond with worship, returning to Jerusalem with joy, and they are continually in the temple blessing God (vv. 52-53).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* An examination of the relationship between the ascension and the joy it brings to the faithful (Justification by Grace). The implications of the ascension for the Godhead are also examined.
* Martin Luther commented in an Ascension Day sermon on the significance of the ascension:
We must, therefore, conceive of His ascension and lordship as something active, energetic and continuous, and must not imagine that He sits above while we hold the reins of government down here. Nay, He ascended up thither for the reason that He can best do His work and exercise dominion. Had He remained upon earth in visible form, before the people, He could not have wrought so effectually, for all the people could not have been with Him and heard Him. Therefore, He inaugurated an expedient which made it possible for Him to be in touch with all and reign in all, to preach to all and be heard by all, and to be with all.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 2/1, pp. 190-191)
* In an exposition, the Reformer commented on the significance of Jesus Christ's return to the Godhead:
For in Christ a part of our flesh and blood, that is, our human nature sits in heaven above at the right hand of God… It is an unspeakably great glory and honor for humankind to have been raised so high by Him, not merely to heaven among the holy angels and archangels... but to the level of direct equality with God Himself.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 13, p. 243)
* In a different sermon Luther was elaborating on Jesus' claim that the word of repentance and forgiveness is to be proclaimed (v. 47):
Because Christ wants this proclamation of repentance to go out among all peoples, there is no person on earth in His mind who is to be excused or excepted, but must confess and acknowledge they are sinners… For the cornerstone of this building, of how to become a Christian, must in every case be to confess our sins, for otherwise you can neither rejoice in your forgiveness nor be comforted.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 36)
* Elaborating on the need for this awareness of sin, he proclaimed: "So a Christian is at the same time sinner and saint. As people we are sinful by nature and in our own name are sinners. But Christ marks us with another name, forgiveness of sins" (Ibid., p. 39).
* This repentance is not our own doing, but a work of God's word, Luther insists (Ibid., Vol. 1/2, p. 340).
* Such repentance must be lifelong, the Reformer claimed in another sermon on this text: "For a Christian is not instantaneously or suddenly cleansed perfectly, but the reformation and change continue as long as he lives… For even though all wickedness be overcome, we have not yet overcome the fear of death…" (Ibid., Vol. 1/2, p. 315; cf. Ibid., pp. 340, 347).
* The Reformer notes that we do not want to believe that we are sinners (Ibid., p. 339).
* He compares forgiveness to the sun, which keeps shining in the darkness, and so keeps shining on us though we try to darken it by our falling away from it (Ibid., pp. 347-348).
* Knowing God's great love, Luther adds, makes us willingly do His will (Ibid., p. 316). About such forgiving love he writes: "But now forgiveness is so great and powerful, that God not only forgives the former sins you have committed; but looks through His fingers and forgives the sins you will yet commit" (Ibid., p. 317).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Fully 1 in 4 Americans feel that God is distant, according to a 2006 Pew survey. There is no reason to believe that these numbers have improved in recent years.
5. Gimmick
In dialogue mode, talk about how the disciples had it made, how lucky they were to have Jesus and to see Him while we do not. The ascension is a downer, it seems. We have lost direct access to Jesus. As a result He and God seem so distant compared what the disciples enjoyed.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Cite statistics noted above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. Ask the congregation if they ever felt that God was distant like so many Americans. Oh, how we envy the disciples.
* But in fact it's good that Jesus is gone back to the Father at his right hand! Not that I want to get rid of Jesus. But the Bible reports that the disciples rejoiced when He left (v. 52). How come? What makes those disciples so darn happy?
* By returning to the Father, Jesus Christ transcended His human limitations. As a result, He could be present everywhere at the same time. Martin Luther explained it well; use the second bullet point in Theological Insights.
* At the right hand of the Father, Jesus can be with us all!
* But the ascension gets even better. When Jesus the Son of God returned home to the Father it was forever and ever. The human being Jesus is forever and ever in God.
* Martin Luther explained it well. Use the third bullet point in Theological Insights. Our very human nature, our flesh and blood, sits with God forever and ever!
* This implies that henceforth God cannot escape us human beings. From now on, God is One with a man (the man Jesus). God can never again be God unless He is all wrapped up in a human being, all wrapped up in our lives.
* Because of the ascension of Jesus into heaven, we could now speak of a human streak to God. There is now something in God's personality entailing that He cannot be Himself unless He is all wrapped up in the lives of human beings. He is One with Jesus, and since in baptism we are One with Jesus, God is stuck with us. A little streak of Jesus' and our human nature is in Him.
* God is immersed in our lives, with us right here and now. This is what Jesus promises in our lesson about the disciples being clothed from on high (v. 29). It is the Holy Spirit, God constantly meddling in our lives. When we think that all this transpired in the ascension of Jesus to heaven, it sure is good He ascended, is it not?
7. Wrap-Up
Conclude with a lament about how nice it would be to have Jesus with us, how easy faith must have come for the disciples. Remind the congregation that if Jesus had not ascended, He would have been limited to some extent in place and time, not present to us and to the faithful in India at the same time. But now that the miracle is performed, He can be and is with us in every nook and cranny of our daily lives. It sure is great that He ascended!
