lift off

from my sermon of 6/5/11 from Luke 24:44-53

Ascension Sunday...this is another one of those church holidays that I have not paid attention to. How about you? How many of you were excited because today was Ascension Sunday? One of the reasons I have blown right by this day is that because as a Christian, I feel just a little embarrassed by it. I'll explain with a story. On my first trip to the Holy Land, we were on the Mount of Olives. So here's Jerusalem right here across the Kidron Valley. We are not too far away from the Garden of Gethsemane. The guide takes us to the "traditional" spot were Jesus is said to have ascended from. Here's the rock. I don't want him to say this next part. Can you see his footprints where he lifted off?

Now I am a math major. My minor was in physics. I know that we don't live in a 3 tiered universe with heaven above us and hell beneath us. In an infinite universe, which way is up? What does ascend mean?

So why is this important for Luke to record? In fact he ends his gospel with this event. And his second volume, Acts, begins with Jesus ascending. The Christian tradition has kept this piece of theology going for 2 millenia, why?

So I had to do some research. The Bible records stories of faithful people being taken directly up to heaven. The first is Enoch in Genesis 524. One of the most famous is Elijah in II Kings, where he is lifted up on a chariot, and Elisha gets to see him. Traditions says that Moses, Ezra, and Baruch may have directly ascended too. So Jesus as Messiah, stands in a long line of faith heroes who have ascended.

One of the key verses is Psalm 110:1, where it says that Messiah will sit at the right hand of God. This is the position of honor and intimacy. You may be ho hum about this, but this is very important. For Jesus to ascend and sit at God's right hand means that he is Lord over everything.

Let me make this concrete. Jesus is Lord over Vacation Bible School that is about to start. No matter how much effort or worry we put in, he will still be Lord of it. The new worship service we are trying to launch, he is Lord of that. Jesus is sovereign. Nothing and no one is above him. Not the drug cartels in Mexico. Not the Taliban or Alqueda. Not depression or addiction or even death. No nation or situation or person is about Jesus as Messiah.

So when Jesus ascends, the Disciples are not sad and grieving. They rejoice. They go to the temple to worship. They know that Jesus rules over everything.

And because Jesus has risen above every power and authority, we can too. He calls us to join him, to rise above our baser instincts, and to become the people he intends us to be. He wants to lift us up to be with him.

Sometimes we rise above our self-destruction and desire to destroy others. I lift weights on M-W-F up in my bedroom while listening to NPR on KUT 90.5 FM. This past Monday was Memorial day so they had lots of reports on war and loss. One interview was with Anna Badkhen. She has written a book called Peace Meals about war and feasting. She has been embedded with troops all over the world. She said she finds it amazing how at the end of the day, how grateful they are to share supper together. Quickly they will start talking about other meals. When I get home, I am going to IHOP for breakfast. When I get home, I am going to the corner pizza shop and get a pie.

The interviewer asked her what was the best meal she ever had. Now she has eaten in palaces and in 4 star restaurants. Without hesitating she said, That's easy for me to say. It was in 2001, in NE Afghanistan. I was coming into a small village that had been 4 years into a drought. Now we know in Texas a little about going without rain. There was a shop, more of a lean-to at the edge of the village where a man was selling matches, soap, and cooking oil. Winter was coming. No one had any food. He was closing up his shop because no one needed any of the things he had. When he saw me, he immediately identified me a stranger, and so therefore, he immediately assumed the role of the host. But I could see the look on his face...what did he have to share? He reached inside the folds of his robe and pulled out a handful of gnarled, green raisins, and handed them to me. I didn't know if he had more hidden inside, or if this was all he had. I didn't know if this would have been his supper. What little he had, he gave to me. That was the most lavish meal I have ever had.

Sometimes, we respond to God's grace, and we rise above our pettiness, and lack of forgiveness, and we become the people God intends us to be.

Today at this table, I don't have much to offer you. It is just a little piece of bread and some grape juice. I trust that it is enough. I pray it may be a lavish meal. I hope it lifts you up so that you my become the people God intends you to be.