St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church – Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Ascension – May 5, 2005

Dear Children living in God’s power,

Back in the days when schoolhouses were made of logs and the closest thing to a hot lunch program was putting your lunch pail next to the pot-belly stove, there were three basic ingredients to a getting a good education. Do you know what they were? I’ll give you a hint. They were called the three "Rs". You got them! READING! RITING! RITHEMATIC! (Maybe somebody should have added spelling as well!) Even though times may have changed and now we have the calculator, the overhead projector, and the computer with its word processing, spell check, and the world wide web, most professional educators would agree that those three "Rs" cannot be forgotten because they are still the basics of good education.

Tonight I’d like to welcome all of you to the forgotten church festival! You see, if you had mentioned at work today or somewhere else in Watertown: "I’m going to our Ascension service tonight", the response probably would be: "What’s that?" Even for us who have come and remember how Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after Easter, this festival isn’t one of the most important dates on our calendars. We don’t send out Ascension cards, or give Ascension gifts, or wait for the Ascension bunny to bring us treats. We don’t cook an Ascension Day meal or buy a new Ascension dress. But my friends, this day when our Lord returned to his home is a day we must not forget. That’s why tonight I would offer you, not the three "Rs" but:

Never before and never again would the world see a rescue mission like the one that brought God’s Son to earth. This mission dare not fail, nor could it be aborted. It was designed to rescue the human race from sin’s unyielding chains and hell’s unending fires. 40 days after Easter the risen Savior stands with his followers on the Mount of Olives. The Scriptures have been fulfilled. The cross has been erected and bloodied. The grave has been filled and emptied. Jesus has finished his mission.

"He was taken up before their very eyes…" My friend, are you watching with those disciples as your Jesus returns to a glorious heaven.? What does that sight of an ascending Savior show to all who stop to look? Jesus leaves, not with a half sacrifice for sin, but a complete one. His work of salvation requires no finishing touches, no loose ends to be tied together by any of us. When my sins give me alarm, when that foul deed from my past gives my conscience a sharp jab in the ribs, or when that old devil insinuates that someone as consistently sinful as I am has just about drained the well of God’s forgiveness, oh how I need to watch my Lord Jesus ascend into heaven! And my fellow sinners, so do you!, Look back and watch your Lord’s ascension every day. For as you see him going up with those nail-pierced hands stretched out in blessing, that ascending Jesus says to us all: "I am a real Savior- your Savior! Your sins are forgiven and heaven’s door has been opened for you!"

Then there’s also this matter of the wicked world in which you and I must live. This week’s paper, as I opened it, speaks about an energy crisis, terrorist acts across the globe, violence on our streets, in our schools and even in our homes. And that’s only the front page! And then there are those personal problems we carry on our hearts tonight, not to mention the trials and the troubles still to come in the future for us all. Almost we are afraid to live in this world and at best, we hesitate to raise our children and grandchildren in such a place. Until we focus our eyes on our ascending Jesus! Watch him return to heaven and know that he is not in retirement there! He is busy ruling over all things! He is guiding history! He does have the whole world in his hands! Here is the best part. Our Scripture lesson told us: God has placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church. That means this ascended Jesus has you and me in ! his hands. So don’t fret and don’t worry. When your day isn’t going so well, just watch your Jesus ascend into heaven and know that it’s your good he always has in mind as he uses those hands to carry you and to take care of every detail of your life!

That brings us to the second Lesson that we can learn from the Ascension – Patience. How do you feel when a loved one leaves you? When a son or daughter with your grandchildren moves across the country? When a dear one goes off to college or is a soldier sent to face the unknown? When Gramma is called home to heaven? How do you feel? Normally there is sadness.

Jesus left his disciples. No longer would he be a constant companion to walk along the road and visit the villages of Israel or ride the waves of Galilee with them or teach them at his feet. You’d think that they would be brokenhearted or at least a little teary-eyed. But what does the Bible say. Luke writes: He left them and was taken up into heaven. Then he writes: They worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. How could they be so joyful when Jesus was gone from their sight.? The Ascension Day story gives us the answer: They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand looking into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." Now that was something to wait for! But it wasn’t always so easy for these men to wait for their Jesus to come back and get them. There would persecution and suffering ahead for these disciples. But Jesus sent them his Holy Spirit. He would help them through those difficult days. He would keep them in their faith and empower them to fight the good fight of faith until Jesus came and took them back home with him.

It is an ascended Jesus who promises everyone here: "In my Father’s house are many mansions. I go and prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." Waiting to be forever with Jesus! Waiting to join all other Christians and the company of angels in the Father’s house! Waiting to live in heavenly mansions where never again will we commit a sin or shed a tear or battle a sickness! Those are things worth waiting for! But just like those disciples, that waiting in faith is anything but easy. The temptations and daily struggles never seem to let up, do they? They can make us want to give up the wait. But our ascended Lord has not left us in the dust. The same Holy Spirit he sent to us all at our baptism. When we stay in the Word, we stay in our baptismal faith. Through clouds and sunshine, good days and bad, thick and thin, this Holy Spirit will keep us faithfully waiting until our Jesus comes again and takes us back home with him!

Power! Patience! And now we come to the last of the lessons that we learn from the Ascension: Preach! Before Jesus "was taken up before their very eyes" on that first Ascension Day, he gave them a mission. "You shall be my witnesses," he said. He even told them how far they were to go - "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." That’s why those angels came up next to them and said: "Why are you standing around? Look around you and see how many need to hear about Jesus’ salvation. Get to work and share Jesus with as many people as you can before he comes back!" Faithfully those disciples took up their assigned mission. … From Ascension Day until their dying day the Bible says: "They spoke the Word of God boldly,"

Today those Ascension Day angels are speaking again. And this is what they are saying to you and to me : "The clock of history is ticking. The day of Jesus’ return is drawing near. On that great day it will either be whoever believes in Jesus as their Savior will be saved or whoever does not believe will be condemned. So why are you standing around? You know the answer to sin. You know the way to heaven. Get to work. Your Lord gave you a mission too. You shall be my witnesses, he said. And he’s also told you how far to go - in Watertown, in the United States, and to the end of the earth."

How goes it with us and our mission of telling others of their full salvation in this ascended Jesus? Have we told our family all we can? Not just through our church services and classes in this complex that covers a city block, but everyday in our homes? That home is the first church a child ever attends. Have we told our community all we can? Not just through our evangelism committee, but with our own ongoing efforts to those with whom we rub elbows daily at school, at work, and across the backyard fence? Are we living our lives in such a way that those people can see Jesus reflected in our words and actions? Are we concerned about those around us whose lives are so troubled and messed up? Are we looking for opportunities to share our forgiving and helping Savior with such people? Have we told our world all we can? Not just through those 60+ overseas missionaries who labor for our synod in 20+ foreign lands, but with our own dedicated and generous offerings and our own daily and fervent prayers?

May the Lord guide us to see the three P’s of the Ascension as we see the power of our Lord – As we wait patiently for the Lord’s return and as we preach the gospel while we have the time to do so. Amen