Ascension

There is no question that the celebration of Easter is a joyous occasion for the church. Ascension, however, might present a bit of a puzzle. Why would we celebrate the day that our Lord leaves us? Is this a joyful thing? Is this a good thing? Might it not have been better if Jesus had stayed on earth, personally leading and guiding His Church until the Last Day?

It would be nice to be able to travel to Jerusalem and see Jesus bodily, but with more than a billion Christians on the planet, the lines would be pretty long. And Jesus would be pretty busy too, flying here and there dealing with crises in the Church. It takes our district president three years to visit each congregation in the New England District. How often could we expect to have Jesus present here at St. Paul? Once every hundred years. And imagine how much would go wrong between visits?

Remember, after the death of Lazarus, his sisters chided Jesus, saying, “If only you’d been here, our brother would not have died.” That’s because Jesus, though fully God, had chosen as a man to be limited to the constraints of time and space. There was also the time when they lowered a paralyzed man through the roof because the crowd around Jesus was too great. And in those days, there were only thousands of believers, not billions.

This is one reason that the Ascension was necessary. God’s plan was to call all the Gentiles to the light of Christ. But to do this Jesus needed to be present, not simply in one place, but in every gathering of believers across the world. This is why Jesus said, “It is for your good that I go to the Father.” Having ascended to the Father, Jesus now fills all things as He rules over His Church. He is there wherever two or three are gathered in His name. His words are truly in the mouths of every faithful pastor. His body is present upon every altar at the same time.

Yes, I have to admit, the idea of being able to travel to Jerusalem to see Jesus had He not ascended does have a certain appeal. But it’s actually far better for us that He comes to us every Lord’s Day in Word and Sacrament. Our enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, are relentless in their attacks upon our faith. Frankly, no matter how awe-inspiring it would have been to see Jesus walking on earth during a pilgrimage to Palestine, it would not have been enough to sustain us our whole lives in this broken world. We needed Jesus to ascend to heaven and fill all things. We need Him present, not on the other side of the world, but here in our midst. Sin, doubt, and death are ever present. Therefore, we need a Savior who is always with us.

John Calvin refused to believe that Jesus could be present with us in this way. “No,” he said, “Jesus is physically in heaven, sitting at the right hand of God the Father. And because He’s a man, He can only be one place at one time. If He’s at heaven, He can’t here with us. It’s physically impossible for the Body of Jesus to be present on every altar in every church across the world at the same time.”

But it’s not our business to explain how what Jesus says can or can’t be possible. Our business is simply to believe Him. Jesus, both God and man, ascended to the right hand of God the Father and now wields all power and authority, ruling over His Church from heaven. And at the same time, according to His promise, He is here today with us who have gathered in His name. The very same body that was in the womb of Mary, that walked upon the Sea of Galilee, that was stretched upon the cross, is placed into your mouth this evening. Our Lord Jesus, the God-man, is among us at this moment, serving us His Church, sending His Holy Spirit, forgiving our sins, and sustaining us in His Word. And He will continue to be with us in this way until He comes again in glory to make all things new. Amen.