PASTOR'S MESSAGE

 

Our Ascended King

Acts 1:1-14

 

An airline pilot says that on a particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard.  The airline had a policy that required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, give a smile, and a “Thanks for flying with us.”  He says that in light of the bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment.  But nobody said anything.  Finally, everyone had gotten off the plane except this little old lady walking with a cane.  She said, “Sonny, mind if I ask you a question?”  “Why, no, ma’am. What is it?”  “Did we land, or were we shot down?”

You know, life is often like that – full of bumps and bruises, problems and pitfalls.  You get laid off from work, or someone rejects you.  Your car winds up in the shop or the kids wind up in trouble.  You try to do something nice for someone and it backfires.  And those are just the little things, not to mention the prospect of serious illness like cancer, or financial failure or the death of a loved one.  Indeed, sometimes it seems like we come crashing down and it’s not a very smooth landing. 

                The apostles of our Lord understood those pains and problems quite well, which is why in our text for today they were looking for something better.  It’s the same thing we all long for, when the chips are down.  You see, they were looking for a brighter tomorrow, a world of success and plenty, where everything would finally go their way.  And they thought that Jesus’ Ascension was going to make it happen, for in our text they asked Him:  “LORD, ARE YOU AT THIS TIME GOING TO RESTORE THE KINGDOM TO ISRAEL?”

            Apparently they were thinking about a worldly kingdom, a glorious utopia on earth, where there would be no more bumps and bruises, problems or difficulties, no more crash landings – a place where they could get away from all the garbage that life often dumps on you.  In short, they wanted an earthly kingdom where Jesus would rule the world and they would be His advisory council.

            That bears a striking resemblance to the ‘prosperity Gospel’ that is preached in certain corners of Christianity today – the idea that you can ‘name it and claim it,’ that if you visualize your dreams, you can make them happen, that God doesn’t want Christians to suffer or have tribulations, but on the contrary we should have only abundant wealth, health and happiness.  And admittedly, that’s a very appealing message.  We all long for a place where we can get away from our disappointments and disillusionments, where we can escape from the heartaches and humdrum of ordinary daily living.  Unfortunately, that is NOT what the Kingdom of God is about.  In our Epistle lesson, St. Peter reminds us that we should not be surprised at the painful trials that we suffer, as if they were something strange, for it’s all part of living in a sinful world.  And in his letter to the Romans, St. Paul said that, “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT EATING AND DRINKING, BUT RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PEACE AND JOY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT!”  In other words, the Kingdom of God is not an earthly one.  It is a spiritual, heavenly kingdom.

            As a matter of fact, that was Jesus’ point, when He said to the disciples:  “IT IS NOT FOR YOU TO KNOW THE TIMES OR DATES THE FATHER HAS SET BY HIS OWN AUTHORITY.”  In other words, we are not to know the time or date of Jesus’ Second Coming, so that we can always be prepared for it.  As St. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2, “Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”  Which is to say, the Kingdom of God is a future, eternal utopia, not a present, physical one.   Therefore, we can be certain that as long as we live, we will have our share of misfortunes.  But we can trust that God will take care of us and see us through them, until He brings us our Heavenly Home, where there will be no more pain or sorrow or suffering!

            However, while Jesus’ disciples were mistaken about what the Kingdom of God is, they were correct in realizing that His Ascension has something to do with it.  In fact, Jesus’ Ascension has EVERYTHING to do with the Kingdom of God, because His Ascension is His great coronation day!  You see, in Medieval Europe the coronation day was the day when the monarch was invested with the royal robes, and the golden, jeweled crown of state was placed upon his head, and he finally took his seat upon the throne. 

            Well, that’s what Jesus’ Ascension is all about.  It’s the day when He was crowned as King of kings and Lord of lords – the day when He took His throne and began to rule.  In our Catechism instruction we learn that Jesus’ Ascension in the crowning event in His State of Exaltation, where He now uses His divine power to protect and preserve us, His church.

            The question is:  do we always acknowledge Jesus as our King and allow Him to inhabit the throne of our heart?   Do we yield to Him complete authority over our lives?  Or do we still desire to be king of our lives, master of our fate?  The truth is, our stubborn, rebellious human nature wants to be in charge.  There are certain things we still want to be king of, sinful things that we want to hold onto.  It may be a hot temper.  It may be a selfish, greedy heart.  Or it may be a smoldering resentment towards someone.  But whatever it is, our sin keeps us from crowning Jesus as King of our heart!

            Now, if you were a king, what would you do with such unruly subjects?  Would you torture them for their crimes, lock them up behind bars and throw away the key, or would you just order them to be executed?  Thankfully, although Jesus our King, has every right to do that, He chose a different path.  He chose to be crowned with a crown of thorns and die on the cross in our place, to pay for all our crimes.  He has given us a stay of execution.  More than that He has completely exonerated us of all our sins.

            Rev. Eric Stumpf says it’s like having someone attach a heavy ball and chain to your leg and throw you over the side of a ship into deep water.  Your best efforts to swim to the surface would be useless.  The shouts of friends and instructors to try harder would fail as well.  Only by being free of the heavy weight could you be saved.  Well, Jesus our King holds the keys to the kingdom, and He has now unlocked that ball and chain by the remission of all our sins.  Through the saving comfort of His Holy Word, the blessed pronouncement of forgiveness in Holy Absolution, and His pledge of salvation in His Holy Supper He truly has set us free. 

And my friends, we can know that beyond the shadow of a doubt, because His Resurrection from the grave and His Ascension into heaven are His proof to us that His death is the sufficient ransom to cover all our sins and make our salvation secure.  For when He ascended into heaven, He went there to prepare a mansion for you and me.  In fact, in the Greek text, where it says that He was taken up into heaven, the verb St. Luke used means: ‘to carry up,’ and it referred to taking someone on board a ship.  Well dear friends, that is what Jesus has accomplished for us His suffering and death, His resurrection and ascension.  He has not only carried all our sins away.  He has also picked us up and carried us into His kingdom, brought us on board the ship of His church, where we are sailing towards our safe harbor of rest in heaven.  That is the promise of our Ascended King!

It is said that, when Stanley discovered Livingston in Central Africa and had spent some time with him, he said:  “If I had been with him any longer I would have been compelled to be a Christian and he never spoke to me about it at all.”  The witness of the man’s life was irresistible. 

            Brothers and sisters in Christ, that’s what Jesus our King has commissioned us to do – to be His witnesses and share His Gospel message with all the world.  That’s why in our text, the apostles had to wait for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, to empower them for their mission – the gift that was poured out on them on Pentecost, which we will be observing next Sunday.  But since, we have already received that gift of the Holy Spirit in the Pentecost of our Baptism, we no longer have to wait.  We can go and tell; we can go and share the love of Jesus; we can go and spread the Gospel.  May the Holy Spirit encourage and equip us to do that fervently, until our King comes again to take us Home, for His name’s sake.  Amen.

                

                   

                              

Archived Sermon