Meditation 290 Luke 24: 44-53
Today is Ascension Day, the day that we observe that Jesus has returned to heaven in glory and is seated at God’s right hand. This day is also an invitation to us to be fully involved in the life and work of Jesus. From time to time we are given a glimpse of heaven on earth. We are reminded that we are created in God’s image and we see that we can achieve God’s hope for us. On Ascension Sunday we take time to think of how Jesus continues to help us to do just that. It may seem odd to think of Jesus who has gone to heaven as the one who is actively helping us who are here on earth, so let’s think a bit about what it means that Jesus is in heaven. We know that heaven is the place where God resides. Jesus is now with God. Mark 16:19 says Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God, and Luke 24: 52 says the disciples worshipped Jesus, which tells us that they recognized Jesus as God.
The reality that Jesus is with God has implications for us. Because Jesus is now with God, it is not possible to talk about God without talking about Jesus. We can think of God as all powerful, perfect, majestic, sovereign and eternal… But now, the God now being worshiped by the disciples in our passage is also one who knows loneliness, betrayal, rejection, thirst, and even death. The ascension of Jesus into heaven alters our picture of God. We do not define God in a way that leaves God completely detached from human experience. The ascended Jesus, who sits at God’s right hand, reveals a God who is vulnerable and even approachable. When we turn to God in times of distress or temptation, we are not addressing a deity aloof and unfamiliar with our struggles. God knows our trials intimately well and not only comforts us by identifying with our pain, but also assures us that affliction will not have the final word, because it is the risen and ascended Christ who intercedes for us and nothing can separate us from Christ’s love (Romans 8:34).
This is the WHY of our belief. We believe in Jesus who is fully human and fully God who is seated at God’s right hand, and who guides our living. We have faith in God who knows us and loves us. This is what we have to share with our world. It can be a temptation for God’s people to first share with others the how and the what of church life. We invite people to be a part of a group, to be a friend, to find purpose in helping others – all of which is part of the life of the Church of Jesus – but the most important thing we have to pass on is the WHY. We are loved by God who knows us and invites us to be children of God. Knowing the why of what you do is said to be the reason the Apple Computer is so successful. They know why they do what they do, every project has to fit into their “why” before it is adopted and they figure out how to make it happen.
On this Ascension Day, we can remember that we love and serve Jesus, who knows us, loves us and guides us.