Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church

2 Kings 2:1-15, Acts 1:6-11

In the Alaskan Tlinget culture there is a tradition of gathering with the family forty days after a death. During the “forty day party” friends and neighbors open with prayers of remembrance for the loved one. The party then quickly progresses from this solemn beginning to the telling of jokes. This party is a joyful celebration of the departure of the loved one’s spirit into heaven.

When I asked them about this tradition they explained that for the first few weeks it was common for a family member to suddenly have the sense that their departed father or husband was in the room with them. However, after forty days they assured me the spirit departs. When I asked how they knew that it happened on the fortieth day they referred to my Bible. Jesus ascended into heaven forty days after Easter.

Why did Jesus ascend into heaven? Why did he not simply remain on earth and move among us as he did for the forty days following Easter?

So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

- Acts 1:6-11

A boy approached his mother with a difficult question, “Mom, where did I come from?” She hemmed and hawed for a moment and then responded, “A stork brought you to our front door.” The boy left the kitchen and went through the living room where his grandmother was seated. “Grandma, where did my mom come from?” The grandmother, figuring it was the job of parents to discuss this with children, responded, “Your mother was brought to me by a stork that delivered her to our front door.” The boy went to his room and began to write his paper on the family history: “Our family has not had a normal birth in three generations.”

Miracles can happen more than once. Every birth is a miracle. Yet it happens often. Some miracles, however, happen only a few times. In fact, the repeating of the miracle can make an important point. This was true of Elijah and Elisha. Elijah took his robe and struck the water of the Jordan River. The river dried up so that he and Elisha could cross on dry ground. When Elisha returned after Elijah had ascended, Elisha took the same robe and struck the river again. It miraculously dried up a second time. The rest of the prophets got the message. Elisha had become God’s prophet, anointed with the Holy Spirit just as Elijah had been.

Perhaps this is true of the miracle of ascension as well. There are two times in the Bible where people ascended into heaven – Jesus and Elijah. More Bible verses are dedicated to the story of Elijah’s ascension than Jesus’ ascension. Do any of us still recall an old song called “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” about Elijah’s ascension? A comparison of Elijah’s and Jesus’ ascensions might help us appreciate why Jesus’ ascension is important.

First let us consider what is different about the two ascensions. Elijah took only one disciple with him. He went to a secluded spot. There, with only one witness he disappeared into heaven. In contrast, Jesus kept his disciples with him. His ascension was a public event with many witnesses. Why did Jesus do it so differently than Elijah? I think there was a very practical reason.

Elijah took only his assistant prophet Elisha with him the day of his ascension. The two were across the river and away from any crowd when the chariot came down from heaven and spirited Elijah away. The reaction of the rest of the prophets on seeing Elisha return alone was what we would expect. When Elisha explained what had happened, they doubted the account. In fact, they sent fifty people out looking for Elijah. Where did he go? Perhaps God had simply moved him to a remote place. They were not convinced that he was really gone for good.

Contrast this Bible story with what happened after Jesus’ ascension. There was no search for Jesus after the ascension. Jesus ascended in such a way that the disciples knew it was a final good-bye. The disciples simply returned to Jerusalem.

I think the disciples needed Jesus’ ascension to be a public event because they had seen Jesus appear and disappear so many times and in so many places over the last forty days. Think about it. For forty days Jesus had eaten food, gone for walks, and taught them. Thomas could touch him. He could appear and disappear wherever he wanted. One moment he was in Jerusalem, the next in Galilee. He was with two disciples in Emmaus and then in the upper room in Jerusalem that same evening. After multiple appearances over the forty days following his resurrection, Jesus needed to prove once and for all that he was really gone. Otherwise, the disciples would simply assume he had disappeared in order to reappear somewhere else. He needed to say his final good-bye in a way that convinced them it was truly final.

Final good-byes are never easy. My family has always had difficulty saying good-bye. I am not talking about the temporary good-byes of children going away to college. There are hugs and tears and then long distance phone calls to stay in touch. Those good-byes we can handle. I am talking about the final good-byes to a loved one truly leaving for good. What do we say when one of the family is dying?

I grew up one block from my grandparents on my mom’s side of the family. I spent much time with these grandparents. Most of my summers I enjoyed staying with them at their cabin in the mountains. I recall long drives with my grandfather. I relied heavily on his advice over the years. My first full-time job was with my grandfather’s business. As his only grandson, I held a special place in his heart. So when my grandfather developed cancer, my grandparents decided to come visit us in Alaska one last time.

We gave them a tour of the college campus where I was teaching and serving as chaplain. We took them through the Totem Park and talked about local native history. They were amazed at the eagles. Their hotel room downtown looked out across the bay. They came to our home for most of their meals. They enjoyed our four children. It was a glorious time of reconnecting. The last evening, they invited Kate and me out to dinner. Arrangements for babysitting were made so the adults could have one last quiet conversation.

On our way to the restaurant, my grandfather complained that he was tired. Would it be all right if he begged off? We agreed. I would drop my grandmother and Kate at the restaurant and then drive my grandfather to the hotel.

We rode the elevator in silence to his floor. When we stepped into his hotel hallway and started toward his room, he began to apologize again for not having the strength to eat out that night. He explained that it would be a special time for my grandmother to have us all to herself. When we arrived at his room, he pulled the key out of his pocket and then paused to look at me. With the key in the door, we looked into each other’s eyes. Both of us knew it was the last time we would see each other. Arrangements had already been made for a taxi to the airport early in the morning. He did not want a tearful farewell at the airport. In my early thirties, I had never said a final farewell before. So I stood in the uncomfortable silence and looked into his tired eyes. Then we did what I had been taught as a child. He held out his hand and I shook it firmly. We held each other’s hands longer than normal, hesitant to let go. Finally we did. Then I turned and walked away without a word. I knew that was what he wanted. No words, we just exchanged the look of love and a handshake.

Was it difficult for Jesus to say his final good-bye to the disciples? Was there sadness in his eyes as he ascended? I don’t think so. It is what happened next that I find the most amazing part of the story of Jesus’ ascension. In fact, it is surprisingly similar to the ascension story of Elijah. It is the similarity at this point that helps us make sense of the ascension.

When Elijah departed he asked his assistant Elisha if there was any last request. Elisha answered that he wanted to have the same power of God’s Spirit that had guided Elijah’s life. Indeed, as soon as Elijah was gone, Elisha picked up the robe left behind and performed a miracle with it. He returned to the river and hit the water so that it dried up and allowed him to cross on dry land. This miracle was the same as the last miracle that Elijah had done earlier that day. The rest of the prophets saw what happened and recognized that Elisha had the Holy Spirit just as Elijah had.

Just where we would expect to read about tears and sadness, we find confidence and joy. Luke recorded that the disciples of Jesus returned to Jerusalem with joy. They were excited at what Jesus had said was going to happen next. Jesus’ last words were a promise. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” Instead of searching for his body, they returned to Jerusalem searching for the Holy Spirit.

While the practical reason for the ascension of Jesus was to say a final good-bye after all the resurrection appearances, the main purpose was a charge and a promise. Jesus departed by challenging the disciples to see an exciting future. They would carry on the work he started. Where he was only one person in the world, they would now reproduce his works in the power of his Spirit. The ascension is really the transition from Jesus to the Holy Spirit.

The ascension forces a very important question for each follower of Jesus. Now that Jesus is in heaven, “at the right hand of the Father,” are we open to letting the Holy Spirit be our guide?

In January I spoke at a leadership retreat in Colorado. In preparing for the series of retreat talks I learned that last year some of their staff relationships exploded into some unhealthy dysfunction. There were a slew of special board meetings. They consulted with attorneys over what they could and could not say publicly. There were considerations whether to seek a restraining order on a member of the church. It had been UGLY!

Knowing some of this as I prepared for the retreat, I asked the Holy Spirit to guide me and use me as their retreat leader. I had all the messages outlined and prepared. They had printed a copy of the retreat topics to be covered. But on the afternoon of the second day I sensed the Holy Spirit calling me to move away from the prepared materials and topic for that afternoon session so that I could invite the group into a spontaneous healing service. My mind was reeling as I considered my options. In none of my prayers of preparation for the retreat had I seen this possibility. “Holy Spirit, are you sure? I’ll do this if you want me to. Are we supposed to pray for the pastor?” The Holy Spirit nudged me, “Don’t forget his wife.” That afternoon, at the bidding of the Holy Spirit, I stopped what we were doing and told the group that I felt we were being called to pray for healing of their pastor and his wife. We gathered around them for prayer. They both wept surrounded by their leadership’s loving support. About a month later I got an amazing letter from the pastor’s wife describing what had begun to heal in their lives since that prayer time. She thanked me for listening to the Holy Spirit’s urgings that afternoon.

It is one thing to recite with the ancient creed that we believe Jesus “ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” The question is, “What is the Holy Spirit inviting us to do here on earth?”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Share your earliest memory of an experience of the Holy Spirit.

Why did Jesus not stay longer than 40 days on earth after the resurrection?

What emotions do you imagine you would have been feeling if you had been an eyewitness to the ascension?

How have you been open to the Holy Spirit as your guide?