“ASCENDED NEXT TO YOU”
Saint Mark 16: 14-20; Acts 1: 1-11
The Ascension of our Lord: 5 May Anno Domini 2016
Father Jay Watson SSP
The Apostle is correct—we preach Christ Crucified. The crucifix, that is, the Paschal Lamb as our vicarious atoning sacrifice, the expiation of all our sins and sin in His Body given and His Blood shed, is the sine qua non of the faith. But it isn’t the only element of The Faith. Justification by Grace through Faith in Christ is “the” article…but it isn’t the only article. Even as we refuse to let our Lord be chopped up into natures by Docetists, Modalists, Arians, or Calvinists, so too we refuse to let His doctrine—Christ’s words be fractured and fragmented. Or, as the Reformer put it, Christ could have died a thousand times and it would have not mattered save for the Word, the Word, the Word.
Luther meant that the objective act of the passion and death of Jesus is delivered to His Saints in His Word; and that happens always, not in the true historical past but in the here & now! Now: tonight! Why, because Christ is Ascended: Hallelujah!
Not much need be said about the historical event. It was observed by the Apostles, recorded by the Evangelists, and preached to the Church, then and now. As miracles go, it is somehow a bit removed. But it shouldn’t be if properly believed. When The Lord touched the dead body of the Widow of Nain’s son and vivified him; when Christ spit on the eyes of the blind man; when Jesus placed His fingers into the ears of the deaf mute; all the physical healings of Messiah were immediate, hands-on, and practical…and you like those…you “get” those. All though, your sinful natures grumble that He doesn’t intercede in your daily lives the exact same way to save your Uncle, Mother, best-friend, or yourself from the ravages of disease and death. But the Ascension—that’s a strange miracle if viewed only as a miracle. Floating up off of Olivet, further and further into the sky until obscured by clouds never to be seen again. Oh really. No, that’s not right. The Ascension is not away from you but directly to you. Christ Ascended from the third decade of the first Century A.D. that He might be with you in your midst wherever two or three are gathered in His Name.
The historical veracity of the Ascension doesn’t really help. It’s true of course, there were eye-witnesses who gave their very lives in preaching all things He had taught them. Saint Paul’s own encounters with the Risen, Ascended, and Revealed Lord, as well as Saint John’ Apocalypse demonstrate that although invisible to His flock, the Lord is still amongst them with His true Body and Blood. And actually, it’s the Mass that reveals this reality even more clearly that a Scripture passage in Acts or Revelation.
Theologians, and some preacher this day, will regale readers and hearers with deep, and true, observations about the nature of God’s properties as if He was somehow quantifiable or comprehensible in His nature: Omnipotent, Omniscient, and yes Omnipresent; eternal, unchangeable, and other Trinitarian mysteries. The Eastern Orthodox maintain God as God can only be known through His energies, or in an apophatic way (negative theology—speaking of God by negation). Theology does not help you when you are sinning and only dimly remember propositional truths. Systematic truths and exegetical gems do not help you when you are so depressed you can’t get out of bed or so ridden with guilt you can’t look people in the eye, or so hurting that the tears don’t stop and the ache doesn’t lessen. The only Jesus, the only God/Man is the Christ for you—The Crucified and Risen Christ, yes. But now, Hallelujah, the Ascended and Present Christ. Jesus’ Ascension brings you this eve, the Incarnated God, the Second Person, Who is the Man Christ Jesus and The God in the Flesh Christ Jesus. He Ascends right here right now in His Word and Supper to embrace you and place His hands upon your heads in realness that surpasses even Easter evening in the upper room. Jesus is the high and lofty one and He dwells at the right hand of The Father. He dwells at the right hand of majesty. He inhabiteth eternity. Why? For the Mass. For this very day, this very evening. His visible ascension was and is the Holy Spirit’s visible descension upon the “12” and their successors. They spoke foreign tongues by way of cloven tongues of fire on their head; and modern day pastors speak the new tongues of the Church’s sacraments; the new tongues of Jesus’ losing absolution by way of the gift of The Holy Spirit in their Holy Ordinations. Whether Tonganoxie, Olathe, Shawnee, Lenexa, Kansas City, or Overland Park—The Gospel goes out into all the world and to every creature. The Witness of the Paraclete stands with me this night unto those in Jerusalem, and in all Judean, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. The only sign that matters is worked here at this altar, this footstool of heaven and eternity. The right hand of God, the right Hand of Jesus touches you and forgives; touches you and brings you His Body and Blood from the cross…the signs following.
Here the proof of the Ascension in His voice from my lips; here the Verba and know His presence for you—for the forgiveness of sins. He rose from the dead with Flesh and Blood and is your Head; you are His Body. If he is seated at the right hand of God, and He is, and He is God too…then you His Body is seated there as well…safe…and at Peace.
Come forward and eat…and see…gaze not up into heaven but at His Sacramental Presence. Come and dwell in the high and Holy place: The Lamb of God.
In the Name of The Father and of + The Son and of The Holy Ghost
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