"You picked a fine time to leave us, Jesus..." Ascension Sermon from Jerusalem 2021
Ascension Day
Reflection
The Rev.
Carrie Ballenger
Lutheran
Church of the Ascension, Jerusalem
Luke 24:44-53
50Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
Let the words
of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord,
my strength and my redeemer
This morning I woke up with an American country and western
song on my mind.
Kenny Rogers and Waylon Jennings have sung it, among
others. The chorus goes: “You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille.”
I think this song was on my mind this morning because I
knew I needed to stand here and preach about the Ascension of Jesus today, and
all I could think was, “You picked a fine time to leave us, Jesus.”
Truly, you picked a fine time to leave us! These past few
days have had me turning to Jesus in fervent prayer, many times per day: Please,
Lord, keep us safe. Please, Lord, let the rockets stop. Please Lord, bring us peace.
Please, Lord, bring the people justice at long last.
I imagine the disciples felt the same on the day he
ascended into heaven from this very mountain. Watching Jesus float into the clouds,
seeing only the bottoms of his dust-covered feet, I feel like the disciples would
join me in singing that country song. You picked a fine time to leave us, Jesus!
Where are you going, and why? Why now, of all times? We need you, now more than
ever!
But of course, as he ascended to the Father, the Risen
Christ did not leave his followers empty-handed. As he prepared to go, he
reminded them that they would soon receive what the Father had promised: the gift
of the Holy Spirit. They would not be left orphaned. He would be with them
always, to the end of the age. Neither pandemic nor war, neither rockets nor
racism, neither ascension nor occupation can keep Jesus from standing with and
for his beloved children.
Just before he disappeared from their sight, Jesus
left the disciples with these words:
“Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and
to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of
sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You
are witnesses of these things.”
You are witnesses.
Along with contemplating random country and western songs,
I’ve been thinking a lot about this phrase the last few days: You are witnesses
of these things.
Those of us who live and work in Jerusalem are
witnesses to many things. Much of it is ugly. Much of it we don’t share with
anyone outside of this context.
We are witnesses to conflict and violence, racism and
occupation, and human brokenness of every kind. In the last several days, we
have been witnesses to air raid sirens, rockets sent into neighborhoods, holy
sites breached, children killed, protests and riots in our neighborhoods, and a
layer of fear blanketing nearly everything and everyone.
Yes, we are witnesses to these things.
And also:
We are witnesses to a rich life lived in many languages,
in several religions, and traversing many cultures. We are witnesses to history
and history in the making. In this city we are witnesses to the future, to what
the world could look like, if only we saw each other as human beings worthy of
care and respect and space and love.
In other words, in small but powerful ways, every day in
Jerusalem we are witnesses to resurrection—if only our eyes are open to see it.
If only our mouths were brave enough to proclaim it.
Hear again the Good News: As he ascended into heaven
to be with the Father, Jesus said: You are witnesses of these things.
What a responsibility. And what an opportunity.
Dear friends in Christ, dear people of the
Resurrection:
Whether you are in Jerusalem or another holy city,
You are witnesses.
You have stories to tell.
You have hope to proclaim.
You have love to share.
You are witnesses, because you have seen the Risen
Lord.
You have met him in Holy Scripture
You have met him on the streets of the city
You have known him in the breaking of bread and
sharing of wine
You have seen him on Easter morning on this very
mountain just a few weeks ago, where we watched the sun rise over the valley
and proclaimed together, “Alleluia, Christ is risen!”
You are witnesses of these things.
And so today, on this mountain where Jesus ascended to
the Father, we witnesses do not gather to mourn that we are alone. We celebrate
that we are together! We rejoice that we have been given a voice, to proclaim
what we have seen and known! We know the power of life over death, of resurrection
over occupation, of love over rockets and bombs and evictions and lies and war.
We have seen the Lord, thanks be to God!
Oh, you picked a fine time to leave us, dear Jesus. We
wish you were here in body and not just in Spirit.
But you have not left us abandoned. And now is the
time: time for Resurrection joy to fill our days, to fill our hearts, to shape
our conversations, and to guide our actions as we witness to the radical love
of God in Christ Jesus, a love which extends to all people—Christian, Muslim
and Jew, Israeli and Palestinian, friend and enemy. From Jerusalem, to the ends
of the earth.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep
your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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