Ascension of the Lord May 4, 2008

Matthew 28:16-20  Mark indicates that the Ascension took place while the apostles were in Jerusalem (Mk. 16:19). Luke places it near Bethany in his gospel (24:50-53) and on the Mount of Olives (on the eastern slope of which Bethany is located) in Acts of the Apostles (1:12). Here Matthew situates the event on a mountain in Galilee. At the beginning of his gospel, Matthew rearranged Jesus’ genealogy (1:1-17, compare to the longer and very different version in Luke 3:23-38) by multiples of seven to emphasize that Jesus was the perfection of the faith of Abraham, the kingship of David, and the Word of God which was made accessible to all Jews through the educational programs developed during the Babylonian Captivity. Here at the end of his gospel, Luke again rearranges his information for theological purposes, connecting the Ascension to the prefiguring of the glory of Jesus as witnessed by three of the apostles at the mountain of Transfiguration (Luke 17:1). Now all the apostles would see his glory. Unlike the command to three apostles at the earlier event (17:9), they would not be silenced in sharing what they witnessed with the whole world. Jesus’ final words, as he departs from their sight, are the best summary of our mission as his disciples and the perfect ending to the gospel. Matthew did not write merely to impart understanding and faith in the heart of the reader. These closing words drive us to get out and be about the work of God.

Reading 1, Acts 1:1-11  As with his gospel, Luke addresses the Acts of the Apostles to “Theophilus”. Don’t think Luke was writing to just one person. The name Theophilus is a combination of two Greek words which mean “friend of God” or “one loved by God”. In this way Luke addresses his gospel in a personal manner to everyone who loves God and is loved by God. Jesus spends the days after his resurrection instructing the apostles and giving them sufficient proofs that he actually was alive. Their question immediately prior to his Ascension {“Are you now going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”) indicates that they still have not understood what they will be about. That will have to wait for the fuller outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Reading II, Ephesians 1:17-23  Paul is the master of the run-on-sentence with this beautiful prayer for the people of the Ephesus region. It would have been a perfect prayer for the apostles during the days following Jesus’ Ascension prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit as it has been for Christians throughout the centuries and is for us today. That is what makes this letter the “living word” of God. During his more than two years in the region, Paul had been an instrument, either directly or indirectly, in the conversion of hundreds of people from both Jewish and Greek mystical religions. Converts from Judaism had a clear understanding of there being only one God. Those from the Greek religions, however, did not. They believed in multiple gods of varying degrees or spheres of power and importance. To, as we say today, “get their mind wrapped around” the concept of one God was difficult, so Paul simply tells them that Jesus is above whatever gods in whom they had previously put their confidence.