Rev. Tessie Mandeville
May 20, 2007
Christ Covenant MCC
Decatur, GA 30033
Without knocking, I opened the door and peered in. As I peered in, I saw the living room and in this living room was a fireplace with a fire burning in it. I closed the door and came inside all the way. It was then that I noticed a young man sitting in front of the fire place. He had brown hair and was solidly built. He seemed very familiar to me. He was facing away from the door but when I said hello, he turned and looked right at me. And I was full of joy because when he turned and looked at me, I realized it was my younger brother. I ran over to him and embraced him and we held onto one another. I then pulled back from him, looked him in the eyes and asked him, “What’s heaven like?”
We talked for what I’m sure were hours but what felt like minutes. And then I had to go. I didn’t want to leave but I knew I had to. I wished him well and walked out of the house, back down the trail, through the luscious green field with the sun shining on my face, back through the woods and to my own home.
This is a precious story indeed and one that I hope I never forget. For you see, my brother was killed in 1997 and this story, the story of his ascension, came to me at the one year anniversary of his death. I needed desperately to know that he was okay. I needed to feel his presence and he came to me to let me know that he was okay and he told me about heaven.
Maybe some of you have had similar experiences with loved ones. Sometimes you feel the presence of your loved one hovering around you. Sometimes you hear their voice clearly as if they were still with you, speaking to you. And sometimes, that presence, that remaining spirit of the one you love, stays until they know that you will be alright. Once they know you’ll be okay, they leave and start their new journey to the heart of God.
The personal ascension stories we know open into the larger ascension story we know as Christians. It is part of our common human story, part of our relationship with Christ. And like one whose presence vividly remains after their death, the presence of Christ appeared to his disciples. I have no doubt this was true. This is why I love the post-resurrection stories that tell us of Jesus’ appearances to his beloved friends. Some of the stories seem so fantastic that it’s a challenge to think they happened that way. After all, the stories in the Bible were written a long time after they happened and details can be forgotten or dramatically rewritten. Not because of any ill intent but because our memories can fail us and sometimes memories fade. But our Native American brothers and sisters have a saying that goes like this, “I don’t know if the story happened this way, but I know it’s true.” I lift this teaching up to you this morning as a way to understand the resurrection appearances. There are things that we know are true, even if we don’t get all the facts right.
On Good Friday, we looked at the seven last words of Jesus while he was on the cross. Since Easter we’ve been examining the seven next words of Christ, believing that even after his death, Jesus hasn’t stopped speaking to us. But I have a confession for you this morning. Apparently I don’t know how to count well because if I did, I would’ve started this series on Easter instead of the week after Easter. It turns out that there are only six weeks between Easter and Pentecost so I’m only preaching, technically, on the six next words of Christ! However, there are Bibles in your pews and you are welcome to examine the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to get all the next words of Christ. I promise that I will count better in the future.
In this series, we’ve looked at the next words that Jesus said to his disciples after his resurrection. Today we hear the next words: Wait for the Gift. In his last recorded appearance, Jesus tells them that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on them and they will be witnesses of all the things they’ve seen. After Jesus told them this exciting news, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And the disciples did what many of us would do; they stood there and looked up. Imagine what they must have been thinking and saying, “Wait, Jesus! Don’t go. What do you mean we’ll receive power? You can’t just go off and leave us—again.”
But that cloud took him out of their sight. This time, he was really gone. No more appearances. Jesus’ earthly life was over. But before the disciples could even comprehend what it all meant, town men in white robes suddenly appeared next to them. These angels told the disciples not to stand around waiting and that Jesus would come back one day in the same way that he was just taken up.
And today this scripture has been used to speak of the “second coming of Christ.” Many people focus on this last part of the verse and construct their theologies around it. As a result, the ascension of Christ has been looked at as the fulfillment of God’s plan for salvation. Jesus’ work of redemption is finished. The ascension has become the promise that Christ will return to save his world and vindicate those who believe in him. However, I have to say that when I read this story, I think that Luke has the angels make a promise that Jesus himself didn’t even make. Jesus didn’t say he was coming back in the same way he left; he said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be witnesses.” Jesus’ last words on earth were a promise that we would not be alone. They were a reminder that he would send the gift that God had promised, the gift of the Holy Spirit.
After my brother died, I felt abandoned and alone. There were many days and months when I stood around dazed and confused, staring off into space. Not real sure how to go on in the world. Not real sure if I wanted to go on without him. Rev. Dr. Luke Bouman says it this way: “We who love must always come to grips with loss. But that is as God intended. Genuine love is always given in the face of certain loss, rather than in the expectation of keeping our loved ones forever. But we remain hopeful because [God’s love] is stronger even than death, and more powerful, by far than our grief.
And we who’ve experienced loss know this is never easy and the disciples knew it too. We can’t force ourselves to move through loss on some time table because we think we should be over it. There are some losses that we never get over but in time, we learn how to live in the world in a different way. We learn how to integrate this loss into our lives, not because we want to, but because we have to in order to survive. And hopefully one day we come to understand that this is what our loved ones want for us. Our loved ones want us to carry on with our lives. To make a difference in the world. To keep living life to its fullest. I believe that is what Jesus wanted for his disciples too.
The bittersweet truth is that life is still going on, we still have a future, and there are things we must do. There comes a time when we have to stop looking up into heaven and start believing the promise of Jesus that we are not alone, that we have power, and that we, too, are witnesses of God’s love in this world.
When we do this, weparticipate in the second coming of Christ. Every time we bear witness to God’s love, Christ comes back. Every time we receive and serve communion together, Christ comes back. When we use our hands, our feet and our hearts to help others and to do the work of justice, Christ comes back. In this way, Christ doesn’t only return a second time, but returns over and over again.
The cloud took Jesus out of their sight but not out of their hearts. Our loved ones are taken out of our sight but not out of our hearts. We bear witness to the love we have for them by remaining in this world and living our life to the fullest. Doing all that we can to make a difference. The best gift my brother ever gave me was the understanding that life is too short to not live fully. Jesus said, “I came so that you might have life and have it abundantly.” Now is the time. The gift is here. What remains to be seen is what we do with it. Let it be so and amen.
Rev. Dr. Luke Bouman, Tree of Life Lutheran Church, Conore , Texas. Quote adapted by Rev. Tessie Mandeville
This sermon series was inspired by Shane Stanford’s book, The Seven Next Words of Christ: Finding Hope in the Resurrection Sayings. Abingdon Press, 2006
Copyright © 2007 by Rev. Tessie Mandeville. Permission granted for non- profit circulation with attribution of author and venue. Other rights reserved |
