Up and Away

Luke 24:44-53

Jesus said to the eleven and those with them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “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. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.  While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

Last week we heard Jesus promise that we would not be left orphaned.  We heard everything was changing, BUT, even with absolutely everything changing… we were promised… that we would NOT be left orphaned.  This week, in the Ascension, Jesus goes up…  but he also goes… AWAY.  I have no idea how the disciples felt in that moment, but if I was them… I might have been struggling not to feel… well… orphaned.  I know the promise to not leave them orphaned was over in John’s Gospel and here we are in Luke, and maybe I shouldn’t hold Luke to a promise made in John… but the fact remains… Jesus has gone up… but he’s also gone… very much… AWAY.  

Yes, Jesus told them, “I am sending you what my Father promised”.  But that was a future promise, not a right-then reality.  And yes, Jesus told them to “stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” but that too was a future promise, not a right-then reality.  I don’t know how those disciples felt, but if it had been me, I think, in spite of the promises, I might have felt a bit worried about the future and honestly, a little bit orphaned.

I think we can relate to that feeling these days… The feeling of Jesus being gone, not only UP… but also AWAY.  Jesus feels distant these days.  Life feels pretty… well… orphan-y.  Jesus’ promise that we too will always have an Advocate… that’s good.  The promise relayed through Julian of Norwich that “All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of thing will be well”… that’s good too.  But both of those promises feel, these days, not just distant but disturbingly distant.   

You know what I’m talking about.  Just one of the countless stories that leaves us feeling orphaned these days, is the Trump administration’s refusal to use money that Congress has already appropriated for $3 malaria vaccines and $4 vaccines against cervical cancer in international aid.  Just from withholding those two vaccines, an estimated 600,000 people will die unnecessarily.  These stories, and they are legion these days, leave us all feeling overwhelmed… helpless… hopeless… and frankly… like Jesus has gone away and left us orphaned.  I do my very best to hold onto the promises that we will NOT be left orphaned… and that all WILL be well… but I’m finding it hard.  I’m finding it hard.  Maybe you are too.  

After the Ascension but before Pentecost, the Disciples were left in a horrible “In-Between” time… In-Between Jesus going “up” BUT also “away”…  and the coming of the promised Holy Spirit.  So how did the Disciples do it?  How did they live in that horrible “In-Between” time?  Maybe we can get some insight from them for how WE can live in our horrible “In-Between” time too?  

The Disciples were told to return to Jerusalem.  Long term, the promise was that they would be clothed with power from on high and would be going out to Judea and Samaria, and eventually to the ends of the earth, but for then… for that moment, for that horrible “In-Between” time, Jerusalem is where they were told to go and stay… worship and work… and… wait.  

I think maybe a version of that is where we are being called these days.  I don’t mean literally going to Jerusalem!  That actually seems like a terrible idea right now.  No, I mean maybe what we are called to do in our “In-Between” time is to do what the disciples did.  Live and worship, work and wait… close to home.  Not forever.  But until the Spirit comes… and I do believe that the Spirit always comes… and at the same time it is okay to admit, right now, the Spirit feels pretty distant.  

I think maybe to manage that faith and those feelings we need to embrace the 2026, Sheffield, Lutherpalian version of “being in the Temple continually blessing God.”  I don’t think that means ignoring the non-stop bearing false witness, the literal golden statue idolatry, or the deadly inhumanity being done by our government.  Not at all!  But what it does mean is living in such a way that we do not become overwhelmed, daunted, or paralyzed by the enormity of our world’s current grief.  It means doubling down on doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly… close to home.  

So we do what we do!  Hot Dog Church, Life Share Movie Night, Pride, and the AT… the things we’ve already been given the power to affect right now… and we focus on doing those things very, very well.  I think it means making Sunday morning a priority not just because we need others in our life, but because others also are needing us to trudge with them through these really awful, nearly debilitating “In-Between” times.  I think it means keeping our eyes open for opportunities to use our patented Christ Trinity brand of “Sneaky Compassion” to care for our neighbors, doing things like helping a young woman get a wheelchair van while helping a beloved member keep getting the care they need, all in one fail swoop!    

We live in a horrible “In-Between” time where the foreigner, the poor, the hungry, and the sick are not just ignored but under assault with cruelty and death, all in a bid to appease a Nebuchadnezzar complete with golden idol.  Because of that, we need to take a page from those disciples and draw closer to one another for help in holding onto the promises that we will NOT be orphaned and the promise that all manner of thing will be well.  We need to do that until the promised Holy Spirit comes again to send us out, once again, to the ends of the earth.  And here’s the Good News… that Holy Spirit?  She will most certainly come!  Hang in there!  Amen.