For approximately three years Jesus’ disciples had followed Jesus in the power of his earthly ministry as he walked the path of the cross. Now the time was drawing near for Jesus’ disciples to live in a new understanding of the power of Jesus through the story of Jesus’ ascension as told in Acts 1
Today is known as Ascension Sunday, the Sunday following the Feast of the Ascension when Jesus the crucified and risen Lord was lifted up out of the sight of his disciples to sit at the right hand of God. Acts 11:1-11 tells the story of the Ascension of Jesus this way:
1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Ian Paul states that most of the New Testament witnesses to the power of God through the crucifixion and ascension of Jesus rather than through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The first sermon preached by the apostle Peter focuses on the ascended Jesus in Acts 2:33 where the power of Jesus is defined by his ascension as he sits at the right side of the Father.
Jesus knew that the time was drawing near when he would be defined by his ascended presence rather than by his earthly presence. This is why Jesus prayed in John 17:4-5:
4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Jesus knew the time was drawing near when his disciples would witness to Jesus the ascended Lord as they were sent to the world in the encouraging power of God’s love
Ronan Tynan Ronan Tynan was born in 1960 in Dublin, Ireland. In 1980, at the age of 20 he had his legs amputated below the knee because of a car accident. It was a challenging time as he dealt with the strife of this new reality of his life. In 1984 and 1988, Ronan represented Ireland in the Summer Paralympics winning four golds, two silvers, and one bronze medal. In 1993, he became a physician specializing in orthopedic sports injuries. He was a member of The Irish Tenors and sang at the home of George H. W. Bush on the day of the president’s death on November 30, 2018.
In his book, Halfway Home: My Life ‘til Now, he shares the remarkable story of his life. His accomplishments are made all the more amazing when you realize he was born with a lower limb disability, causing him to spend the first three years of his life in the hospital.
How did Ronan Tynan do it? How was he able to accomplish so much in the midst of strife? He credits his friends, his teachers, his family, and his faith, but especially his father, who encouraged him and supported him and affirmed him and loved him day-in and day-out. Ronan said that the teasing and narrow-minded comments of some people did get to him, but they didn’t stay with him, because he always remembered his father. That’s what kept him going – the love and affirmation and encouragement of his father.
Jesus knew the time was drawing near when his disciples would be called to live in the power of being sent into the world just as he had lived in the power of being sent by God.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian martyr who was hanged in the concluding days of the Second World War wrote these words about the power of God:
“I believe God will give us all the power we need … in all the times of distress but he never gives it in advance lest we should rely on our ourselves and not on him.”
Father Roger Landry defines the ascension of Jesus with these words:
“Christ’s ascension is meant to help us to grow to full stature in Christ as we respond to
his confidence in making us his missionaries, together with the Holy Spirit, to renew the face of the earth.
“The celebration of the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is an annual opportunity
for us not only to focus on heaven, where the Lord Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us (Jn 14:1-6) and on the joy that “eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor the human heart conceived,” which “God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9; Is 64:4), but also on the implications Jesus’ return to the Father means for each of his followers.
Jesus could have stayed on earth until the end of time as the Good Shepherd, crisscrossing the globe after every lost sheep, saving them one by one. As he ascended, however, he placed his own mission in our hands, commanding us to “go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15).
He took the training wheels off our discipleship and removed any excuses we might have to pass the buck of sharing and spreading the faith. “
On this Ascension Sunday, may God bless us with the power of being sent in the name of our Ascended Lord.
The Power of Being Sent
by Pastor Marc Brown
May 12, 2024
Accompanying Scriptures: John 17:1-19
Fort Hill United Methodist Church
Order of Worship for May 12, 2024
Scripture Lesson John 17:1-19
The Good News “The Power of Being Sent”
Music “Amazing Love” by Billy James Foote
Prayer
Blessing
Closing Music “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” arr. Dale Wood
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