Here, There, and Everywhere

A sermon by Currie Burris

Luke 24: 44-53; Acts 1: 1-11

May 8, 2005

(with thanks to Roger Lovette)

            After the resurrection of Jesus, after the discovery of the empty tomb, the gospel accounts record many appearances of the risen Christ. He appears to Mary Magdalene, to the other women. He appears to Peter.  He appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He appears to ten of the disciples on one occasion, and then to eleven of them plus others in the room in another occasion. In one account he appears to over 500 disciples.  He comes to them in Jerusalem, in Bethany, and in Galilee. Not one of the four gospels records all of these appearances. In fact the gospels seem to differ on the number and details of Jesus’ appearances. The important thing in the gospels, it seems, is not to record historic accuracy, but to give testimony that Jesus is not dead, but had in fact been seen by many of the faithful.

            The same is true of the Ascension accounts in today’s lessons. Luke records Jesus’ ascension into heaven twice, once at the end of the gospel, and then again at the beginning of the Book of Acts. Interestingly, the two accounts are not exactly the same. The Gospel of Luke mentions Bethany as the place of ascension; Acts does not. Acts talks about two men clothed in white, presumably angels, who speak to the disciples after the ascension. Luke does not.

            Of the other gospels, only Mark mentions the ascension, and then only in the last chapter of the book which may not have been part of the original manuscript of Mark. The gospel of John makes no mention of the ascension. In John’s last chapter, Jesus is on the beach in Galilee with Peter and the disciples. The book closes saying that there were too many other things Jesus did to be recorded in one book.  The gospel of Matthew ends in Galilee, with the Great Commission, as Jesus commands, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” No ascension, no angels.

            The point of each of these accounts seems not to record a historical event, but to mark the end of Jesus’ ministry with the disciples in Galilee and Judea, and to begin his mission to the whole world, to move from one point in time and place, to all people in all times, everywhere.

            But if we are to say that Jesus “ascended” into heaven, where might that be? The gospels were written in a time when people conceived of the universe very differently than we do now. In those times, people believed for the most part, that the earth was flat.  It was a three-tiered universe in which this flat earth was the center, heaven was high above us, and down beneath us was the nether-regions, the dark place, “sheol,” the place of the dead. After death, one ascended “up” into heaven or “down” to a place of punishment. Jesus’ story of Lazarus, and the rich man, Dives, makes this image.

            But we no longer understand the universe that way. We know the earth is round. The terms “up” and “down” are relative terms depending on where we stand. And if we rise “up” from any place on the earth, we can travel a long way, through clouds, atmosphere, into space, and then for billions of miles, and we will never find “heaven.” There is no “up” to ascend into. When we conceive of heaven it must be something very different.

            And the gospel accounts actually point us in the right direction. The men in white, the angels, who address the disciples in Acts, said “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Don’t look up into the sky, they are saying. That’s not where Jesus is. He is, or will be soon, with you right here. The gospels are unified in emphasizing this as well.  “Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28) Whatever we are to say about heaven, it is not “up there.”  In some way, it is here with us. It is the world of the spirit, which is here with us.  The right hand of God, where Jesus sits, is in a very real way, right here with us.

            Jesus’ ascension into heaven is not the removal of Jesus away from our lives, but rather the movement of Jesus from one particular place in the world, a movement from first century Palestine, to be in all places in the world and at all times.  Jesus left the immediate present with the disciples, so that he could be with all of us at all times.

            When we look for Jesus then, we should take the angel’s admonition to heart.  Don’t look into heaven. Look around you; here in the world we live in, here in twenty-first century America, here in Silver Spring, here in this sanctuary. “Lo I am with you always,” even right here.

            Christ is present with us then, if we have eyes to see and a heart to receive. Christ is present with us in the life of the church, in the lives of those who believe. As we gather to worship, to sing and pray, to make intercession, to give thanks and to rejoice, Christ is with us. When we love and serve, when we laugh and cry, when we give of ourselves in service and love, Christ is with us.

            Anne Lamott is a favorite writer of many of you here, I am sure. She is an unconventional Christian, a faithful believer, a Presbyterian. For years she led what could be said as a wild life, troubled with addictions and relationships, until she found her way into a small Presbyterian Church in California. And there, she confesses that she found God, in the worship, in the music, in the prayers, but most importantly in the love and the simple faith of the people.

            In her book, Traveling Mercies, Lamott chronicles this journey of faith, and explains why, now years later, she makes her son, Sam, go to church. Early in her pregnancy, she wandered into the worship service at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church near San Francisco. She was attracted by the music, the peace, the presence she found there.  She worshipped anonymously at first, slipping in and out, without being noticed. But gradually she made her presence known and became a part of the community. One Sunday she stood up and stated what was becoming obvious, that she was pregnant and that she was not married. The reaction she received was unexpected. People cheered and clapped, they celebrated the new life within her. Even older folks who had come from conservative backgrounds embraced her. Old women, whose grown up sons were in jails and prisons, rejoiced with her.

            The congregation adopted her. They helped her with baby clothes and blankets for the new baby. They brought casseroles and food. They said this new baby would be a part of their church family. They helped this struggling new mom with money slipped into her pockets. A bent over woman living on Social security would slip tens and twenties. One woman, who always sat in the back, would come forward and give Anne baggies of dimes week after week.

            Anne brought her young son to church when he was five days old.  They all stood in line and called him their baby. That little church kept her going. Through their love, their sharing, and their prayers, she got through some hard times. She still gets baggies of dimes, even though she is doing much better now financially. She gives the money to homeless people. “Why do I make my son go to church, when none of his friends go to church? I make him go because someone brings me dimes.” When Anne Lamott looked around that small church, she saw the face of God.  (Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies [New York: Pantheon Books 1999] pp. 95-105.)

            When I look around here today, I see the face of God: in the faces and voices raised in praise and thanksgiving, in the prayers of children praying for their mothers, in the prayers of friends, praying for strangers. I see the hand of God in the voices and energies of those who live the love of God in their lives: taking a sick friend to the doctor, visiting a lonely soul unable to leave their home, planting springtime flowers in the yard of one longing for new life. Even as you have done it for the least of these, you have done it unto me. Help for the rent, help with food, working for justice for the poor, opening a door to the homeless, and welcoming a stranger.

            Christ is risen and is ascended into heaven to be with all – here, there, and everywhere. Let us worship and serve, let us sing and pray, let us live and love with him in heaven.  Amen.