In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Back in 1961 when the Soviet Union sent their first cosmonaut into orbit in space, he is said to have remarked that he didn't see Jesus or any of the saints when he was up there, so Christianity must not be true and there must not be a heaven.  I'm sure he thought he was striking a great blow for Marxist atheist ideology, but in fact he was just demonstrating ignorance regarding what the Bible teaches about heaven and especially about the ascension of our Lord.  For the significance of Jesus ascending to the Father's right hand is not that He went from one place to another, as if He were taking a trip to another location, but rather that He was being removed from our sight until the close of this age.

We know, of course, that it's not as if we could go up into space and find Jesus in some confined physical spot.  For heaven is not simply above the clouds somewhere.  Rather, heaven is that unseen realm where God is, an eternal and infinite realm that is not limited to space and time, that is beyond space and time.  So even if you traveled to the most distant part of the created universe, you're not going to find Jesus or heaven.  For the Creator transcends His creation.  That's the point of Jesus going up–He is the Lord above us and over all things.

However, that doesn't mean that Jesus is gone from us and is no longer present with us.  We know from the Scriptures that God is present everywhere, and therefore, so is His "right hand."  So when we confess that Jesus bodily ascended to the right hand of the Father, we are not saying that He left us, but rather that He is present everywhere, both as God and as man.  He has entered into the unseen glory of His heavenly Father and is no longer visible to our eyes.  St. Paul writes in Ephesians, Jesus "ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things" in heaven and on earth.  The ascension of our Lord, then, emphasizes not Jesus' absence but rather His presence, especially for the church and in the church.  Jesus is at the right hand of the Father with power and authority over all things in all creation for the sake of His people.

This glorified presence of Christ began even before the Ascension, at Easter.  By the power of His bodily resurrection, Jesus was already exalted to heavenly majesty and filled all things.  Just consider His resurrection appearances.  The disciples are gathered together with the doors locked, but suddenly Jesus comes and stands among them.  He had been there all along, but now He reveals Himself to them visibly.  They are given to touch His hands and side.  Or what about His appearance to the Emmaus disciples?  Jesus makes Himself known to them in the breaking of the bread and then simply vanishes from their sight.

Throughout the 40 days between His resurrection and ascension, Jesus came out of His glory to appear to His disciples and to eat, talk, and walk with them.  He did this for their benefit to show that He had truly risen from the dead in the flesh.  Jesus' ascension is really no different from the other times during that 40-day period when He removed Himself from their sight.  It's not that He went away.  Rather, He appeared out of glory, and He returned to glory.  But His final removal from their sight had to be so convincing that they would no longer expect Him to return until His final appearing.  Being lifted up from the earth and covered with the cloud, along with the message of the angels, was to convince the disciples that Jesus would no longer be visibly present among them.

This, in part, is what the Ascension is meant to teach us.  We will not see Jesus until He comes again on the clouds in great power and glory on the Last Day.  Anyone who claims an appearance of Jesus between the ascension and the Last Day is a false prophet.  This age of the church in which we live is the age not of the eyes but of the ears.  Although you can't see Christ, you can hear Him whenever His Word is preached and taught in its truth and purity.  Although you can't behold Christ visibly, you can come into contact with Him wherever His sacraments are rightly administered.  He is unseen and yet truly present among His people, veiled behind words and water, bread and wine.  Until the second coming, we walk by faith, not by sight, believing these words of Christ, "I am with you always, even to the close of the age."

So, the question that must be asked is, "Do we really believe in the Ascension?  That may sound like a dumb question, but think about it:  Do we always believe that our Lord is the ruler of all things, including our own lives?  When things are going crazy for us and everything seems to be falling apart, we sometimes have our doubts about whether or not God is really in control, or if He even exists, don't we?  When things don't turn out nearly as well as we hoped and planned or prayed for, we become unsure of whether or not Christ really cares for us.  Maybe He watches over others, but does He really watch over me?  Or even when everything is going fine–do we not sometimes behave or speak in ways that we wouldn't if we really believed that Jesus was watching over us and observing all the we do?  Our conduct often betrays our faithless delusion that we can hide from the Lord and that He doesn't see everything about us.

And do we always believe in the Ascension truth that Jesus is literally and concretely here for us in the Divine Service?  Think of it this way:  When we see Jesus at His second coming, what will our attitude and behavior be like?  It won't be that of frivolous conversation or behaving like it was just any other event.  It will be that of reverence and holy awe as we bow before our Savior.  Should our attitude be any different now just because He is not yet visible to our eyes?  Whenever we lose our reverence in church, we're losing our faith in Christ's real presence among us.  Unfortunately, even many Lutheran Churches are still seeking after a more casual and loose service, which by its very nature ignores the holiness and glory of the risen Lord in their midst.  When pastors become mere story-tellers and advice-givers, when the liturgy becomes nothing more than a spiritually uplifting show, then the message being sent is that Christ is not really there but away in heaven somewhere.  If we show formal honor in civil ceremonies for the American flag (which is good), how much more should we show formal, dignified honor for Christ's presence among us in divine service!

Ultimately then, in one way or another, we all have failed in our trust in the truth of the Ascension.  Therefore, let us repent of our weak faith.  And let us learn again of the marvelously comforting reality of the Ascension, a reality that is still in effect for us today.  Just as the watery cloud received Jesus, so also He is there in the waters of Baptism to cleanse you by His Spirit and make you a child of God.  Just as the two men in white spoke the words of God to the disciples as they looked up, so also ministers are sent by the Lord precisely for the purpose of being His mouth and His voice, to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins right into your ears in His name.  And just as it was the body of Christ Jesus that ascended, so also He gives His very body and blood into your mouth under the bread and wine at His table, that you may partakers of His forgiveness and His life.  The risen and ascended Jesus is literally present in the flesh in the midst of His church.  He who fills all things locates Himself for you in particular places and times to fill you with His mercy.

The risen Lord comes to you in this way in order that you might share with Him in His ascension and in His divine majesty.  In fact it is for this very purpose that the Son of God became man.  Jesus took on your human nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary so that through His death and resurrection you would be raised from the depths of sin and death to the heights of the life and glory of God.  His bodily ascension to heaven means your bodily ascension to heaven; for you are in Christ.  We sang it in the hymn just a moment ago:

Thou hast raised our human nature
On the clouds to God's right hand;
There we sit in heavenly places,
There with Thee in glory stand.
Jesus reigns, adored by angels;
Man with God is on the throne.
Mighty Lord, in Thine ascension
We by faith behold our own.

Our human nature, once alienated from God by sin, has been raised by Christ's ascension to God's right hand.  That means that the Father accepted Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross and that we are now reconciled to God and at peace with Him.  In Christ God and man, heaven and earth are brought together.

And so our ascension with Christ is not just a future thing.  Ephesians 2 says, "Even when we were dead in trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ . . . and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."    Do you see what that's saying?  Heaven is already yours, because Jesus is already there, and you are in Him, members of His body. Colossians 3 puts it this way: "You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."  Having died to the world in baptism, Christ has now become the very life of those who believe.  Therefore, what is true for Him is true also for you.  Your eternal life is hidden and kept safe in Jesus.

I know of nothing that can make you more confident in your faith than that.  When you begin to waver in your Christian hope, when you aren't sure about whether or not you're going to heaven, just remember the Ascension; just remember that you are a member of Christ's body by your baptismal faith.  And He is at the right hand of God as the victorious Ruler of all.  All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him who conquered all sin and death by His cross and resurrection.  He is the Father's right hand man.  Therefore, He is truly able to work all things together for the good of those who love Him, for you who have been called according to His purpose.  Even in the midst of the ups and downs of your life, He who began His good work in you will bring it to completion in the day of His return.

So then, brothers and sisters of Christ, take comfort in this ascension of Christ.  Know that He is Lord over all things for the ultimate good of you His people.  He is pleading your cause and bringing your prayers before the Father and answering them according to His good and gracious will.  Believe that He is with you always by His words and His Sacraments.  And have confidence that just as Christ shares fully in your humanity, so also in Him you are given to share in the life of God Himself, as the communion liturgy for today prays, "Jesus was taken up to heaven that He might make us partakers of His divine nature."

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit