Pentecost Sunday:

I will put my spirit within you.

(Ezekiel 37:14)

On Pentecost Sunday we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God “upon all flesh” (Joel 3:1) just as God the Father had promised (Lk 24:49). We call it “Pentecost” because it happened during the Jewish Festival of Pentecost (Acts 2) when the disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy gathering in the temple and praising God” (Lk 24:52-53).

“Great joy” marks Jesus’ story—the Gospel story, from beginning to end:

            Christmas (Lk 2:10):     “…good news of great joy for all the people.”

            Epiphany (Lk 10:21):    “Jesus was full of joy…”

            Lent (Jn 16:10):             “Your grief will turn to joy.”

            Good Friday (Hb 12:2): “For the joy set before him Jesus endured the cross.”

            Easter (Lk 24:41):          “…joy and amazement.”

            Ascension (Hb 12:2):    “The joy …of sitting at the right hand of the throne of God.”

            Pentecost (Ro 14:17):    “…joy in the Holy Spirit.”

This joy comes to us during our ordinary days: “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord." The Christian Calendar refers to the remaining days, from Pentecost to Advent—near 160 days, as “Ordinary Days.” During our ordinary days, as we live out our lives on our “own soil,” the Holy Spirit assures us that the Lord is with us: “Emmanuel.”

Eastertide #38

Remember, I am with you always.

(Matthew 28:20)

Even though Jesus can no longer be seen going before us, we still follow. Pentecost has to do with how it is that our ascended Lord remains with us. The Holy Spirit is the presence of our unseen Lord. Nothing has been lost. Jesus remains Emmanuel—“God with us.”

Nor has the mission of Jesus been lost. It continues (Mt 28:19-20): “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 that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Jesus’ mission on earth, remains our mission—the church’s mission: the deed of baptism that identifies us as Christ’s disciples; and the word of Jesus which makes us his learners. Before the Gospels were written, the Apostle can say to the church of Ephesus (4:20-21): “That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus.”

“As truth is in Jesus.” We make claim to no other Truth.

Eastertide #37

Why do you stand gazing up toward heaven?

(Acts 1:11)

What’s wrong with “gazing up toward heaven”? That sounds like a good spiritual thing to do. Maybe even more so today when our eyes have been captured by screens. During our shelter in place we have watched a ton of television most of which is spiritually numbing. Why not look toward heaven?

Well, because even though Jesus has ascended, we are left with earthly work to do: “You will receive power,” Jesus tells his bewildered disciples before he ascends, “when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses …to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Even though Jesus ascends, his mission on earth continues “to the ends of the earth.” Fortunately for us, the disciples reset their gaze from heaven to earth. It is the earthly work of bearing witness to God’s salvation in Jesus Christ. They will need “power from on high” for this earthly mission—they/we will need Pentecost.

Eastertide #36: Sunday #7 of 7.

Heaven must receive him

until the time comes

for God to restore all things.

(Acts 3:21)

The disciples’ final gathering with their resurrected Lord, just before he ascends to his heavenly home, results in something of a gripe session: “Are you going to restore the kingdom of Israel now?” That is what they have been holding out for all along. They still hoped Jesus would fulfill their political dreams—the restoration of Israel. They have yet to comprehend the meaning of Calvary. It will take the outpouring of the Spirit and many surprises along the way before they understand what Jesus meant by “the ends of the earth” (Ac 1:8).

Fortunately for us, God’s restoration project extends to all people in all places. We are right in the middle of it awaiting that day when we will be “fully restored” (2Cor 13:9). God the Son doing his work above, God the Spirit doing his/her work below, and God the Father resolved to restore his good and beautiful creation.

Eastertide #35

He who descended

is the same one who ascended

far above all the heavens,

so that he might fill the whole universe.

(Ephesians 4:10)

Christmas, when the Son of God descended, leads us to Ascension Thursday, when the Son of God ascends to his “Majesty on high” (Hb 1:3). Both Christmas and Ascension require angelic explanation. We cannot sort it out of ourselves. Gabriel and the whole angelic host help us through Christmas: “Fear not Mary …for you will conceive…” So too with Joseph, “Fear not to take Mary as your wife…” So too with the Shepherds, “Fear not …for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior…” And now again, as Jesus departs for his heavenly home, the angels, explain things that nature of itself cannot explain: “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Ac 1:11).

The big surprise is that, when the Son of God returns to his heavenly home, he maintains his humanity. The incarnation lingers into the Godhead so that we refer to Jesus today in Glory as “the human Christ Jesus” (1Tm 2:5). This same Jesus who walked among us lives today.

Eastertide: #34  ̶ Ascension Thursday.

This same Jesus.

(Acts 1:11)

Reading again, this morning by the fire pit, the story of Christ’s Ascension; I was struck by the humanness of this supernatural scene. Jesus is still Jesus. His title, “Christ,” does not appear. His earthly name remains. He remains the One “born of a woman,” coming through to us on Christmas morning through the birth canal of Mary. “This same Jesus,” the angels explain to the bewildered disciples, “who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Ac 1:11).

Isn’t that something? Jesus never stops being Jesus. He keeps his earthly name. Easter and Ascension, and even his second coming that awaits us; does not turn Jesus into someone other than Jesus. This same Jesus of Christmas Morning, Good Friday, Easter Sunday is the same Jesus now ascended to his eternal home. He never leaves his humanity behind.

Eastertide #33

What does “he ascended” mean?

(Ephesians 4:9)

Tomorrow, the church celebrates Ascension Thursday. During my pastoral days, attention was given to Maundy Thursday as the church gathered for our solemn and unpretentious participation in the Lord’s Supper. But there was another Thursday that I missed: Ascension Thursday. If I had a do-over, I would give attention to both Thursdays. What would an Ascension Service be like? I wonder.