Luke 24: 50-53

Luke 24: 50-53

50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.

51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.

52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.

Dear Congregation,
Jesus is still guiding in the world. He leads the people who follow him.
Jesus led his disciples: he encouraged them with words. He inspired them with deeds. Jesus leads. He teaches and comforts. He loves and heals.
Jesus continues to lead. Even after his death. This is how the disciples recognise him after he has risen. He meets them and gives them again the support they need. He meets them and their lives become meaningful once more.
Jesus leads. Jesus leads out.
That is the direction of his leadership - he leads out of something. Out of the past. Out of death. Out of despair. Jesus leads them out. Again and again, Jesus sets the disciples' feet on a path. They, the disciples, are in danger of standing still. But Jesus leads them out onto a path.

This time the path is the road to Bethany. And when they get there, they allow themselves a break. Jesus not only leads them out - he also challenges them. His blessing is protection. His blessing is safeguarding, and yet, it is also a mission.
The disciples are certainly watching him with great excitement: what is he going to do now? After all, they know him. They already sense that something important is happening. They sense a great solemnity.
Jesus raises his hands - as if to protect them: he spreads them out. What does he want to tell them: are these open arms like those of the father who receives his prodigal son?
They are protective arms where the disciples find refuge and security.

Jesus blesses them! Blessing means: I am with you. Blessing means I have you in in my sight. Blessing means I recognise you and guide you on your way.

And then Jesus disappeared. A cloud took him away. Faster than expected. The disciples still have so many questions. But Jesus is in heaven. They are silent and amazed. What now? They stand on the mountain and look. They exchange ideas: so many memories of Jesus: of the healings, of the sermons, of the encounters with people they had previously avoided: sinners. Tax collectors. Vagabonds.

This time it is different from the evening of his crucifixion: this time they don't just feel sad, they feel blessed. They are blessed. They are no longer abandoned. The focus is not on their loss. Instead, the focus is on the challenge, the guidance from death to new life.

The disciples go back to Jerusalem. They decide to carry on. Jesus leads them - they trust him. A strong connection remains. Blessed means gifted and empowered: they can continue with what Jesus has taught them. And they know that he will be with them every day and every evening and all nights. They are blessed: They will heal and comfort. They will preach and shake people awake - above all, they will stay together.
They belong together; they were blessed together. They still feel Jesus in their midst. Now it is no longer the wound of his death that troubles them - now they feel connected and have sensed that heaven and earth, this world and the hereafter, past and future, death and life are linked.
And they will live - to the full. They will live as Jesus taught them. As a strong community. A community that was brought together by Jesus. And wherever people from this community work, Jesus will be visible and tangible. More than two thousand years have passed since then. Jesus continues to lead. Jesus leads his communities and churches. Jesus leads out of hardship and into blessing.
That is the meaning of Ascension Day for me! That's why it's a happy day, a wonderful and lively experience, an encouragement and a day on which it becomes clear what Jesus' blessing effects.

Although Jesus is not visibly here - he is very close to us!
Although he has gone - he has remained.

The answer to the request: Stay with us, Lord, is Jesus' promise at his farewell: I will stay with you every day until the end of the world.

May the peace of God, which is higher than our understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen