Jesus’ Departure, Transition Time—Lectionary Reflection for Easter 7A/Ascension Sunday (Acts 1:6-14)

Ascension of Christ by Garafolo

Acts 1:6-14 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

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.”

¹² Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. ¹³ When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying: Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

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                This particular Sunday serves as a moment of transition in the Christian story. If we’re going to move forward in the story Jesus has to give way to the Holy Spirit. The Easter season (Eastertide) culminates with the Ascension of Jesus. According to the liturgical calendar, the Day of Ascension occurs forty days after the resurrection of Jesus. In other words, the Day of Ascension doesn’t fall on a Sunday. Unless you have an Ascension Day service, if you’re going to observe the Day of Ascension, you will need to do it on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Whether you decide to go with the Ascension Day readings or that of the Seventh Sunday of Easter, in Year A, you will be drawing from Acts 1. The Ascension text is Acts 1:1-11. The reading for the Seventh Sunday is Acts 1:6-14. In either case, you will read about Jesus’ ascension. If we go with the reading for the Seventh Sunday, we get to reflect on the call of Matthias. That is what we’ll do in this reflection. We’ll consider the call of Matthias in light of the Ascension and Jesus’ request that they wait for the coming of the Spirit before they start proclaiming the Good News from Jerusalem to the end of the world. While they need to wait for the Spirit, they can do a bit of transitional planning, like adding a new member to the Apostolic team.

                The opening verses of Acts (1:1-5) detail Jesus’ activity during the period between his resurrection and his ascension. During this period Jesus “presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). For our purposes, we’ve arrived at Day Forty and look forward to Day Fifty (Pentecost). Jesus’ ascension is an essential piece in the story, but it doesn’t get the attention of Easter or Pentecost. However, it is important enough that the Creeds take notice. Thus, we confess with the Apostle’s Creed: “He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.” Now, it is true that this language is a bit archaic. We no longer envision living in a three-storied universe, but the imagery, if taken metaphorically still speaks to the reality of separation.

                The Ascension story is the linchpin that connects Luke’s two-volume story. While the Gospel tells us about the ministry of Jesus, the Book of Acts tells the story of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Although the Book of Acts is also known as the “Acts of the Apostles,” it’s not the Apostles who serve as the central actors, it’s the Holy Spirit, who inspires apostles such as Peter and John, along with Paul, but also other figures such as Stephen and Philip (both numbered among the Seven), to engage in ministries that move the good news outward from Jerusalem toward the ends of the Earth. While Matthew does give the disciples a commission to preach the Gospel, baptizing them and making disciples (Mt. 28:19-20), Matthew doesn’t offer us a follow-up story as to how this takes place. Only Luke does that. 

                In Luke’s telling of the story, the Ascension takes place when Jesus leads his disciples out to Bethany. There he lifts his hands, blesses his disciples, and then withdraws from them by being carried into heaven. As for his followers, they worship him and return to Jerusalem “with great joy.” After this, they went into the Temple where they continually blessed God (Lk 24:50-52). In Acts, Luke begins with a recap of Jesus’ ministry during Eastertide, before turning to the ascension. While the Gospel gives the impression that the ascension happened soon after his resurrection, in the Book of Acts, it takes place forty days later.

                While Luke’s Gospel suggests that the ascension takes place near Bethany, in Acts Luke doesn’t give a precise location. He just tells us that when they gathered together, they asked Jesus when he was going to restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6). In other words, in Luke’s telling, the disciples were still expecting the restoration of the Davidic kingdom, assumedly with the risen Christ as its ruler. It’s clear that even then that the disciples had a rather narrow vision of Jesus’ calling. They were still hoping for regime change in Jerusalem, but as we’ll see Jesus has a much larger vision, one that was far less localized than this. Indeed, they still had what we might call a nationalist vision (does that sound familiar?).  Willie Jennings offers this interpretation of their question:

When will we rule our land, and become self-determining, and if need be impose our will on others. All of this would, of course, be for the good of the world, they suppose. A resurrected Jesus cannot stop such a request from being made, nor could he thwart nationalist desire. Nationalist desire has tempted Israel from the beginning and in fact tempts all people. [Jennings, Acts (Belief), p. 17].

While it’s understandable that his disciples would harbor such a vision, it’s not the kind of realm that Jesus has in mind. He’s not interested in gaining political power. His is not a nationalist vision. Jesus’ response to their request is very straightforward. He tells them that it’s none of their business when God restores the kingdom to Israel. That’s the Father’s business. This may sound rather blunt, but this is essentially the message that Jesus gave to the disciples and offers to us. So, rather than spend time speculating or worrying about when this will take place, Jesus wants them to know that he has a job for them. It’s a job that requires the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. He wants them to do something that most of us find difficult. That something is to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

                What Jesus wants the disciples to focus on is the commission he’s going to give, which involves the coming of the Spirit, who will empower them to be Jesus’ witnesses, taking the gospel message to the ends of the earth. This is why it’s best to think of this book as the Acts of the Holy Spirit.

                Having told them to wait for the coming of the Spirit (Acts 1:4-5), in Acts 1: 8, Jesus gives his followers explicit instructions. Soon, they will receive power from the Holy Spirit so that they can be Jesus’ witnesses, beginning in Jerusalem and working outward from there to Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth. This brief statement sets the course for the rest of the book. Once the Spirit falls on the community, they will begin a steady movement outward from Jerusalem. Philip will take the message to Samaria (Acts 8). Paul will receive his call in Acts 9 and land in Damascus where believers are already present. Then in Acts 10 Peter meets up with Cornelius in Caesarea, opening the door to Gentiles to enter the community. Again, we must remember that this work occurs through the empowering work of the Holy Spirit, making this a Spirit-defined mission.   

                Having given the disciples their assignment—taking the gospel to the ends of the earth—they are to wait (tarry) until the Spirit comes upon them, and then when the Spirit comes, they will go out into the world and bear witness to Jesus, Jesus ascends. According to Luke, Jesus is lifted up and a cloud takes him away. While this reflects a three-storied understanding of the universe, we needn’t get distracted by its “unscientific” nature. What it does is reflect Luke’s apocalyptic vision of Jesus’ ministry. After all, clouds often symbolize divine activity.  The focus here is Jesus’ departure. Jesus’ embodied presence ends, and now it will be the Holy Spirit, who empowers and leads them in the work ahead. But, while Jesus’ gathered followers stare into the sky in amazement as Jesus disappears into the clouds, two men in white robes appear. They ask Jesus’ followers why they are looking up toward heaven. The men then assure the followers that Jesus has been taken up into heaven and will return in the same fashion (in the clouds). Jesus will return, but in the meantime, they have work to do. Beverly Gaventa comments that “the words of these two messengers reinforce Jesus’ command that the apostles return to Jerusalem; they are not to dawdle here but, presumably, to do what has been commanded” [Gaventa, Acts, p. 66].    

                You might say that the word from the two men served as both a reminder and a wake-up call. They needed to move on to the next phase of ministry. Yes, this is an interim period, but much work can get done during an interim ministry. At least that’s how I’ve understood the period. You get things ready for the next phase. You might tarry a bit, but you can prepare yourself for what is to come. So, in verse 12, we’re told that this group of Jesus people headed back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives (Olivet), which was a Sabbath’s days walk from Jerusalem (eight-tenths of a mile). The inclusion of this bit of information suggests that the readers might not know where the Mount of Olives was located and that they had at least a degree of knowledge of Mosaic law. When they returned to Jerusalem they regathered in the upper room where they had been staying. Luke names at least some of the people who gathered in that room. They included Peter, John, James, and Andrew, along with Philip, Thomas Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. The entire gang was there, except, of course, for Judas. They devoted themselves to prayer along with “certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers” (Acts 1:13-14). This list of disciples is the same as found in Luke 6:14-16 (with the notable exception of Judas).

                If we continue reading Acts 1, we discover that this listing includes only a portion of the community. In verse 15, we read that Peter stood up among the believers, a crowd of about a hundred and twenty. After noting the death of Judas, he invites the community to choose from among their group “one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John . . .” (Acts 1:21-22). Casting lots they chose Matthias. He will join the apostolic band. His moment in the sun is short as Matthias will not appear in the story again. At least not in the biblical story. Of course, as we read through the Book of Acts, only Peter, John, and James the brother of Jesus will appear again in the story. With the choosing of Matthias to replace Judas, the community is ready to welcome the Holy Spirit. There’s nothing left to do but wait for the one who will empower them to pursue this ministry.                 

                What we learn from this story is that there is a time for tarrying (waiting), but tarrying doesn’t involve staring up into space. Waiting means getting ready to welcome what is to come. It’s not a period of anxiety, but it is a period of anticipation. Soon, their tarrying will give way to action as the Holy Spirit falls on the community on the Day of Pentecost. Then the mission outward begins in earnest. The point is, however, that the work of Christ’s witnesses requires the presence of the Spirit. Without that Spirit no program, no how wonderful will work. With the Spirit, however, the mission of God will take us to the ends of the earth.