Title: That We Might be One
Text: John 17:20-26
First Preached: First Congregational Church of Saugatuck
When you were in school, did you ever have one of those subjects that you just didn’t get? When I went to seminary, it was the Ascension. Christmas makes sense. God bridges the gap between heaven and earth. Easter makes sense. God breaks the power of death. Pentecost makes sense. God sends the Spirit to teach and empower us. But the ascension? How does Jesus going away make anything better? I can totally empathize with the disciples, staring up at the sky.
Imagine their emotional roller coaster. Palm Sunday and the crowds love you; Good Friday and they want to kill you. Holy Saturday, you weep; Easter Sunday, you rejoice. The risen Jesus spends 40 days with you, eating and talking and explaining, but what’s 40 days? It’s the blink of an eye.
Original work by .Dianna. via Flickr
When I was a kid, I never understood why it took so long to leave Grandma’s house. I gave her a hug in the living room, but that wasn’t enough. I told her I loved her in the kitchen, but that wasn’t enough. I gave her a hug again at the door, but that wasn’t enough. Once I got buckled, I let her give me a kiss, but that wasn’t enough. We’d back out of the driveway, and we had to wave I love you signs the whole way, but that wasn’t enough. We’d back out into the road and wave I love you signs out the windows. Then we’d honk the horn three times, which means, of course, I love you. Only then could we drive away. But even then, the very last thing I’d see was Grandma waving I love you signs and leaning over for one last glimpse as we rounded the corner.
I didn’t get it then, but I do now. I can totally empathize with disciples, watching their master go, staring up into the sky for one last glimpse. I wonder if they had the same questions. How does this make things better? Where did he go? Why is he leaving us?
When we have questions in the New Testament, the Old Testament gives us the vocabulary, the context, we need. So, where in the Old Testament does someone ascend into heaven? Enoch and Elijah.
Enoch’s the easy one. Turn to Genesis 5:24. “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” As you can see, Enoch is part of a list. It’s a genealogy of ten generations from Adam to Noah. And the recurring refrain in the list is “And then he died. And then he died. And then he died.” Just when it looks like all hope is gone, the tolling of the bell misses a beat. “He was no more, because God took him.” And what is the foundation for this miracle? He walked with God.
Therefore, Jesus’ ascension places him in an elite and tiny circle. He is one of only three, and the mark of all three is radical obedience based on a personal relationship with God.
Which brings us to Elijah. I won’t make you turn there, because it’s a long story. Lets sum up. Elijah is commonly recognized as the greatest of all the prophets of Israel. The Bible records 14 miracles in his lifetime, a great Hebrew number. 7 days of creation mean that 7 is the number of completion or perfection. Double sevens, means Elijah was the ultimate prophet. He walked with God, and just like Enoch, God took him.
But before he left, his student, Elisha made a bold request. He asked for a double portion of his master’s spirit. And the request is granted. When Elijah goes up, his mantle falls to the ground. A mantle is an outer cloak, worn for warmth, but a nice one can be a symbol of power, like a well-tailored suit speaks of influence today. By putting on Elijah’s mantle, Elisha is sending a message to everyone who sees it, that he is continuing the work of his master. And he does. The Bible records 28 miracles for Elishah, exactly double the number of his master.
Therefore, when Jesus leaves us, it is not as orphans. He goes up so that his Spirit might come down, so that we can take up his mantle and continue the work he began. Perhaps this is what he meant when he told his disciples that they would do even greater things than he.
It’s possible that Luke is trying to draw that connection. Remember Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. They’re meant to be read as a pair. In the gospel, Luke records 20 miracles for Jesus. Five means a handful, so ten means a good bunch, a double handful. So 20 means a pile. A LOT. It’s not seven, so it’s not the perfect list. It’s a fair representation of the abundance of God’s Spirit in the life of Jesus. So, if Luke records 20 in the gospel, for Jesus, how many do you think he includes in the book of Acts, for the disciples? 40?
Nope. 20. We don’t receive a double share of Jesus’ Spirit. We receive exactly the same Spirit. Scripture says that Elijah was a man like any other. What marked him as a prophet was that he carried a measure, a portion of God’s Spirit. That could be doubled. But Jesus was the incarnate Word of God; how do you double infinity? That Luke would place the disciples on a par with their master is amazing.
Actually, he goes a step further than that. Luke records 20 specific, or personal miracles in the book of acts. But 10 times he mentions them generally. Peter’s shadow falls on the street and “many” are healed. Stephen does “great signs and wonders”. Philip does “miraculous signs” and healings in Samaria. And Paul is recorded on more than one occasion as performing signs or healings.
So, personally, each Christian can rely on the full Spirit of God, but that Spirit is also at work generally, in the world. We can know the Spirit, but we can never know it all. This is the foundation of Congregationalism. Everyone in this room can speak with the authority and conviction of the Spirit. And every one in this room does so with humility, grounded in the certainty that God is at work in ways we cannot fully grasp.
Jesus did not leave us, or abandon us. He went up, so the Spirit could come down. I believe this is why he tells Mary, “Don’t hold onto me.” I can’t be spiritually present for everyone if I’m physically tied to you. This is why the disciples are confronted by angels who say, “Why are you standing here, staring into the sky?” They were so attached to his physical presence, that God had to shoo them away, so they could prepare for the new thing God was about to do. By leaving the physical grasp of the disciples, he made himself available to all of us.
More than that, by ascending to Heaven, Jesus completed a fundamental change in the nature of the trinity. Our flesh, our very flesh has been united with God. Humanity has been welcomed into the communion that defines the heart of God. This is the fulfillment of the prayer of Jesus, that we might be one with God as he is one with God, that we might be one with each other as Father, Son, and Sprit are one with each other. May it be so with us, today.
