2 Kings 2:9-14

Luke 24:44-53

I don’t know about you but I have heard quite a few sermons in my day.  But I cannot remember ever hearing one on the Ascension of Jesus.  Being raised in the Presbyterian church, we learned about a lot of things, but what happened to Jesus after his resurrection we seem to just gloss over.  This week in the church we remember this particular event in the corporate understanding of the church and Christ.  So I chose to select different scripture readings dealing with ascension.  Only two people have ascended to heaven: Elijah the prophet who we just heard about and who all expected to return before the Messiah came, and of course our risen Lord Jesus.  Now before I read the account from Luke, it is important to remember Luke and Mark are the only gospels to tell of the ascension, but it is so central to Luke’s understanding that he concludes his gospel with it and then starts the second book he writes, the Acts of the Apostles with the same event.  Read Luke.

When I was in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center, there were thousands of fifth graders there, because they all got in free that week.  Seeing all those fifth graders reminded me of Parker’s fifth grade project on famous people.  Each child dressed up as the famous person and had learned many interesting facts to share with each person who came up to them to learn.  One boy chose Eric Clapton because he was learning to play the guitar.  Another chose Jackie Robinson because he loves baseball.  Parker dressed up as Ramses the II.  I am not sure of the connection other than he seemed to be into Egypt at the time.  One girl dressed up at Princess Diana and told of her life all the way up to the tragic car crash.  I must admit, if I were to pick a person today to dress up as, I might have chosen Lady Di.  I remember being fascinated by her life; the fairytale wedding- my mom and I arrived in London on the day Charles and Diana were married with all the fanfare.  I remember one guy had the union jack painted on his face, and a wonderful firework display that night- better than any I had ever seen and choreographed to music.  I admired how she faced many challenges in her life: and eating disorder, and unfaithful husband, raising two boys and the way she seemed to move beyond herself and her problems to help people in need like children with AIDS and working to get rid of landmines.  She did all of this with apparent grace and ease.

This is a long introduction to ask you the question, “Who do you look up to?  Yes, I know it’s not proper English to end with a preposition.  But if I were to ask, “To whom do you look up?”  you’d think I was crazy.  So dangling participles aside, who do you look up to?  It’s a fair question because the essence of what we believe and value is personified in those we look up to and admire: they portray what we would like to be.

In Scripture, Elisha wanted to be like Elijah- the greatest prophet to date, so he asked to inherit a double share of his spirit.  Amazingly when Elijah ascended Elisha received the mantle of Elijah, the blessings of his connection with God and was able to follow in his footsteps.  Oh wouldn’t it be great if we could do the same with the people we admire? Inherit the best part of them as they share their wisdom, their talents with us.  I think we do at some level carry with us the people who have influenced us.  If you were here for Shirley’s Memorial that became apparent. We hear their words, we strive to make them proud, hoping to ascend to the level to which they have challenged us.

Who are some of the individuals you looked up to?  Maybe Joe DiMaggio, Frank Sinatra, Albert Schweitzer, or Florence Nightingale.  Or Neil Armstrong, who walked on the moon, Mother Teresa who met poverty with new grace and courage, or Martin Luther King Jr. who attacked the evils of racial prejudice with truth of the gospel and the power of God’s forgiveness and love.

On this Memorial Day weekend, it is important to think about our heroes.  A relative who fought in a war, a young woman to volunteer to be a nurse overseas, heck you might be one of the heroes we look up to.  One person I look up to is a dear friend of mine who was a Donut Dolly in Vietnam war.  Her sense of service and adventure took her to places I cannot even imagine. So many of you have served our nation so faithfully.  Thank you for your service!!

The story is told of a young teacher who rented a room from Mrs. Turner.  She was an elderly woman who the teacher called Mamaw.   The teacher bought the food and Mamaw did the cooking.  Together they were like family.  Mamaw loved to talk about religion.  She’d say, “I’m a hard-shell Baptist and proud of it.”  But she had a problem: she wasn’t sure about her salvation.  As she explained it, she was saved at a revival meeting as a teenager.  The evangelist was a handsome young man who wore a three-piece suit and was the most eloquent preacher she had ever heard.  When he gave the invitation, she gave her life to the Lord.  It was a life changing experience.

“So what is the problem?” the teacher asked.  Mamaw got a serious look on her face and said she found out later the evangelist got drunk after the revivals.  How could she be sure of her salvation?  The teacher told her it did not matter.  It is God’s righteousness that matters, not ours.  She nodded, but you were not sure if she believed him.  She had looked up to this young preacher willing to entrust her soul to him, and he let her down (Phillip McLarty, Sermonwriter).

That’s the problem, isn’t it?  Sooner or later, those who we look up prove to be painfully human- just as human as the rest of us.

The disciples were human too.  Here they were asked to spread the gospel, a tremendous responsibility, but they had no idea how to do that.  But our risen Lord provided all that they needed, by sending the Holy Spirit so they could be clothed with power from on high.  For when we are draped in the Spirit of God we can do all things.  Maybe even live lives worthy of admiration.  Jesus gave this final gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit, before he ascended into heaven.  So now we have the Spirit with us, as well as Christ our mediator and friend, seated at the right hand of God to intercede on our behalf.  Jesus ascended as he was blessing the disciples- Jesus blesses us still.  The fact that our risen Lord ascended to heaven makes him both as equal to God and the giver of the Holy Spirit.  But more importantly, helps to locate him in our lives as well as in heaven.

No matter if your heroes are inventors or scientists, missionaries or philanthropists, statesmen or entertainers they all have feet of clay and sooner or later are apt to disappoint.  So who can you look up to?  For us as Christians the answer is simple: Jesus Christ. Jesus the one ascended is the one we look up to. Jesus is more than a great teacher, prophet, miracle worker or saint; he’s the Son of God, who died for our sins and rose from the dead that we might have the promise of eternal life.

That is who we celebrate today: This same Jesus who lived among us and died on the cross, ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty and to reign as King of kings.

The Good News of the gospel is that Jesus is the one person in all of life we can look up to who will never forsake us, never disappoint us, never let us down.  Look up to Jesus and your faith will be anchored in the One who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Amen.