See It Through the Ascension Angle

Revelation 5:11-14
May 17, 2007
The Ascension of Our Lord

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~

What’s your perspective? What’s your angle when it comes to driving across town? Do you look forward to a drive to Mayfair Mall? From my angle in Whitefish Bay, it’s a terrible drive to have to make. Either you fight your way through the tangle of traffic and stoplights on Silver Spring . . . OR you can swallow hard and white-knuckle it through the Marquette Interchange, and just hope that a Brewers game isn’t letting out at Miller Park. From my angle, it’s an un-enjoyable journey no matter how you drive it.

But from a different angle, it’s not so bad. For someone who’s lived in Chicago or LA, a drive across Milwaukee is like a tiptoe through the tulips. If you’re accustomed to heavy traffic and aggressive driving and commute times of over an hour, well then a drive to Mayfair is like a walk through the park. You simply have to see it from the right angle.

The same thing is true when it comes to the Ascension of our Lord. There are two angles on the ascension. The first is the earthly angle—the perspective of the open-mouthed disciples looking up as the Lord is taken from their sight. This is the perspective that St. Luke gives us. And looking skyward from planet earth, there had to be some uncertainty, some worry and fear for the disciples. When the General takes leave of His troops, the troops have to wonder, “What now? What next? Where do we go from here?” That’s the earthly angle which St. Luke wrote down for our benefit.

But St. John sees it differently. In the book of Revelation, St. John gives us a different angle for seeing the Ascension. In Revelation chapter five we see the Ascension of our Lord from up above. We get a front row seat for what transpires in the heavenly realms when the Risen Christ returns to His heavenly throne, up through endless ranks of angels, to an endless Eastertide. From this angle the sights and sounds are glorious, as angels and archangels and all the company of heaven join their voices in song to the living Lord: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.” From this angle, there’s no uncertainty, no worry, no fear, because Jesus is reigning over heaven and earth.

Beloved in the Lord, that’s the angle for you to have in your heart this Ascension Day. Be invited this day to set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God—where the Lord Jesus is interceding for you and working all things for the good of those who love Him. That’s the prism. That’s the lens. That’s the Ascension angle through which you can see all things.

And yet, that’s not how we see all things. Our sinful nature always sets our sights lower, rather than higher. When Jesus ascended into heaven, the residents of heaven sang that Jesus was worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and praise. Jesus is the rightful, righteous recipient of all that. And yet, we live each day as if we are the ones deserving of power, wealth and wisdom. We’re constantly coveting the strength and honor and praise that only Jesus is worthy to receive. He’s worthy of it all! We’re worthy of none of it.

We’re unworthy because we refuse to see life through the ascension angle. Through the ascension angle we see the living Lord Jesus using all His power, wealth and wisdom for one thing: to accomplish your salvation. He wants to use His mighty strength to carry you through these brief days of sinning and sadness, to carry you through the valley of the shadow of death, to carry you up to meet Him in the clouds of glory. Do you believe that?

If we believed that—if we lived every day of life on earth with the vision afforded us by the Ascension—then surely we would use our power differently. Surely we would manage our wealth differently. Surely we would use our wisdom and strength to bear witness to Jesus, to tell everyone what He has done, and to live each day in the hope that we have in Him.

I want you to see your life through the ascension angle. Because when it comes to your life, there are only two angles through which to see it. Either your life is a sad and meaningless series of unrelated events, or else the risen and ascended Christ is guiding your every step. Either the crosses and hardships you bear have no purpose other than to make you miserable, or else the Lord Jesus is using them to strengthen your faith and draw you closer to Himself. Either the whole world is going straight to hell, or else the man who ascends into heaven is present here and now to save you and serve you and love you. Either your sins are sticking to you like superglue, pulling you down to death and hell, or else Jesus has taken your sins upon Himself, paid your penalty on His crucifixion cross, opening the gates of heaven for you and all who believe.

Can you see that? Can you believe that? If so, then you’re seeing things through the ascension angle. And even if you’re not exactly sure, at least you’re in the right place. Here in the Divine Service is where we see life through the ascension angle most clearly. When we sing “This is the Feast,” we’re singing the song of angels, archangels and all the company of heaven. Here in the Divine Service, the same Jesus who sits at the Father’s right hand, also comes here in the Word of the Gospel, in the Word of His absolution, with His precious body and blood, to open your eyes—to make you see things through the reality of His resurrection and through the angle of His Ascension.

For no matter how weary you may feel tonight—no matter the size of the burdens you carry—Jesus is reigning over heaven and earth. He’s got the whole world—He’s got the little tiny baby—He’s got the wind and the rain—He’s got you and me, brothers and sisters—in His nail-scarred hands. He loves you with a sin-forgiving, death-defying love. Worthy is He to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise, forever and ever. Amen.