Endings and Beginnings (The Ascension of Our Lord)

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Years ago, a friend of mine gave me one of those desk calendars that has a thought for each day of the year. One of those thoughts that I’ve left it at is one that says, “An end shows us the next beginning.” And that really is the way life often works. I especially think about this fact during this time of year, when my Facebook feed is full of pictures and announcements of graduations. Those graduations are indeed a celebrated end of a long course of study. But they’re also the first step of the next beginning in life.

And this is also true of the story of Jesus’ Ascension into heaven.  As we read this story at first glance it seems to be just an ending. Or at least, the disciples saw it as an ending, at least at first. As Luke tells the story, the disciples seemed convinced that this must be the end of:

• History itself – in the reading from Acts, the disciples ask Jesus if this “is the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel.” This is the basic “apocalyptic” question in the Bible – the question of the end times. “Are we done now?” Is God gonna clean up everything and make things perfect.  But they aren’t done, and this isn’t just an ending…

• Their relationship with Jesus – as Jesus ascends into heaven, the disciples stand there literally with their heads in the clouds. Jesus would no longer be with them in the way he had been.  And it takes the angels telling them to get their heads out of the clouds to begin to remember that Jesus promised that he would continue to be with them in new ways, and that they were to remain in the city until they had been “clothed with power from on high”, whatever that meant! But at least it meant that this wasn’t just an ending…

• Their mission with Jesus – after all, the mission of Jesus they had been on had been about Jesus taking the lead and the disciples just following along. And yet, Jesus told them that they were yet to be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Clearly, this wasn’t just an ending, but an ending showing them the next beginning…

And while sometimes the stories of our lives seem like they’re just basically endings, it’s often the case that God is using those endings to point us to new beginnings. And that’s one of the most important take-ways from the story of Jesus’ Ascension. Often, God uses an ending to show us the next beginning.  And that’s especially true during this time of year as we reach:

• the “end” of a program or season – today, we conclude the Easter season, and we reach the “end” Sunday School for this school year; but at the same time we’re gearing up for the beginning Yard Sale and a new way of doing Vacation Bible School; and we’re beginning some new things that we haven’t done before (like hosting Juneteenth and our Refugee apartment furnishing…)

• personal transitions – even if it’s not our own personal kids, many people are graduating and ending a time of study in their lives. But those endings are also the beginning of a new and exciting chapter. And that fact is important for all of us to remember at any time when we face an “ending” in our lives – whether happy or sad.  Indeed, the Resurrection reminds us that even the ending of life on earth points us to the promise of the new beginning of eternal life with God …

• a time where we have to – or get to – do things differently. Even though we sometimes hope for summer to be a time of less busy-ness, it’s usually not! And yet, we often get the opportunity to get busy with some different things – and the end of the school year, even if we or our kids aren’t in school anymore, is sometimes the beginning of an opportunity to focus on something new, and to try something different …

And while endings which show us the next beginning may be filled with a curious mixture of joy, and sadness and maybe even a bit of anxiety, we should see in them God’s power to renew us. For in fact, the message of the Ascension is that God isn’t through with us, just as he wasn’t finished with the disciples of Jesus after his return to heaven. 

And today, although we conclude the Easter Season, Luke reminds us that the story of God’s love for us in Jesus didn’t end with the Ascension. Instead, the “end” pointed them to a new beginning.  And so it is with us. Even today, God continues to call us to be witnesses of Jesus in our time and place. Even today, God continues to empower us with his presence in our lives. And even today, God continues to call us to open our hearts and our minds and our eyes in order to see the new beginnings that Jesus is opening up in our lives.

Amen.