A newspaper reporter went to interview a successful entrepreneur. HOW DID YOU DO IT? He asked. HOW DID YOU MAKE ALL THIS MONEY? “I’m glad you asked”, he replied. “Actually, it’s a rather wonderful story. You see, when my wife and I married we started out with a roof over our heads, some food in our pantry, and 5 cents between us. I took that nickel, went down to the grocery store, bought an apple, and shined it up. Then I sold it for 10 cents.” THEN WHAT HAPPENED? The interviewer asked. “Well, then I bought 2 more apples, shined them up, and sold them for 20 cents.”  The reporter was thinking, This is going to make a fascinating story. THEN WHAT? “Then my father-in-law died and left us 20 million dollars!”

This guy prospered all right, but obviously not due to his own entrepreneurial skills, but because he was connected to the right people. In this case, through marriage, he made all the connections he would ever need to be financially successful.  When we hear someone say, I HAVE CONNECTIONS, it means they have the power to get things done. Everybody longs for that kind of connection.

Being disconnected is a whole other matter, isn’t it? Many of us have had the experience of being cut off from someone we love by death or divorce. There is no more devastating experience in life. Different events in life can leave us feeling disconnected. Sometimes it’s having your children grow up and leave home. On this Mother’s Day, I need to report about a gang of older mothers in New York. They call themselves the “IT WOULDN’T HURT YOU TO PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL ME ONCE IN AWHILE” club.

As Jesus prepares to ascend into heaven He promises the disciples a very special connection. I AM GOING TO SEND YOU THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD. I CAN’T BE EVERYWHERE AT ONCE WHILE IN THIS STATE OF HUMANNESS, BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD WILL NEVER LET YOU OUT OF HIS SIGHT. Now that is being connected. God’s Holy Spirit is with us 24/7.

Today is the celebration of the Ascension of Jesus the Lord. In a sense, it was for Jesus a “going home.” You know, most of us are transplants here in Florida, having come from somewhere else. And for some of you more recent Floridians, it’s likely you still don’t feel like Florida is home yet. It often takes several years before we get there. Until then, we head up north and find ourselves referring to THAT as “going home.” Those who spend half the year here and a half up north must feel like visitors in one of those locations. There can only be one HOME at a time for us. Even Jesus must have experienced that during His brief time on earth.

We speak in theological terms of how Jesus humbled Himself when he came into the world at Bethlehem – in that he became a human being, as well as God. When we confess the Apostles’ Creed we outline the steps or stages of His humbling experience. We recite: born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; crucified; died (God cannot die), and He was buried. Following death, Jesus throws off the shackles of that humiliating combination of God and man. We recite: He descended into hell – there to proclaim His victory over not only death but also the devil; He rose from the dead, and He ascended to the right hand of God; AND He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

There’s a story about two repairmen from the gas company who were checking gas meters in one neighborhood, going from house to house. The parked their truck at one end of the street and worked their way to the other end. At the very last house, a woman watched them, out her kitchen window, and waved as they checked her meter. When they finished one of the gas company guys challenged the other to a foot race back to the truck; something they often did since both considered themselves to still be pretty good athletes. As they approached the truck they realized the nice lady from the last house was running right behind them, huffing and puffing. They stopped and asked her what was wrong and she said HEY, WHEN I SEE 2 GUYS FROM THE GAS COMPANY RUNNING FULL SPEED AWAY FROM MY HOUSE, I FIGURE I BETTER RUN, TOO!

It’s easy to give someone the wrong impression. When we’re trying to converse with an 8-year-old, we choose our words carefully and speak very deliberately to make sure we are understood. But when we’re communicating with adults we make assumptions that everyone is familiar with our expressions and the jargon we use. The announcement that Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God is just such an example. To the uninformed, that statement suggests there is a local throne in heaven and upon it is God the Father. On one side is Jesus, whose mission and purpose has been long since completed. And if there is a place at the right hand of God, there must be one occupied on His left as well. There we suppose we would find the Holy Spirit.

But to picture that is to think spatially and to think locally. And that is far from the true picture of the Christ who fills heaven and earth and the Holy Spirit who never lets us out of his sight. Sitting at the right hand of God simply means having and owning the very power and authority of God. Jesus uses that power and authority to rule the whole universe, even as He uses it to come to us in the Lord’s Supper with His very own body and blood, for the forgiveness of sins.

This celebration of the ascension of Jesus into heaven, this day is a special festival day for us because we are reminded that we, too, are on our way home. This journey of life that we are on DOES have a destination. At a day and time are only known to God, we will be received into those heavenly mansions that Jesus promised He was going on ahead of us to prepare. Of course, we Florida folks aren’t so concerned about the size of that mansion that awaits as will it be snow-free and near the beach?

All joking aside, we live in a world of sin and evil, pain and sorrow, disease and death. We acknowledged that when we stood before God’s altar and pledged ourselves to our spouse – come what may – for better and for worse. We live in a time of war; a time when people kill and maim in the name of a god; a time when the world waits anxiously to see how this will all be resolved. We need the message of the Ascension to comfort us and give us hope.

We are in the process of going home. One day we will have a glorified body. Can you imagine? Not a body that is slowly wearing out, or a body susceptible to this or that disease. A woman was walking up to the nursing home to visit her mom and there was a very elderly looking gentleman sitting out front in his rocking chair with a big smile on his face and greeting everyone. This woman had to inquire, “What is the secret to your happy and positive outlook on life at your age? He laughed and said, “Well, I drink at least a 5th of whiskey a day and smoke 3 packs of cigarettes – and I NEVER exercise and always choose sitting over standing”. Incredible! The woman exclaimed. How old are you if I may ask? “31”.

The Ascension of Jesus points us all toward heaven this morning. But have you ever considered this? We say that one day we will live IN heaven, but we say that we live ON earth. We’re here ON the earth. Sounds to me like earth’s not really ours. However, when we speak of heaven, notice that our hope is not to spend eternity ON heaven. We’re looking forward to being IN heaven. It’s ours. It will surround us; envelop us. Heaven IS our home. Not yet! But the ascension of Jesus proclaims to us IT WILL BE. He’s gone ahead, to prepare a place for us.

AMEN