Ascension Day

Ascension Day Farewell for the Future 5/5/05

Do you have any idea how many “farewells” and “goodbyes” you’ve experience in the past week? I’ve been thinking lately about the “goodbyes” and “farewells” in my life. We experience “goodbyes” at many levels, whether it is a child going off to school, a spouse heading off to work or a trip, an adult child —away from home---concluding a phone call, a sister or brother in Christ heading home after worship, a dear organist friend moving away, or the death of a loved one. Our days abound with “goodbyes,” and I’ve noticed that most farewells are for the future.” What I mean is that when we say “goodbye” there is always some reference regarding the future. Our “goodbye” represents the conclusion of something in the present, but our “goodbyes” almost always anticipate the future. This is not the end, but only a temporary separation from those we love.

In our goodbyes we are often add something like “talk to you soon or “see you later” or “give me a call”! We are unwilling to leave the relationship indefinitely interrupted. We attempt to identify when this relation will resume. When I leave the house, I share with Jill when I think I’ll arrive back home… “See you for lunch!” or “I’ll be home after choir rehearsal!” This past Wednesday Jill flew out to Philadelphia to spend some 12 days with our daughter Hannah as she underwent hip surgery this past Friday). Our “goodbye” included plans for when next we will speak by phone and clarification of the time she returns home later this month. Although we were clearly saying our “goodbyes,” we were also establishing plans for when we will be together again.

Some of my family and I joined my father on a visit to my mother’s grave this past April 18^th. The grave stone includes my mother’s name and the dates of her birth and death. On the same stone is my father’s name, but only his date of birth. Following family prayer, and with tears in his eyes and voice, my father pointed to the space next to where my mother is buried and remarked, “That’s my space. I’ll see you later honey!” In this “goodbye” dad demonstrated his faith-founded assurance that he and mother will, one day, be together again.

Our farewells anticipate the future comes in the instructions we offer for the time ahead. That is to say, between now and the next time we see each other, here is what I hope or expect or pray for you: “Sleep tight,” before falling asleep; “Be good,” before leaving the house; “Take care and drive safely,” before driving away. These are all simple statements, sometimes said without much thought, but they all reflect the same heart and the same pattern: Until we see each other again, here’s what I wish. So it is with Jesus’ farewell, recorded in by St. Luke in our Acts and Gospel lessons…Jesus prepares to leave this earth and offers a farewell for the future!

A good dramatic series on television almost always begins each episode with scenes from previous episodes. That sort of context-setting is necessary for the viewer to be up-to-speed when the new action begins. This is essentially what Luke offers to Theophilus, and to us, as he concludes his Gospel account and begins his “sequel,” which we know as the Book of Acts. Acts begins with a scene from the “previous episode,” as Luke records Jesus’ final words to His disciples, then His Ascension, and then a brief glimpse of the disciples following the Ascension. In so doing, Luke does bring us up-to-speed for the upcoming actions of the early church.

We know nothing beyond speculation about this man Theophilus and in all the New Testament he is only mentioned in Luke 1:3 and Acts 1:1. Some interpreters suggest that there was not even an actual person named Theophilus, but that as his name literally means “friend of God” or “lover of God,” Luke directs the book of Acts to all who are “friends” and “lovers” of God. Who knows? Luke wrote it and “friends” and “lovers” of God are still reading it!

What we do know is that in Jesus’ farewell discourse He reveals to His followers what will occur after His “goodbye.” As recorded in Luke 24, Jesus tells His followers that they will “preach in his name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.” He speaks expectantly about sending His disciples “what my Father has promised.” In the Acts 1:8 Christ’s followers are told “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem…to the ends of the earth.” This farewell for the future is affirmed in Acts 1:11 as “two men dressed in white,” tell the disciples: “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Farewells for the faithful, as with our Lord, are always farewells for the future. When the world says “Life is over,” Jesus promises that we’ve just begun! With Christ, the old has been made new! As the saying goes, “Christians never see each other for the last time!” And so it is! When people of faith say “Good-bye,” we actually mean “See you later!” And so we shall! AMEN.