Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, May 13, 2018
In our Scripture from Ephesians, Paul wants our faith and love to increase. He prays for “the eyes of our hearts” to be enlightened—to light up with the hope, riches, and great power of God. He wants us to come to know Jesus at a deeper level. He wants the great power displayed in the resurrection and the ascension to greatly impact us. He has us consider what it means for Jesus to be raised from the dead and raised to heaven.
“He is seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
God challenges the idea that the Gospel is no longer relevant—that when Jesus ascended to heaven he went away. No one denies that Jesus is a historical figure. But many deny that he is living and active in this world. Even as believers we may have a narrow vision of Christ and his presence in our lives and the lives of those around us. Or we may sometimes grow cynical about just how active God really is in our daily lives. I think technology can often be a lot more impressive and relevant in our minds. It is pretty impressive—and a bit frightening—to think that when you walk into a store the cameras may be equipped with facial recognition software to track your movements and purchasing behavior—all to better help them sell you more stuff. Are we more captivated by what is on our smartphones than by what is happening right around us? Someone sent me a cartoon this week of a man standing at the gate of heaven being told, “You had a great life but you were too busy looking down at your phone. And you missed it.” Just as the angel in our reading from Acts challenged the disciples after the ascension to stop gazing up at the sky. So Paul’s prays for the eyes of our heart to be enlightened so that we may see the risen Christ as living and active.
The wording of our Scripture—that he is seated at the right hand of the father—can sound archaic and distant. This, of course, is a metaphor since God is spirit. And don’t worry, left handers, this is simply emphasizing the strength of God and a reference to the Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah. God wants us to know this simple truth—Jesus reigns. The Psalms are rich with descriptions of the exalted Christ who sits at the strong hand of God. Our Psalm we sang earlier talks about God who reigns over the nations and sits upon his holy throne. God the Father and God the Son both share power and authority. When Jesus was raised from the dead—and when Jesus was raised into heaven in the ascension—he was positioning himself to be living and active in the world. He may not be visible and audible like he was in his earthly ministry, but in many ways he is even more present in the world.
This is the way Paul prays for us to come to know him—as highly exalted and the one “who fills all in all.” Theologians call this the ubiquity of Christ—or the omnipresence of God—“who fills all in all.” This is how we have come to know Jesus—the eyes of our hearts enlightened—our imaginations inspired. This is the Jesus we trust—the one who died for our sins and was raised from the dead and who ascended to his heavenly throne. The ascended Christ is the answer to our prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The King comes to us by his Word, his Spirit, the Water, the Bread and the Wine. Our reigning Messiah comes to us when we pray and encourage one another in the Lord. This is the beautiful truth that we celebrate today: that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. We celebrate this every time we confess the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. We pray for its relevance every time we pray in the Lord’s Prayer “thy Kingdom come” and celebrate it when we say, “thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.”
Jesus is seated at the strong hand of the Father. He is not up there. He is here to guide and protect you. The Word made flesh is living and active (Heb 4:12). He upholds the universe by the word of his power (Heb 1:3). Jesus is at the helm. Though the waters roar and the thunder cracks, Jesus will take us safely through the storm of this life. Jesus is at his command post and the point man who holds our field in battle. His rod and his staff will shepherd us through the valley of darkness and the shadow of death. Jesus is God’s right hand man. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit work in perfect unity and harmony to deliver us from the perils of our sin. Jesus is reigning Messiah who does not just rule over us but for us. He forgives. He assures us of his grace and love. He gives us hope in eternal life and a share in his Kingdom now. Jesus is King whose reign extends over heaven and earth. His Kingdom knows no boundaries—and no dead ends. His goodness overflows and spills out of his heavenly Kingdom to all the earth. The ascended Christ fills all in all.
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