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+ + + In Nomine Jesu + + +
Please join me in prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed! Alleluia!)
Scientia potentia est, which, translated into English, means “knowledge is power”, or at least so goes a Latin saying often attributed to English philosopher Francis Bacon, though the exact Latin phrase translated “knowledge is power” apparently is first found in a later work of Bacon’s one-time secretary, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. Many centuries earlier a Biblical proverb had similarly said that “A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge increases his might” (Proverbs 24:5). (Wikipedia.) But, in tonight’s Epistle Reading, the Divinely‑inspired St. Paul notably prayed differently, that, by the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of God, the saints who were in Ephesus might know—and so also that we might know—among other things, what is the immeasurable greatness of God the Father’s power toward believers, in keeping with the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when, among other things, the Father seated Christ at His right hand in the heavenly places. Or, put another way, as we consider tonight’s Epistle Reading on this Ascension Day, we realize that “Jesus’s Ascension is an example of God’s power for you”.
Tonight’s Epistle Reading in its original Greek is one long sentence of 169 Greek words, which makes it the second-longest sentence in the Greek of the New Testament. Particularly relevant for us is how, in this report of both St. Paul’s thanking God for the believers’ faith in the Lord Jesus and their love toward all the saints and his petitioning God for their enlightenment, St. Paul heaps up the words related to both “knowledge” and “power” and so emphasizes both “knowledge” and “power”. St. Paul’s mentioning the Lord’s being seated at the God the Father’s right hand after the Ascension of the Lord is no doubt why the Epistle Reading is appointed for the Ascension of the Lord, but, in the Epistle Reading, St. Paul notably uses the Ascended Lord’s being seated at God the Father’s right hand as an example to help both his original recipients and us better know God’s immeasurably-great power toward us who believe.
Many people certainly may not know that today is the Ascension of Our Lord, and, of those who do know that today is the Ascension of Our Lord, many may think or say, “So what?” Even those of us who have known and cared enough to come in-person to, Skype-into, or later stream or download this Divine Service may not fully or at all understand why the Ascension of Our Lord matters, perhaps not beyond the Lord’s ending His forty days of post-resurrection appearances, and so essentially changing the primary way that He was present with His disciples‑turned‑apostles and so also present with His Church and Her ministry. Like the saints who were in Ephesus for whom St. Paul had some reason to pray as he did for their greater enlightenment, so also we are in need of greater enlightenment, not only about the Ascension of Our Lord itself but also about God’s immeasurably-great power toward us who believe, of which immeasurably-great power the seating of the Ascended Lord at the Father’s right hand is an example. We may wrongly think that that power cannot carry us through the present darkness into future glory (confer Roehrs-Franzmann, ad loc Ephesians 1:15-23, p.187). Or, we may wrongly think that that power does not avail for us at all. To be sure, on our own we cannot perceive that power or all that it can and does do for us (Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration II:12, 15), for, on account of our sinful nature and its resulting trespasses and sins, we are spiritually dead and deserve physical death and eternal torment.
In order to save us from our spiritual death and the physical death and eternal torment that we deserve on account of our sins, God, out of His great love for us, sent His Son into our human flesh to die on the cross for us. In the personal union of the Son’s Divine and human natures, the inherent attributes of the Son of God, such as power and authority, were communicated to the man Jesus, the Christ (Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration VIII:51, 55). For a time, He did not always or fully use those attributes, so that He could die the death that we deserved, in our place. But, by His great might, God the Father raised Christ from the dead, both vindicating Him and showing the acceptance of His sacrifice for us (Winger, ad loc Ephesians 1:20, p.244). Now, the man Jesus always and fully uses the Son of God’s attributes that are communicated to Him, and He uses them for our good, such as by creating and sustaining our faith (Pieper, II:387). When we repent of our sin and trust God to forgive our sin for Jesus’s sake, then God does forgive us—our sinful nature, our sins related to His power, or whatever our sin might be.
God forgives our sinful nature and all our sins through His Means of Grace. Many are first enlightened with the water and Word of Holy Baptism, and all who are baptized are buried with Christ Jesus by baptism into death, in order that, just as He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we, too, might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4). In baptism we were not only buried but also raised with Christ through faith in the powerful working of God, Who raised Him from the dead (Colossians 2:12). And, now that Christ is ascended, He is especially present with His Church by way of the bread and wine of the Sacrament of the Altar that are His Body given for us and His blood shed for us, which thereby give us the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Jesus’s being figuratively seated at God the Father’s right hand in the heavenly places does not keep Him from being present on this altar, distributed by me, and received by you. Yes, Jesus is in some sense present everywhere according to both His Divine and human natures, but we are directed to look for Him there, in the Sacrament, where He promises to be and where He truly is with His Church to the end of the age.
Forgiven through God’s Means of Grace, like the saints who were in Ephesus, our faith in the Lord Jesus leads us to love all the saints, God’s people made holy by grace through faith in Jesus Christ—our faith leads us to do good works for them in keeping with our various callings in life. As St. Paul prayed for the saints who were in Ephesus, we pray for ourselves and for one another, that God may give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that we may be further enlightened and so know the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, in keeping with the working of His great might that He worked in Christ, when He seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms. There, our Ascended Lord is 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 one to come. God the Father put all things under our Ascended Lord’s feet and gave Him as head over all things for the benefit of His Church, which is His Body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all. God’s immeasurably great power has already determined the outcome of the “war”, even if we might seemingly lose “battles” along the way.
In some sense, scientia potentia est, “knowledge is power”, not because Francis Bacon or Thomas Hobbes said it, but because the Divinely-inspired author of Proverbs essentially said it. Yet more important than wise people’s increasing their own strength is our better‑knowing God’s power. And, as we have considered tonight, our better-knowing God’s power is one way Jesus’s Ascension matters to us: “Jesus’s Ascension is an example of God’s power for you!” We know by faith that, despite all appearances to the contrary, that power does avail for us. As we live each day with repentance and faith, we know that power can and will carry us through the present darkness into future glory!
Amen.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed! Alleluia!)
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
+ + + Soli Deo Gloria + + +