Finding Jesus on a Cloudy Day
Pastor Mathew Magera – 6/2/19 – Sermon 352
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Trufant, MI
To God be the Glory!
Grace and peace to you from God our Father, from our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“He ascended into heaven and is
seated at the right hand of the Father.” We know these words well from the
Apostles’ Creed. Though we read the accounts backwards today, what we have
heard from the very end of the Gospel of Luke and the very beginning of the book
of Acts is the ascension of Jesus into heaven. We almost have two versions of
the same story as Luke concludes volume one and begins volume two of his
writing.
It’s been 40 days since the resurrection. In this
time since that day, Jesus had been appearing to different disciples,
presenting himself to them and giving them many proofs that he was indeed
alive. This need for proofs must have spoken to the overwhelming doubt that ran
through the multitudes who believed he was dead. While proving he was who he
said he was Jesus also spoke to them about the kingdom of God, promising the
gift of the Holy Spirit who will be coming to give them power from on high. He
even opened their minds to understand the scriptures. On this last encounter,
Jesus entrusts his disciple with the mission of being his witnesses near, far,
and across the world. Then, at that very moment, Jesus was taken up before
their eyes into the sky and they watched him, and they watched him, and they
watched him until a cloud eventually hid him from their sight. Though he was
gone, their eyes were glued to that cloud as if the harder the stared they
could pierce a hole in the cloud itself and continue to see Jesus as he
ascended higher and higher. When Jesus disappeared, they kept looking for him,
their eyes fixed to the sky. It’s here where we have the “happily ever after”
of Luke’s Gospel as the story of Jesus concludes and the “once upon a time” of
Acts as the story of the Church begins.
Thinking of those two fairy-tale type sayings, I
enjoy a good fairy tale. Whether it’s Goldilocks or the Little Red Hen or
Little Red Riding Hood, I remember growing up with these classic stories. I
even remember in 4th grade begin given the task of taking a popular
fairy tale and retelling it with a twist. It’s how I came up with the ever
clever tale of Goldi-bear. How original, right? But, if there is anything I
remember about these classic fairy tales is that no matter what happens in the
middle, the story always works out in the end. There always seems to be that
happily ever after ending. If you read the older German telling of these tales,
however, there is not always a happy ending. In fact, the lessons taught in
these German tales were more meant to scare you out of a habit rather than give
a peaceful ending.
For instance, I was reading a German tale this week
called “Die Geschichte von Hans Guck-in-die-Luft.” Perhaps you’ve heard of it.
In English we might call it, “The Tale of Johnny Look-in-the-Air” The story
follows Johnny, a school boy, who carried a writing book with him and who
always had his gaze skyward daydreaming about his writing. As he walked to
school, he wouldn’t be watching where he was going and so everyone would look
at him and call him Johnny Look-in-the-air. In fact, it seemed not only were
his eyes fixed on the sky, but he wasn’t paying attention one day when people
were trying to tell him he was about to run into a dog on his path. As you
might imagine, Johnny ran right into the dog and both were hurt pretty badly
from what took place. He picked up his writing book and hobbled painfully on
his way. On another occasion, Johnny was walking beside the river, head skyward
as usual, and he didn’t notice what was happening. While he watched the sun go
in and out of clouds, he kept walking to the edge of a high riverbank. The
story says even the fish in the river saw what was about to happen. As you
might imagine, Johnny took one large step and fell down into the mighty river.
Luckily the story ends with Johnny being rescued from the river but the fish
were laughing and Johnny was shivering and wet. Not only that, he lost his
writing book. So, the story ends. In another version of the story, Johnny
actually dies from the fall. All because he was never watching where he was
going.
When Jesus disappeared from sight, the disciples
scoured the sky looking for him. Looking at this cloud and that one, hoping to
catch yet another glimpse of their vanishing Lord. One moment he’s there, the
next, he’s gone. I know you know what this feels like. When we see the opposite
of love and peace in the world we feel as if Jesus has gone behind a cloud and
disappeared from sight. When a loved one is taken from us, it feels like Jesus
has disappeared from our sight. When we look for miracles and they fail to
materialize, it feels like Jesus has disappeared. When our health declines and
suddenly we are burdened in unexpected ways, it feels like Jesus has gone. When
you see someone go down the wrong path with little hope, it feels like Jesus is
gone. There are many ways in life where we experience Jesus seemingly moving
away from us and hiding behind a cloud, moments ago tangible, visible,
touchable, and now strangely absent.
It’s during times like these where we might continue
to stare into the great expanse where Jesus just was, hoping, praying, seeking
to find him once again. When Jesus disappears from our sight, we look for him.
We may not even know we’re looking for him, but believe me, we’re looking for
him. We’re looking for that missing piece, that fulfillment, that completeness,
that wholeness, of which we can only find in him. But, when Jesus disappears
from sight we’ll look for that just about anywhere we can get it. We’ll search
the sky and when we even get a faint sense of “hey, that might be him” we latch
on, milking that sight for all its worth just hoping and praying that in seeing
him once again we’ll be made whole.
When Jesus disappears, our eyes search the great
expanse. Think about it, we search for him. Consider whether you’ve found
yourself in these positions: We look for Jesus in our doctors who suggest yet
another option for correcting whatever is ailing us. We look for Jesus in our
smartphones, in gaming and chats, just hoping to pass the time and not have to
think about something. We look for Jesus in the jokes we make to cover up our
hurt, hoping that just laughing about something will be the cure we need. We
look for Jesus at the bottom of the bag of junk food. We look for Jesus at the
bottom of a pint glass, wine glass, shot class, aluminum can, or bottle. We
look for Jesus at the end of a cigarette, at the end of the book, the end of
the road, through the barrel of a gun, in the bottle of pills. We look for
Jesus in the last words of an argument. We look for him. We want him. We turn
life upside down but we don’t see him. We stare into the expanse, hoping that
behind that cloud we would find the Son.
The disciples continued to look into the sky for
Jesus but they could not find him. If it were not for what happened next, they
might end up like Johnny Look-in-the-air. The disciples are diverted by the
voices of angels who assure them he will come back through the clouds and that
looking for him in the great expanse will only cause them to trip and fall. We
must also be diverted from the many places we seek fulfillment and completeness
because we will not find Jesus there. All we will find are distractions from
the path we have been set on that could end up causing us to trip, fall, and
miss him altogether.
Before Jesus ascends into heaven he does two things
for his disciples. He opens their minds to understand the scriptures and he
blesses them. These two actions were
necessary before he left as a means of remaining with them. Of course his
followers would be looking for him if he left them. Jesus knew this and so he
was already one step ahead of them. The disciples wanted to be assured of his
lasting presence with them. Knowing that his time on earth was coming to a
close, Jesus is equipping his followers with the ability to know of his
presence with them even if he is not physically there. This is the same
presence that we experience in his Word and Sacraments.
This is where you might say we find Jesus between
his ascension and his coming again, in Word and Sacrament. But, it’s not
exactly that in these places we find him. Even reading God’s Word cannot help
us to find Jesus. Having the water poured over us in baptism does not help us
find Jesus. Eating a wafer of bread and drinking a small sip of wine does not
help us find Jesus. We know Jesus is present within the Word of God that we
have in scripture and we know by his promise he is present in baptism and Holy
Communion but there have likely been numerous occasions where we have opened
its pages to look for him, or come to the table, and feel like we haven’t found
him at all. This is because it is not that we find Jesus in his Word or his Sacraments,
it’s that in his Word and Sacrament Jesus finds us. When we can’t find Jesus,
it might be best to let him find us. This is the value of the Bible, not that
we can use it to find God but so that through its use God can find us, can meet
us. This is why Jesus opened the minds of his disciples and blessed them before
he ascended. It wasn’t so they could find him but so that they would know he
has found them and remains with them.
Even today, we have the ability to read the
scriptures, to be found by God, his love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness and in
those pages we also have been blessed by his presence with us as through those
pages, through the water and the Word, through the bread and the cup we are
reminded that Jesus seeks us out and through these means he finds us, works to
change us, and renew us.
When life brings us a cloudy day, a day where we
feel like we have lost sight of Jesus do not stare into those great expanses
hoping to find Jesus behind every cloud that comes your way. Don’t be a Johnny
Look-in-the-air. Instead, allow him to find you in His Word, and in his Sacraments.
For until he comes again these are the ways in which
he comes to us. But, on that last day, our eyes will finally be directed from
the Word, from the water, from the bread and cup and onto his glory as he comes
again. This is the hope that is shared with us through his presence. This is
what can get us through those cloudy days and this is what can renew you as
you, blessed by him and nourished by him, go out as his witnesses to the far
reaches of your lives. Jesus may be physically gone but he is certainly not out
of reach. To God be the glory, now and always. Amen.