The Last Lecture – Luke 24:44-53

A text – Luke 24:44-53
24:44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you–that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”
24:45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,
24:46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,
24:47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
24:48 You are witnesses of these things.
24:49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
24:50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.
24:51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.
24:52 And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy;
24:53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

A reflection:

You might know of the concept “The Last Lecture,” made into a book by a dying professor, still quite young, who really wanted to devote his final lecture for his students to points that underscored every human’s life journey. He was giving not just facts, though facts were included, but also perspective and meaning and, above all, love to those who heard him.

Jesus is giving his Last Lecture to his followers in this passage from Luke. He ties his story and the stories of the disciples’ lives into God’s bigger story of Israel, the prophets, Moses, and the psalms. He places the 3-year journey they have shared into the entire culture of the Jews! And then Jesus enlarges it to include the whole world. Jesus notes that these followers are the witnesses to this pivotal moment in God’s relationship with their nation and the whole world. These folks who shared Jesus’s ministry, these are the folks, the only folks, who can begin the wider sharing of the story of Jesus’s work and love in service of God’s mission for the whole world.

Then he commissions them with a blessing and withdraws, disappearing from their sight.

Their response? Thank the Lord it was to rejoice in this clear job description and commissioning, and to follow his instructions and return to Jerusalem with great joy. Thank the Lord they waited in Jerusalem to be clothed with power from on high, and while they waited, they were continually in the temple praising God.  They didn’t resent his leaving; they got on with their mission from God and Jesus and waited to be launched by the Holy Spirit.

Thank God for these amazing disciples. Thank God they were not petty and resentful. Thank God they were open to surprise, to work, to building bridges across boundaries. Thank God they were motivated by love for God and curiosity and wonder. Thank God they heard their mission and commission and rejoiced to get about the work.

Let us take a page from their book. Let us ask God and Jesus for a clear sense of our mission, let us prepare ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit’s power, and let us, too, get about our work!

A prayer:

Lord God of all, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for having a mission for us to do. Help us to know it and be empowered by the Spirit to do it!    Amen.