A sermon delivered by the Rev. Dr. Patrick H. Wrisley on Sunday, June 1, 2025.

Today is known as Ascension Sunday – the day when the church bids Jesus good-bye yet one more time. His departure sets up the next phase of the Divine salvation process and that is the establishment of the Church through the giving of the Holy Spirit which we will get into next week. Only the gospels of Matthew and our Lukan Story this morning take the time to mention Jesus’ heavenly ascension. Mark’s Gospel ends with the Mary and the other women telling the disciples about what they saw and that is the end of it. John ends his narrative by saying in affect, “I could keep on writing more stuff but I really can’t add to what I’ve already said.” Only Matthew and Luke provide this post-Easter bridge to Pentecost and the giving of the Holy Spirit. Listen to the Word of the Lord from Luke 24:4-53.

Luke 24:44-53

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.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 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, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. 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.” 

⁵⁰ Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; ⁵³ and they were continually in the temple blessing God. (Luke 24:36–53, NRSV)

Letting go is hard. Whether it is letting go of a job we once loved, a house that holds a lifetime of memories, a stage of life, or even a person we have held dear—it is never easy to let go. And sometimes, the act of letting go can feel like losing a part of ourselves. I know that after my wife Kelly died, I experienced a feeling of being adrift and disoriented which other widows and widowers have experienced as well.

Maybe you’ve had a change in your life where there has been a shift or transition recently, e.g. watching a child grow up and move away. Retiring after years of meaningful work. Saying goodbye to someone you love. Maybe it’s not even a goodbye, but just a shift—a change in your role, a change in your health, or having to adjust your carefully laid out plans. 

I cannot forget the time we took our oldest daughter and dropped her off at her college for the first time. We got her moved in and then we went out to dinner and took her back to campus. Two-hours later, we hear a knocking on the hotel room door and open it up to find Lo crying. She collapsed in my arms sobbing, “Daddy, I don’t like my roommate. None of my friends are here.” As a daddy, it was tearing me up inside seeing her so upset but the quarter’s tuition was already paid and there was no turning back at this point. After a while, we told her she could transfer for the next semester but for now, she had to tough it out. We hugged her again, watched her walk to her car and waved good-bye. Closing the door, we both broke down and bawled as this was shaping up to be a very difficult good-bye!

In our text this morning, the disciples are confronted with one of the most difficult transitions of all – saying good-bye. Jesus is leaving — again. They’ve already grieved his death, rejoiced at his resurrection, and now, just as they’re getting used to the joy of having Jesus back — he’s taken from them one more time. But something strange happens in this story. Unlike Kelly and I dropping Lo off at school, the disciples don’t weep. They don’t fall into a funk and despair. No, all of them return to Jerusalem with sheer joy. How is that possible? Luke writes, 

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.” (Luke 24:50–51)

Did you notice what Jesus did? The last thing Jesus does before he leaves them is to bless them.

He doesn’t disappear suddenly. 

He doesn’t give them one final lecture or assignment.

He raises his hands — hands that still bore the marks of crucifixion — and he blesses them.

Friends, this is important. Why? Because Jesus’ absence is framed not in loss, but in love. His leaving is not abandonment but is benediction. In the moment the disciples let Jesus go, they are not left empty-handed. They are left full—full of promise, full of hope, full of joy. Why? Because Jesus had already told them:

I am sending upon you what my Father promised… stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. (v.49)

Jesus is preparing them for what is coming next. Although they may not initially realize it, Jesus is giving the disciples a gift – he is giving them space to stretch and grow. The challenge is, letting go does not always feel like we are receiving a gift. It is paradoxical: Sometimes, we cannot receive the next thing God is giving us unless our hands, our hearts, our minds, our schedules, our options — are open. The disciples had to let go of the Jesus they could touch and feel so that they can receive the Spirit of Jesus they would carry.

The disciples had to release what was familiar in their life with Jesus in order to be able to embrace what he promised. We all know something about that, don’t we?

Think about the parent who drops their child off at kindergarten for the first time.

Think about the couple who must downsize from a family home to a smaller place after retirement. All those items collected over the years from furniture, artwork, Knick-knacks – they all have memories attached to them that are grieved as they are given up.

Think about the caregiver who must make the hard decision to have hospice take over the palliative care of their mother, father, or other loved one and trust God with what comes next.

Letting go is not weakness and nor is it for sissies.

It is hard to do and follow through on.

It is sacred act of trust and a huge demonstration of faith.

I want us to note something that happens when we let go and say good-bye. Luke says that while, 

Jesus, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. (vs. 51)

As they are letting go of Jesus, he is filling them up with blessings and courage. This is how the disciples remember Jesus. He does not leave them giving a final command nor with a cold good-bye, but he leaves them with a Spirit-filled blessing.

In the Old Testament, blessing confers a promise-making commitment to always be there with you. When a blessing is given, it is given in anticipation so that what was promised in the blessing will actually come to pass. Blessings carry weight as we read about in the Esau and Jacob narratives in Genesis where Jacob steals his brother’s blessing. 

For the Church, blessing is a reminder of God’s ongoing presence and favor for the people. In essence, a blessing is God’s action mediated through human words and gestures. When I give you a blessing on Sunday’s, it is not my expressing my goodwill to you; rather, it is my role on behalf of the larger Church invoking God’s gracious spiritual hopes and dreams upon your behalf as you leave worship and go into the world.

Luke tells us that the disciples,

Worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.” (vv. 52–53)

Think about that; it is quite amazing really. They have to let go yet again the one person who loves them the most and who they loved the most, and yet, they are joyful. The disciples realize that what they lose in Jesus’ presence is not greater than what they just received in his blessing. They let go and made room for blessing. They let go and made room in their heart and lives for the Spirit.

Friends, what the disciples lost in Jesus’ departure was not greater than what they received from him. Or, to put it another way – what the disciples received in Jesus’ blessing is greater than what they lost in his physical departure. 

Let me ask you this morning: What are you holding onto that God might be inviting you to release as a preparation for something new?  Maybe it’s a role that defined you, and now God is calling you into rest. Maybe it’s a fear that’s keeping you from stepping into joy. Maybe it’s a relationship you can no longer carry on your own.

Letting go doesn’t mean we stop caring. It doesn’t mean we forget. It simply means we trust that God is already ahead of us, waiting to meet us in whatever comes next. In the Name of the One who is, who was and is yet to come. Amen.

© 2025 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, 8 West Notre Dame Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, New York, and shall not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved.