Saint Luke's Lutheran Church

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest while leaving a Washington hotel. He was rushed to the hospital where he collapsed in the emergency room and was taken immediately into surgery. Vice President George Bush was in an airplane somewhere over Texas. The entire White House staff was thrown into confusion. When deputy press secretary Larry Speakes was asked who was running the government, he gave the cautious but disconcerting reply, "I cannot answer that question at this time."

At that moment, all the top members of the Administration were in the Situation Room at the White House talking about what they were going to do. When Alexander Haig, the Secretary of State, heard Speakes' comments live on television, he rushed up to the Press Room and boldly declared, "Constitutionally, I am in control here in the White House."

According to the Constitution, however, the next in command after the Vice President is the Speaker of the House, then the President pro tem of the Senate, and only then the Secretary of State. Al Haig declared that he was in charge, but he was wrong. Some of you will remember all of the fodder this statement provided for comics and critics alike. From that moment on, he was doomed to be forever known as Al "I'm in charge" Haig.

We may laugh at Al Haig for his blundering bravado, or we may feel sorry for him because he was simply trying to calm the nation and the world. But we must also recognize how much Al Haig spoke for all of us. How many times haven't we thought to ourselves, I'm in charge - I have things under control? How many times haven't we wanted to take charge and be in control of our own lives, of our own situations? The fact is that none of us is really in control.

At this time of year, at thousands of graduations across the country, many commencement speakers will echo the sentiments of the actor who addressed the graduates last year at Illinois Wesleyan University. He opened his commencement address by quoting William Henley's poem, Invictus, which concludes, "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." Then he closed by saying, "Your time on this earth belongs to you. . . . Be the captain of your soul. Be the master of your fate."

This is an idea that graduating seniors cherish - the idea that their life, their future, is now in their own hands; the idea that they are free to do whatever they want and to be whatever they choose. Henley penned these famous lines in 1875, in what is often called the Age of Optimism. It was a time when everything seemed to be getting better and better, and people expected to master the universe. They believed that they could create a new world order in which everyone would enjoy peace and prosperity - a worldwide utopia.

This Age of Optimism was shaken, however, by the first World War. Shaken, but not broken. When World War I was over, people returned to their optimism and declared it to be the "war to end all wars." This optimism was shattered just 25 years later when World War II broke out. The 20th century has proven to be the bloodiest in all of history, and true peace seems as illusive now as it has ever been.

Many people, like Henley, would like to believe that they are the master of their own fates and the captain of their own souls. This, however, is no more true than Al Haig's declaration that he was in charge. The truth is that we are all subject to things beyond our control. Every day we find ourselves susceptible to events we can do nothing to prevent - a natural disaster, an unavoidable accident, a devastating illness. We are also subject to the attitudes and the actions of others - someone makes a decision that directly affects us - we may loose our job or be passed over for a promotion because a supervisor does not like us, a child may be in an automobile accident, a parent may have a heart attack. Now these things are so rare that we can continue to believe that we are in charge, but this illusion is quickly shattered when such tragedy strikes.

Now, some of you may be thinking to yourselves, "Hey, enough already. I get the picture. If I wanted to be depressed, I could have stayed home and read the newspaper." And that's my point. This is the world in which we live - a world where we are at the mercy of forces beyond our control. It's right there in the daily news.

That is the bad news - and that is about all you are going to get from the newspaper - but you came here this morning to hear the good news - and this is it: Jesus has ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

We just read about that in the Gospel lesson for today. Forty days after Easter, Jesus was taken up into heaven. The very one who was hoisted up on a cross went on to be raised up from the dead and then to being lifted up to the heavenly realm. Now this Jesus is at the Father's right hand - a position of power and authority. In fact, this Jesus is far above all other rulers and authorities, all other powers and dominions. He is, as Handel's Messiah so powerful states: "Lord of lords and King of kings and he shall reign forever and ever."

This is good news: Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the one in charge. Jesus is the one in control. It's not the Secretary of State. It's not the president. It's not some CEO. It's not the principle at our school. It's not our parents or our children. It's not the you or me. It's Jesus. Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, with all power and all dominion, not only in the present age but also in the age to come.

Now that is good news. Not just for Jesus, but also for us. Here's why. Jesus rules the whole universe for the benefit of the church. Did you catch that from Paul's letter to the Ephesians. The one who has all power and all authority is using that power for our benefit. So we don't have to be in charge, because Jesus is. We don't have to worry, because Jesus has it all under control.

Don't misunderstand me here. I am not suggesting that everything that happens in our world is God's will or God's doing. Not at all. Most of what you read in the newspapers is directly in conflict with the will of God. Nevertheless, God is going to work it all out in the end. Ultimately, God will have his way. And in the end, Jesus will come again just as those first disciples saw him go, and he will gather his people into the heavenly kingdom.

That is what the Ascension is all about. It is not just about an address change for Jesus of Nazareth, although that is part of it. For Jesus is not here with us in the same way that he was with his disciples before the Ascension, but he is with us in a much greater way. Before the Resurrection and Ascension, Jesus had the same limits of time and space as we have. He could only be in one place at a time. Because of the Ascension, Jesus is now able to be with every one of us all the time - no matter where we are, no matter how scattered we are.

More importantly, however, Ascension means that Jesus is in a position of power - in a position to see that the will of God is accomplished no matter what happens in our world, no matter what happens in our lives. Here is our hope. Here is our security. It does not rest with a strong military defense. On September 11, we were shown how the most powerful nation in the world, a country with enough weapons of mass destruction to destroy the whole earth, could be brought to its knees by a small group of unarmed terrorists. Nor does our hope and our security lie in our democratic form of government or our capitalistic economy, for history shows that both of these can fail. Nor does our hope and our security lie in our indomitable spirit or our own ingenuity, in our own strength or resources or wealth, for Jesus said a long time ago that these all can fade away.

No, our hope and our security lies in the one who is Lord of heaven and earth, in one who cannot and will not fail, on one who is completely in control. If you know him and trust in him, if you believe in his power and his promises, then you have nothing to fear, no reason to worry. That is real freedom. That is real security. That is real hope. Amen.