Several years ago, I worked as a teacher’s aide in a Special Needs department. I worked with kids who had everything from fetal alcohol syndrome to severe autism, and other forms of intellectual disabilities. It was tough work.
We had to work with these kids every day in order to give them a basic understanding of how the world worked, because some of them were so challenged that they needed the extra time and help to truly understand. Others were quite intelligent, but simply needed us to explain things in different ways – because the standard method of teaching didn’t work for them. We had special plans for these kids.
Today we celebrate Ascension Day – the day that Jesus ascended into heaven, leaving the disciples alone for the final time. Think about what has happened in just a few short months. They’ve been with Jesus on his ministry for three years; they performed miracles with him watching – and even on their own when Jesus had sent them on missions trips. Then Jesus told them he would need to leave them, and that first he would be betrayed, and that he would die. Jesus was telling them that this would be the completion of God’s plan for salvation for all humanity. And, that this would be the start of God’s plan for their lives.
And then those things actually happened. They watched him be betrayed. Some of them betrayed him themselves, like Judas and Peter, and they watched him tortured and crucified, and laid in a tomb. And then they had the shock of their lives when he rose from the dead and appeared to them in the upstairs room, and now, here he is slowly floating away into the sky, while they look on dumbstruck, “looking up toward heaven.”
Now, we have a bit of a conflicting storyline here. In Acts, the disciples, even though they have spent three years with Jesus, learning all about what he was doing, hearing his sermons and conversations, seeing examples of how to live their lives, and working miracles in his name, they have to ask Jesus, “Lord, is this the time that you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” That question is still stuck in thinking of this world: Is this when you will free us from submission to Rome? Is it going to happen now? And Jesus just answers them with the words, “It is not for you to know when, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem … and to the ends of the earth.”
In Luke, however, Jesus explains everything about his time with them, and says that “everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” And then, it says, “he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.”
Regardless of how exactly it happened, even after three years of being with Jesus every day, hearing him preach, watching him perform miracles, confront the powers that be with their lack of empathy and compassion; after performing miracles in his name, and seeing him killed and rising to life again; after all that… the truth is that they still didn’t get it. And Jesus realized a special need for clarity among them. And so, “he opened up their minds to understand the scriptures.”
He told them that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that this would unlock the possibility for repentance and forgiveness of sins. That the power of the Son of God was not to be found in a sword or in earthly strength and influence, but would be found in the promise of living at peace with God, with others, and in the blessing of being found blameless in God’s eyes. And when they finally understood it, the disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy.”
Joy. They understood. Their minds had been opened. They didn’t think in human terms anymore – about power merely for power’s sake – but they now understood everything that Christ’s life had meant. They understood why he had to die, rather than conquer the occupying forces with an army. They understood why he rose again, and also why he was leaving them and returning “to prepare a place for them.” It finally made sense to them – and that filled them with joy.
Those kids in the special needs classes that I taught – when it made sense. It was as if a cloud had been lifted from their minds, and they could see clearly for the first time. It was a beautiful sight to see – you could see the joy in their faces when it all finally clicked.
If Jesus’ own disciples could not understand these concepts without Christ opening up their minds, then we need to realize that sometimes we do not see clearly what God has prepared for us, or that we do not fully understand the Truths of God’s promises. We also need to understand that other people might not see a particular Truth until God deems the time right for them. It is not our job to push and prod them to see the Truth that we already know, and to treat them poorly for failing to understand. We simply love people, and let the Holy Spirit make the change. Because when the Spirit makes it clear to them, their hearts will overflow, and they will light up with Joy.
If you think about it – to God – we are all children with special needs.
God has a special plan for each of us.
And God will open our minds to understand that plan when the time is right.
[This sermon was delivered at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Wickenburg, AZ on May 29, 2025.]
