Ascension Day
Message from Robin+
Today is Ascension Day, one of the principal feast days in the Church, and it occurs forty days after Easter. You can read the accounts of this event as found in the lectionary readings for today here.
The reading from Acts describes what happened--there was something almost like a Star Trek kind of beaming up as Jesus ascended into the clouds. Many artists have portrayed this event with only the feet of Jesus visible at the top of their paintings. Just two bare feet sticking out of the bottom of the clouds! It is a strange story, and it’s told only in Luke’s Gospel and in Acts, yet this event is documented in both the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds. “He ascended into heaven.” There is something about this that frees Jesus from any time or space limitations that we as humans want to construct. It is precisely because Jesus is not bound by time or space that he can be present with us at all times and in all places.
Even so, imagine for a moment how those disciples must have felt as Jesus ascended, leaving them behind. Surely there was some sadness, some fear and anxiety, and maybe a sense of hopelessness. I can remember all too well that feeling when I was a child, when my Mom would give me a helium-filled balloon, and she would tell me to hold it tightly. But holding it tightly, my little fist would get sweaty, and then the balloon would escape from my hand and ascend to the heavens. And there was sadness and utter hopelessness as I watched it disappear.
As we grow older we may have a similar sense of loss when a friend or loved one has died unexpectedly, and we regret all the things we meant to say to them and never did. Or perhaps it’s that job we should have taken, that investment we should have made, that college we should have attended. We can all name those escaped balloons in our lives, those things that seem to have slipped from our grasp. I’m guessing the disciples probably wanted to go with Jesus into heaven instead of remaining in the world with all its problems. And I dare say many of us have had similar thoughts when the world weighs heavy on us and things aren’t going the way we thought they would. Change and anxiety are uncomfortable.
Jesus knew that the disciples would be troubled by the events of his death, by the changes their lives would undergo, by the adjustments they would need to make when he was no longer physically present with them, and so he reminded them of all that had been foretold by Moses and the prophets. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, telling them that they were witnesses who would be clothed with power from on high. Then, lifting up his hands, he blessed them and was carried up into heaven. Amazingly, the disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy knowing they had been commissioned and empowered to proclaim the gospel to all nations.
Christ, who is not bound by time or space, continues to call us to be transformed and to do the transforming work of God. The work of Christ will not be bound by our current circumstances!
When we find ourselves fearful or anxious, whether it is about a personal problem or a catastrophic world event, are we remembering to stop and pray? Are we being intentional about making space for sabbath rest so that we will experience the presence of Christ?
Maybe those artists were not so crazy after all to portray the Ascension with the feet of Jesus hanging from the bottom of the clouds where we can see them. Jesus is not bound by any time or space limitations. Jesus is still with us, and is also with God, calling us to be still, to remember that we are the witnesses so needed in this world, and most of all, to remember that we have been clothed with power from on high.
