Today is Ascension Day, when we remember Jesus’s departure from the earth, as witnessed by his disciples.
Luke’s gospel tells us, (24:50-51) “…he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.” In the first chapter of Acts we read,” … he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”
As a child in England, I attended a Church of England primary school, and I have vague memories of Ascension Day being a day off from lessons, when we would walk two by two to attend a service at our parish church. I have no recollection whatsoever of whether the service was child friendly (I suspect it was not, since services in those days were always of the adult variety), but I was left with a clear image of Jesus in a white robe flying up to heaven to meet God his Father, who was the old man with a grey beard, in a grey robe. I hope my concept of the Ascension has matured a little since then! The Jewish people believed in a three-part cosmos, as described in Genesis, in which the heavens were above, the Earth (centered on Jerusalem) was in the middle, and Sheol, the underworld, was below. Heaven was separated from the earth by the firmament. This was seen to be a bowl-shaped roof over the earth, giving the visible sky where God’s palace sat on pillars in the celestial sea. Not surprisingly, Luke’s account of the Ascension reflects the beliefs of his age.
For the Jews, the idea of Ascent was not new. In the Old Testament, Enoch, at the age of 365, was “taken away” while he was still alive. Hebrews 11: 5 tells us, “It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying.” Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. Moses went up the mountain to meet God. Psalms 120-134 are given the title Psalms of Ascent, to be sung when going up to worship. The whole idea of going up may be equated with transcendence, or a “going beyond” the grasp of human experience, rather than a physical place. Of course, we now know that the earth is not the only planet in the universe, and that space is infinite. For me, the Ascension almost certainly does not mean that Jesus floated off into outer space. Thinking of it literally could be problematic, and even embarrassing, for many twenty-first century Christians. Perhaps we might instead think of Jesus transcending the earth, so that he now exists permanently in both God’s space and humanity’s space at the same time, uniting heaven and earth once and for all. When we pray “Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” we are acknowledging this connection.
Now I no longer hang on to my childish image. I can accept Jesus’s Ascension as one of the mysteries of faith. I don’t need to know exactly how it happened, only that it happened, and that Jesus is alive both on earth and in heaven. Ascension Day is also the first day for the Thy Kingdom Come global prayer initiative. See how to collect the TKC booklets and/or consider dropping by one of the prayer rooms on Zoom. PRAYER (From Forward Movement’s Hour by Hour):
Almighty God, whose blessed Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things. Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting.Amen
