Ascension of Christ
"The Ascension of Christ" by Fritz von Uhde is example of how literally artists have taken the scripture for centuries. Wikimedia Commons Photo.
May 24, 2020 — Seventh Sunday of Easter / Ascension Sunday
Seventh Sunday: Acts 1:6-14 • Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 • 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 • John 17:1-11
Ascension: Acts 1:1-11 • Psalm 47 or Psalm 93 • Ephesians 1:15-23 • Luke 24:44-53
A poem by Strickland Gillilan, written about a century ago, described the correspondence between two railroad employees :
Superintindint was Flannigan;
Boss av th' siction wuz Finnigin.
Whiniver th' cyars got off th' thrack
An' muddled up things t' th' divvle an' back,
Finnigin writ it t' Flannigan,
Afther th' wrick wuz all on agin…
(After being told by Flannigan to shorten his extremely long and detailed reports, the poem ends)
An' 'is shmokey ol' lamp wuz burnin' bright
In Finnigin' shanty all that night--
Bilin' down 's repoort, wuz Finnigin.
An' he writed this here: "Musther Flannigan:--
Off agin, on agin,
Gone agin.--Finnigin." (1)
Although he doesn’t boil it down quite that much, the New Testament writer Luke did summarize the last days of Jesus’ physical presence on earth in a similar way: first born Mary “on” earth, then “off ag’in” (crucified), “on ag’in” (resurrected), and finally “off (ascended) ag’in”.
The scriptures for Ascension and Seventh Sunday both include the Acts account of Jesus’ ascension. Jesus ends up “gone again.” But that was a good thing: Jesus left, so that he could change the world even more. For the Good News to spread, more people had to hear it, live it, and share it.
Just before he ascended from their sight, he told the disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
When he was no longer in sight, they stood mesmerized. Their awe-struck gaze was only interrupted by the angels’ question, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” The question is rhetorical. The angels knew why they were looking up.
Perhaps the question was to redirect the disciples' attention back to earth, to the world, where they were to take up the mantle of Jesus’ ministry. Or perhaps it was to underscore to the disciples that they were entering a new phase: no earthly leader to follow, only a promised Spirit. How would they proceed?
The Ascension gospel passage includes Jesus’ command that they “stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Lk. 24:49). The Sunday gospel is part of Jesus’ prayer for his followers, who after his ascension would still be “in the world”, and asks that God “protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one” (Jn. 17:11).
The first offers the possibility to reflect on what it means to wait (how many are waiting with hope until we can worship in person again?), the latter the possibility to explore how we can be one when we are in so many places as we worship on Sundays.
Christians have always lived in the “meantime”, between the old creation and the new that God is still bringing, and that provides a creative tension. In one sense, the Ascension ended the chance to show someone the resurrected Christ, and so “prove” the resurrection. That is as true today as it was then. But it opened the door for more to happen.
When we experience the reality of God’s love in Christ, we are then invited to become part of the message. The resurrection cannot simply be a past event we believe to be true; it must be the story to which we are willing to become part of the sequel. Individually and together, the angels’ question challenges us to live out the sequel God is calling us to “write” as witnesses to God’s power and love in our communities and in this world!
(1) https://archive.org/details/includingfinnigi01gill/page/n6/mode/2up
The Rev. Bob Dean is a retired pastor and member of the Iowa Annual Conference who is sheltering at home in Ankeny, Iowa.