It seemed to me that most
folks let the day slip by without much recognition. But I must remember and not
critically that not all church “holy days” are regarded with care. I have found
that sometimes the holiest moments come not with fanfare but like a thief in
the night.
Forty days after the
celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Christ is the remembrance of
another eventful day, which happened to come last Thursday. The gospel writer
records: “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘See, I am sending
upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been
clothed with power from on high.’ Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and,
lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew
from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned
to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing
God.”
Until just a few years ago, the
ascension of Christ hadn’t seemed as momentous as the resurrection or as
rousing as the image of Jesus on the Cross. It seemed like just one more detail
tied up in the claims of Jesus Christ, a detail not worth professing on its
own. But I continue to learn that no action of Christ is without weight, and
this, his last action on earth, is one of the great Christian hopes. The
ascension was a living and public declaration of the dying words of Christ on
the Cross: It is finished. The work God sent him to accomplish was finally
completed. Ascending to heaven, Jesus only furthered the victory of Easter.
Thus, Ascension Day, a holy day falling inconspicuously on a Thursday in May,
is for my remembrance that Christ, who
went to the depths to reach me, is rightfully lifted on high.
As I begin to think more about
the Day there comes other reasons why the day merits my remembering of its
mystery and import, and none is as simple as the fact that Jesus himself told
us it was important. John writes,“It is for your good that I am
going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go,
I will send him to you.” Curiously,
mysteriously, Jesus describes his own departure as a gift to the world. As
Jesus returns to the Father, a greater Comforter is sent, the Holy Spirit, the
Counselor given in His name, who guides into all truth, and testifies of all
that is to come. Rising to life and then to the heavens, Jesus sends forth the
one who leads me further into the kingdom, until he comes once again to take me
home.
So, I have been first
reminded in the ascending of Jesus that the work He came to accomplish is
finished; I am given in the ascending of Jesus the gift of the Spirit; and
third, within his parting, have been given the assurance of His return. As the
disciples were watching and Jesus was taken up before their very eyes, a cloud
hid him from their sight. The text then refers to them “looking intently up
into the sky as he was going” when suddenly two men dressed in white stood
beside them: “‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why
do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken
from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go.’” In his resurrected body, Christ ascended to heaven,
fully human, fully divine, and entirely glorified. This tells me, I, as well as
all believer, therefore carry in my own flesh a guarantee that Christ will
bring us to Himself. Which is to say, I am not left as an orphan! Jesus
ascended with a body and is coming back for those in bodies. He is preparing a
room for me, which I know is real because he is real. The Christian profession
is indeed uniquely, mysteriously full of what it means to be fully human:
Christ will come again.
But until that day, the
ascension of Jesus Christ means furthermore that I have in heaven today my
advocate before the Father. Jesus is enthroned in glory and seated at the right
hand of the Father as my righteousness today. That is to say, the work of
Christ on the Cross is not only finished, it has been declared by the Father
entirely effective, and the presence of Jesus in heaven is my guarantee. John writes in his epistle, 1 John: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But
if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus
Christ, the Righteous One.” Thus, the
ascension of Christ is a fitting reminder that God has declared and all of
creation will one day profess: “Therefore God exalted him to the
highest place and gave him the Name that is above every name, that at the Name
of Jesus every knee should bow in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
Though it may have escaped
attention, this past Thursday was a holy day indeed. Although Ascension Day was
quit memorial, reflective and a worthy celebration, I would still love to have scaling
the 269 steps of the Gloucestershire Cathedral. Too have looked to the heavens,
singing along with the choir to Christ the ascended, the Name above every
name.
