The Ascension was that time when Jesus visibly departed from his disciples and came into the presence of God the Father. It represented the culmination of his earthly ministry. (As I saw some wag describe it recently "Jesus was now working from home") The Ascension was the day of transition. When the Jesus of the earth became the Jesus of heaven. Interestingly, on no less than four occasions, Jesus had foretold this event to the disciples and yet they are still surprised.
I suppose the hardest thing in the world is to say goodbye to somebody you love. This seems especially so at present when we hear stories of people who can’t visit dying loved ones due to Covid19.
With that in mind you might suspect the story of the Ascension to be a rather sad one. Jesus was now going away, never to be seen by the disciples again. You’d think that they will turn homeward with heavy steps. But Luke tell us:
“he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.” Luke 24: 52 – 53 NIV
What meaning does the Ascension have for our lives? I would like to share with you three ways in which the Ascension has meaning for us.
First, it says that we can learn to depend upon God, without being dependent upon Him. Some people are raised to be dependent upon others. The fact is that struggling and wrestling with many of the grey issues of life and learning to think for yourself, is just as vital to the spiritual process as it is to the maturation process.
What was the situation as regarding the disciples? For three years their every move had centred on Jesus. Around his leadership these 12 common men have become the toast of Israel. They are famous but famous only by association. If they are to grow, Jesus must leave. If Jesus had not departed, they would have grown to be dependent upon his physical presence. Instead of struggling with great moral issues in the light of what Jesus had said and done, they would simply run to him for the answers. What was needed to launch them out into the world was not a kind of unhealthy dependence upon him, but a deep abiding faith. A knowledge they could depend on Jesus without being dependent on him. As Jesus told Thomas
29 ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ John 20:29
Secondly, the Ascension of Jesus says that at the heart of life there is mystery. We are know it alls. We like to have answers to everything. So, when we are confronted with the Ascension (or the Resurrection or the Virgin Birth or ….) we ask “Why? How?” instead of accepting the mystery.
The Ascension affirms that despite what we might think, life is still mystery. We are not the big cosmic know it alls that we think that we are. I cannot begin to explain how the Ascension of Jesus happened and that does not particularly bother me. It is interesting that the disciples did not attempt to explain the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus. They simply proclaimed it.
We are not in control of everything in life. As soon as we think that we can second-guess God, that’s when we have lost Him. It is not necessary for us to have all the answers in life. For in the end our faith is more important than our knowledge. That’s not to say we shouldn’t ask questions. But we need to accept we won’t always find answers.
Third, the Ascension says that God has resources for each of us that he has not yet revealed. Just before Jesus departed, he told the disciples,
7 But the fact of the matter is that it is best for you that I go away, for if I don’t, the Comforter won’t come. If I do, he will—for I will send him to you. John 16:7 Living Bible
He was, of course, speaking about the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity.
It appeared as though Jesus was now leaving his disciples to flounder around for themselves. Not so. He was leaving them with a resource that at that time they didn't even know existed. We can be sure that God gives each of us resources that enable us to cope with future circumstances.
Who is to say what resources God will place at our disposal to face the future?
Before we make snap judgments about some of the despairing events of our own lives or these times, we would do well to remember this point. The Ascension, in a manner of speaking, makes it appear as though Jesus is leaving his disciples for good. The fact is that God never leaves us without inner resources to cope with future events. The Holy Spirit was about to come into their lives. This meant that Christ would be no longer limited by time and space as he was on earth.
Dr. Ernest Gordon was a Scottish Presbyterian minister. He grew up in Greenock on the Clyde. The nearby town of Paisley was famous for its weaving and Dr Gordon recalled how once he noticed a group of old weavers making very colourful, intricate, shawls. The only thing they could see during the entire fabrication process was the back of the shawls - simply a mass of tangled, coloured, threads. It was only as the shawls were completed and turned over, that they were able to see the fullness of their own creation.
Life can be like that, concluded Ernest Gordon. So often the events of our lives seem like the shawls did to the Paisley weavers, simply a tangled mass of disconnected threads. The Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus must have appeared like that to the disciples. But as the disciples looked back upon these events, and as we look back on our personal lives, we can see God’s design in the fabric of our lives.
The Ascension of Jesus was part of God's design. There is the design in the fabric. That’s what all the tangled threads reveal.
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