Feast of the Ascension 2017

It’s said that time waits for no one and the same can be said of the Church calendar, which marches on relentlessly. Having come through the Easter season, we now reach Our Lord’s Ascension.

I remember that when I was at school, I always used to look forward to Ascension Day. This wasn’t because I fully understood the significance of it, (although the priest in assembly would always do their best to explain), but because you used to go on a school trip to The Science Museum, for example, and wouldn’t have to do any other work that day. I hope none of the young people from Sunday School heard me say that. It is clearly not the sort of example you want to be setting. But what I will say in my own defence is that at least I’m telling you the truth. It’s exactly how I felt.

Ascension could be thought of as a time of completion for Jesus, marking the culmination of His earthly ministry. Jesus has reached the point where He has done everything He can for His people during His earthly ministry, sharing with them everything He has received from the Father.

And now, with Our Lord’s Ascension, it is time for His disciples to step up to the plate and carry on the work which Jesus began during His earthly ministry. It’s now time for them to continue teaching and caring for all the people they encounter, and encourage them to live out their lives following the example of Our Lord. Meanwhile, Jesus reaches the point where He has come full circle. He has come from the Father and is now going back to the Father.             

It would be understandable for the disciples (and for us), to feel despondent at the thought of Jesus not being with us physically to teach, guide and reassure. However, as we reach the Feast of the Ascension, we have to change our way of thinking.  This is not an end point. This is not where all loose ends are tied up and the story finishes, because Jesus is in fact still with us, and what’s more, will always be with us. 

As commentator and theologian Leon Morris points out,  although there may be an air of finality about Jesus being taken up into Heaven, this not only represents the closure of one chapter but also the beginning of another. What might have started out as a time of despair, should in fact be turned into a time of great joy and hope.

We know that Jesus is still with us through the blessing He gives to His disciples, bestowed upon them in what is probably the simplest yet most powerful of ways. In the reading from Luke’s Gospel, Jesus simply raises His hands and blesses His disciples. However, before He does so He tells the group:

“I am sending upon you what my Father promised”.

Jesus has the power to send the Holy Spirit upon them. The reading continues:

“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”.

We are told that the people returned to Jerusalem with great joy, having been strengthened, encouraged and filled with renewed hope.

The blessing which Jesus bestows upon the group in Bethany is also bestowed upon us. Jesus will be with us throughout our lives to guide, strengthen and encourage us in all we do. Just as the people returned to Jerusalem with great joy after having received Jesus’ blessing, this blessing is something which should also fill us with a great sense of joy and encouragement to live out our lives in faith and the service of God.

Here are some thoughts that we can take away with us today. Instead of being a sad and sorrowful event, the Ascension of Our Lord is one which should give us great joy.  Although hidden from our sight, we can rest assured that Jesus is still with us and always will be. Instead of being left alone, we are empowered, enabled and strengthened through the power of His blessing and His Holy Spirit.

With this in mind, we go with confidence from this place today. Confidence in the Lord Jesus, who empowers, enables, guides and protects us, helping us to live out our lives in His service and the service of others: in our church, in our communities and also the wider world. It is our risen, ascended and glorified Lord who makes all of this possible.

I leave you with words from the offertory motet for Ascension: “Ascendit Deus in Jubilatione” which, translated, means: “God has ascended with Jubilation”.

AMEN