“As they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?”

The Season of Easter is almost over and we are in Ascension-tide, which ends at the Feast of Pentecost. Forgiveness is implicit and explicit in the accounts of the Ascension. The fact that the resurrected Christ appears to his disciples at all is very significant. This bunch who when the going got tough, fled and denied Jesus, usually got things wrong and were a motley crew, aren’t having their noses rubbed in their cowardice and faintness of heart. Rather his first words to them are, “Peace be with you”. Just think about it, He must have forgiven them to even bother to come to see them at all. But He comes to them and in fact to all who open their hearts to Him, in mercy. The Ascension simply underlines this mission of mercy.

The ascended Jesus, who sits at God’s right hand, describes a God who’s vulnerable and approachable. When we turn to God in times of distress or temptation we’re not calling out to a deity who’s aloof and can’t relate to what we’re going through. God is right in there, He’s been there, done it, He’s got the tee-shirt as they say. That being the case He is able to comfort us not only by identifying with our pain but also by assuring us that affliction won’t have the final word. All because the Risen and Ascended Christ is with us and that means that nothing can separate us from his love.

For all of us the Ascension is more about letting go than reaching out and grasping. The question for you and me is not, “How do we Ascend?” That’s already been accomplished, through the Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord. The question is: “What’s pulling us down?”

What do we need to let go of? Fear, anger, or resentment can weigh us down. The need to be right or in control is a heavy burden to carry. Self-righteousness, jealously, or pride are very effective anchors. Being caught up in perfectionism and the need to prove we’re good enough can become all-consuming. On the other hand it may be indifference or apathy. Many lives are also tethered by addiction.

What is it that holds you down and denies you a share in Jesus’ Ascension?  The gravity that keeps us down is not creation, the world, the circumstances of our lives or other people. The gravity that holds us down lies within us. So we each need to look at our lives and identify the places of gravity, and not despair. The very things that hold us down also point the way to Ascension. So our joining in with Jesus’ Ascension begins not by looking up but by looking within.

Blessings
James

Next week is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pete Seeger. For those unfamiliar with the work of this American folk singer/songwriter and social activist, one of his best known songs, written in the sixties, ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ was made popular by many singers and groups including:The Byrds, Judy Collins and The Seekers. What is fascinating about this song is that, apart from the beginning of each verse and a single line at the end, it is more or less a verbatim quote from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. ‘There is a time for … everything under Heaven’.

Easter is the time when we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead on the third day after the horror, despair and finality of His crucifixion. It is a time of joyful celebration in the Church, because seemed lost forever has been found again. But … on Easter day, Sri Lankan Christians celebrating the great mystery of Christ’s Resurrection, were slaughtered by suicide bombers at three Churches, as were foreign tourists at a number of hotels. This follows on from worshippers being gunned down at Friday prayers at two Mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in mid-March. So where is the Resurrection Joy and the Christian Hope in all of that? Where is the Resurrection Joy and the Christian Hope for those who have lost friends or relatives over the last week or two?

After the death of his Mother, Henri Nouwen wrote to his Father:

“The best way I can express the meaning death receives in the light of the resurrection of Jesus is to say: “Love is stronger than death” and it’s with this great divine love in our hearts, a love far stronger than death, that our lives can be lived as a promise that the Spirit of Christ can never be destroyed.”

In this Easter season the empty tomb of Easter invites us to see life where we expect to see only death. The empty tomb invites us to search for love where there only seems to be hate. The empty tomb invites us to seek peace where violence seems to have the upper hand. The empty tomb invites us to sing a song of redemption when the world sees only sin. The empty tomb invites us to proclaim hope where there seems to be only hopelessness. Because whether we are grieving or joyful, Christ rose again for each and every one of us. Whether we doubt or believe, Love conquered death. Whether we are fearful or hopeful, God’s new creation is here, now, and is all around us.

Leo Tolstoy wrote that he became a Christian “because he saw that the men and women round about him who believed in the faith, received from it a power that enabled them to face life and death with peace and joy”. We can help to shine the Light of Christ in the dark places of our world, in the dark times of our lives and in the darkness of the grief and sadness of those around us, if we: “let our light so shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father who is in Heaven”.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

Blessings
James