Ascending Thoughts

This past week Thursday I happened upon the holiday that was never forgotten on my growing up farm back in Saskatchewan. Although Ascension Day was a prescribed church holiday I recall even then it was kind of optional as far as actual church attendance was concerned.  My dad may have attended, but not my mom. Mom in her quiet way had more important things than going to an optional church service on a Thursday. She was busy managing all of us kids with our endless activities and questions. Ironically, even though she was not in church she did not question significance of that day. In fact I also recall the most vivid theological explanation on said subject coming from her! She told us plain and simple while scrubbing away in the kitchen that this was the day Jesus ascended to heaven. I for one listened with intrigue as she told us about it. Fascinating!

That’s many years ago. In these threescore and ten plus years I have encountered a whole variety of ways of observing or not observing that holiday. In my Christian tradition, the Mennonites, there is a dirth of celebration and still a considerable pattern of traditionalism! Also, because of our free church polity, no head office would tell us what to do, and so varieties of folkways are the standard-bearers. Our traditions and practices therefore have accommodated a considerable array from horse and buggies to fundamentalists to hippies to new agers among today's many Mennonite denominations! Common threads? I can think of a few. We do not celebrate the mass every Sunday as the Catholics do, nor speak in tongues as the Pentecostals (although some of us do in private), nor dance as the Charismatics! Neither do we drink alcohol as the Uniteds and Anglicans (except, like most of our evangelical brothers and sisters, when nobody is watching 😏)! Among the modernizing adaptations over time, my observation is that Ascension is being observed a bit more in recent years as our ecumenizing worship life (read lectionary) cannot ignore that biblical event which the traditionalists have never ignored. It's been there all the time. I'm glad we're noticing.

I am pleased, therefore, those Ascension scriptures showed up fair and square in the Daily Prayers. These are the scriptures for this season in the church year. It’s a present blessed gift come from our Mennonite Church Alberta, as I have affirmed in previous posts. This particular evening the scriptures were Acts 1:1-11, the story exactly as my mom told it to us, while Jesus was giving some final instructions he “got lifted up and disappeared into the clouds.” My adult nesheah mind quickly needed to check out the morning scripture, and there it was also to my delight, Luke 24, while blessing them he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven (:51).  The scriptures are there, available still to guide our prayers!

Then this Sunday an interesting twist.  Because we can Zoom around like the church shoppers used to do in pre-corona days, I had opportunity to visit two churches this morning!  One of the churches had a fully focused Ascension Sunday worship including sermon presented by a guest preacher. Nary a mention in the other church. Two churches, same denomination; vastly differing practice. 

Now my thinker – yes again!  One point - theological point I think - became quite clear listening to the sermon. Ascension, said the preacher, is a recognition of both the absence and the presence of Jesus. And he easily made the point with very familiar scriptures. While watching Jesus ascend, two angels appeared to the disciples, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”  On ascension day, said the preacher, Jesus departed. He actually physically departed and that followed by God's angels' promise that he will return again. That is both absence AND presence. Then speaking candidly about us Mennonites and our inclination to good works (eg our favorite passage Matthew 5-7 Sermon on the Mount) he pointed out a missing ingredient when we so rigorously seek to follow his teachings. When do we do enough work projects? How about the grace of God? Nothing new here except for the obvious.  As Mennonites we emphasize social-services, peacemaking; good works often ignoring an invitation coming from the teacher also the savior. The invitation is to be emptied of self and receive Jesus as per invitation in John 3:3, to be born again, and then spelled out even more clearly for the self-conscious Nicodemus in :5 “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.  Mark 1:10 also at the baptism of Jesus, Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. Clear, isn't it? Jesus, the one anointed from above is now the Son of God ascending.  Christian Jesus followers are more than students of a good teacher. They are connected to that Christ, indeed born anew, born of water and the Spirit. 

 

In these my retirement years I am privileged to keep learning from some of my Muslim friends. I am intrigued at their intrigue at my belief that Jesus really IS the son of God. And regarding at least these friends it seems to me they would be disappointed if I did not continue to believe it. Fascinating! 

 

New life in Jesus. It’s not just an instructional series with many samples and teachings from lectures and how-to sermons. New life in Jesus is more. It is also his invitation for any of us no matter how nice or sinful, how educated or uneducated, how pretty or ugly, to enter the heavenly realm. We are invited to eternal everlasting faith in the One who went before, died, rose again, ascended and will come in his time to claim us as his own, regardless of the garden we have been growing or messing around in. 

 

Ascension Day is important. I’m allowing my thoughts to ascend above and beyond what I must yet do today. Good way to prepare for Pentecost next Sunday.