Observation: Even to the very end, Jesus' disciples expect to be lifted up. Even after their Rabbi and Messiah saves the world by means of a cross, they still don't understand. They are still holding out hope for an earthly kingdom, like the one Jesus' ancestor David had. They still want to sit in a grand throne room, in elevated seats, making judgments on all who crossed them. As Jesus prepares to be lifted up to reign at God's right hand, he gives them a different job: not to reign, but to testify.
Application: Each time Ascension Day rolls around, I'm brought back in my memory to a very special spot in Jerusalem I visited 18 months ago: The Mosque of the Ascension. Yes, you heard right: the traditional spot of earth venerated as the final point where Jesus' feet touched in his incarnate form (If you look hard, you can see the supposed impression of his right foot), is owned and operated by an Islamic trust, and has been in the possession of Muslims since the 11th century. It has remained open to pilgrims of all faiths for all that time.
To some Christians, I'm sure this seems like an affront--"Muslims don't even believe Jesus was God's Son! Why on earth should they have control over this holy site?"--but frankly, I think Jesus would be deeply pleased by this turn of events, considering his final conversation with his disciples. As he is lifted up and away from them, their last hope for an earthly "land grab", and a political Messianic kingdom, goes away too. He clarifies one last time that that isn't what this all has been about. It seems very much like the logic of the Holy Spirit that Jesus' followers would not have control over that last few square feet of land that he touched.
It is maybe the oldest and most insidious temptation that Christians face: we want to be lifted up. We want to have power over others, power to control what others say and do. We want earthly proof that our witness to Jesus is true. We don't just want to believe that Jesus reigns from heaven at God's right hand. We want to see it in the way we see other earthly regimes: with armies and palaces and policies and true believers in every hall of power.
But Jesus calls us to a different ministry. Our job is to bear witness. To tell the truth about what God has done in our lives. To tell the truth about the Jesus we know through scripture, how he lived and died, and how he calls his followers to live. To tell the truth about God's power made real not in missiles and tanks, but in weakness and suffering for the sake of others. To tell the truth whether it gains us or loses us territory, physical or cultural. To tell the truth whether it gains us or loses us earthly power and prestige. To tell the truth whether it makes us feel more secure or less secure (and by "taking up our cross", I get the feeling it usually means less).
Telling the truth about God's reign through our crucified Lord keeps us grounded. It reminds us that it's not our ascension, or the ascension of our institution or ideology, that we celebrate today. It is the ascension of Jesus: a Jewish day-laborer who may not have had a permanent home, the one who came not to be served but to serve, who was killed by the most powerful Empire on earth and raised by God's power. To stay grounded is to not worry about gaining ground, but to consistently tell the truth about the Ground of our being.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, direct my eyes down from the heavens, so I don't trip over those in need. Direct my eyes up from the ground, so I don't compare my own territory with that of others. Direct my eyes outward, to the eyes of my neighbor, where, for the time being, I will find your presence, for, in a great mystery, there you live and reign, and also at the right hand of God. Amen.
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