CHRIST'S ASCENSION (What Does It Teach Me?)

At every point of our Christian lives we were being tutored about the mystery of the "Ascension" of our Lord, Jesus Christ into heaven, and what comes to mind is what we are meant to gain or derive from this. Many Christian denominations have even stopped talking about this for the excuse of ignorance while some can't reason it's relevance.

"Ascension" according to the dictionary is: "the action of rising to an important position or a higher level."

Two points are to be considered in the above definition in relation to the event in "Jerusalem":

An object is said to ascend only if it rises from where it was, not when it moves downwards or horizontally.
There has to be somewhere important or higher in place for the object or body.

source

Thus the ascension of Jesus was for a higher and more important purpose. There had been an "heavenly agenda" outlined for a greater course for Jesus to follow, but to the dissatisfaction of the Apostles. Part of the plan was the sending of the Holy Spirit who will be with them throughout their earthly life. But in line with the divine "Modus Operandi", the "Paraclete" will not come if Christ does not resume His work in Heaven. I guess it makes sense even from our human perspective that a staff or worker should resume from a "mission" or "holiday" before the next could leave the office for another.

Despite all the "campaigns" Christ made to His disciples about the person and works of the Holy Spirit, they were mainly concerned about what would be left of them if He leaves them. They expected that Jesus would make his "Will" and apportion them all their share of His Father's kingdom; this called for their request in the book of Acts of the Apostles:

ACTS 1:1-11
In the first book, Theophilus,
I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught
until the day he was taken up,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them
by many proofs after he had suffered,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
While meeting with them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for "the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

When they had gathered together they asked him,
"Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons
that the Father has established by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth."
When he had said this, as they were looking on,
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,
suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
They said, "Men of Galilee,
why are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven
will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven."

Jesus's response to the disciple's quest of the kingdom of this world displeased them (the disciples), but their hope was once more restored by His Ascension into heaven. Once more, they could trust the Lord who is faithful to His words, for He once said: "If i do not go, the advocate will not come". And so for Him to go in that fashion, they were relieved of their worries and hoped for the "Spirit" which he promised.

Before He went, Jesus also charged them to always preach the good news after they've been filled with the spirit:

MK 16:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

The promises of Christ to those who believed was made manifest during the exodus of the disciples into the world. Those who believed cured all sort of demons and performed all kinds of miracles in His name. But not all Christians can and will be able to receive the Holy Spirit according to Mark's gospel. The incentive is meant only for those who believe.

And so the Ascension of Christ teaches us to have unwavering hope in the coming of the Spirit, great trust in Jesus Christ and concrete faith in his promises. But as Christians how long or well do we wait for God's promises to be fulfilled in our lives?

Often times we do run helter skelter like non believers in search of the things of the world, just like the disciples who could only think of acquisitions at such important time of Jesus exit. We lament and complain of not getting results of our prayers and services to God; but then we often pray for those things that do not glorify God in us.

The issue of "faith" also comes in. Good things happens only to those who believe in God's promises. If we do the will of God which is: preaching the Good news and doing good works, we shall "do wonders" by faith.

We are charged friends to continually have our eyes fixed on Christ, our hope of salvation. He calls us to do His will by proclaiming His message of hope and faith.

Let us resume our ministry by improving on our actions in our offices, neighbourhood, homes and churches. Let all who we meet, encounter God through us. This way, the Holy Spirit will remain in us and save us from any worldly attack.

May God grant us the grace always to believe in His words and wait patiently and in joyful hope for His promises. Amen.

Thanks for reading!

I'm @tomfreeman!