By Ann Fontaine
Ascension is one of those church holy days that is a mystery to me. The whole idea of Jesus ascending through the air into heaven is hard for someone who has seen the pictures of earth from space taken by the Astronauts. Instead I think of Glinda in the movie The Wizard of Oz, rising up into the air in her bubble with all the Munchkins waving and shouting “Goodbye, Goodbye” in their little squeaky voices.
There are many artistic depictions of the Ascension. Salvador Dali shows Jesus from the disciples’ point of view and some androgynous heavenly being receiving him. There is an icon showing just Jesus feet as he goes into the clouds and leaving footprints on the rock below. If you use the image search on google you will find all sorts of conceptions of this event. The gospels also have varying accounts. At some time Jesus parted from his followers – there was a sense that they would not see him again in quite the same way. But as he left them it was as though the heavens opened again. As when Jesus was baptized, at the crucifixion when the veil of the temple was torn in two, so at this event the doorway to the full reality of God was wide open – it would never been seen as closed again.
I love the response of the angel in Acts – “why are you standing around looking up into heaven?” In another place they are told go to the city and wait for power from on high. Between his apparent disappearance and the coming of the power of the Holy Spirit, between Ascension and Pentecost, we have what John Westerhoff calls a time of impotence.
At Ascension the mission of Christ is all handed on to us. It takes another week or so before we get power to move out. I can see the women and men – with a sort of stunned look (gazing as it says) – uh – what now? They gather, pray, tell stories of the good old days – and then zap – Pentecost! Ascensiontide is a time when we can learn about waiting – not an easy thing for people in our time. We want “to learn patience and we want it now” as the old joke goes. The disciples gathered to pray, study and worship as they waited. It was a time of preparation for the ministry that would soon envelop them. Perhaps that is something for us too.
The Rev. Ann Fontaine, Diocese of Wyoming, keeps what the tide brings in. She is the author of Streams of Mercy: a meditative commentary on the Bible.