FROM THE PULPIT: REMEMBERING ASCENSION DAY

Thursday, May 24, was Ascension Day. Did you do anything to celebrate? Its unfortunate, but we don't have fancy decorated trees or colored eggs to celebrate Ascension Day. I did consider leaning a ladder up against the house as my legally protected religious expression, but the ladder had already been up for two weeks from the last time I cleaned the gutters.

Ascension Day is 40 days after Easter, 10 days before Pentecost. It marks the second time Jesus will leave his disciples alone and bereft. Considering the last 40 days for the disciples, basking in the glory of the reality of the resurrection, it's hard to believe their relationship with the risen Christ was going to end. There were the marvelous experiences of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Christ's loving affirmation toward Thomas' doubts, the incredible catch of fish on the other side of the boat and the feast of charcoal-broiled fish on the beach.

After 40 days in the presence of the resurrected Jesus, the brutal horror of the crucifixion, the apparent finality of the tomb, the mystery of the resurrection, the lies and rumors that the disciples had stolen the body were all but forgotten. Jesus is alive! He is risen indeed! Even their own cowardice and betrayal take a back seat to the joy of Christ's presence. Everything seems right with the world.

And yet, Jesus tells them he's going to leave them, again. It must have been difficult to let him go, not that they could do anything about it. But Jesus tells them he must leave in order to send the Holy Spirit (John 16:7). He tells them that if he were to stay, the Spirit would not come, but I would imagine those words were lost on the disciples as they begin to reprocess their grief and once again feel the empty loneliness. Once more they would be alone in a hostile world.

Fortunately, we know the rest of the story. Jesus gives them instructions to go back to the city. As they gather to celebrate a Jewish feast called Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes upon them in full power. The promise is fulfilled.

Ascension marks a time for us to prepare our hearts for Pentecost, just as Advent prepares us for Christmas and Lent prepares us for Easter. Perhaps more importantly, Ascension and Pentecost remind us that Easter is not the end of the Christian story. Easter is a transition between the teachings of Jesus and our calling to live out those teachings. We sometimes call ourselves, "Easter People," but in reality, since we have the Holy Spirit, we are "Pentecost People."

Our faith does not end with Easter and the resurrection. We live to share and witness to our faith in the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Ascension reminds us that sometimes we need to let go of things (or relationships), in order that God might fulfill the promises of what we need to move forward into our faith journey. Ascension reminds us that, though life has some fretful turns and feelings of being alone, God is good and faithful to supply our need.