Today is the 40th day of Eastertide and in the Bible this length of time is used to denote a time of testing and preparation. This had certainly been the case for the disciples, as they came to terms with the miraculous resurrection of Jesus.  As they began to understand the significance of this event appreciating that Jesus was back with them, so they were also tested as they began to comprehend the Commission that they were to undertake without Jesus by their side.  Each time they met with the risen Jesus they learnt a little more until they reached the day of his Ascension which we celebrate today.

What a spiritual journey the disciples had been on since Good Friday and that journey certainly wasn’t over yet. Although Jesus had returned from the dead it had been somewhat different from the old times: even though he had come back to life, he kept appearing and disappearing.  They never knew when to expect him.  Then the day came when Jesus met up with his eleven remaining disciples and filled them in further on God’s plans. He told them how the master plan had worked so far: that God sent His Son, Jesus, to teach, but then to suffer and die, and to be raised from the dead on the third day. But then he surprised them by telling them that this was not the end, but the beginning of something very special. The disciples were now commissioned to go into the world, and tell people about God’s love for them.  That no one who repents is beyond forgiveness. That to rise again, to be reborn, is possible for everyone. God is love, and a man who truly loves his neighbour has learnt it from God. Words that we also need to listen to. Then Jesus told them:

But he didn’t explain what the power was, or how they would come by it.  The disciples sat and waited for further explanation. Then Jesus said to them: ‘Let’s go to Bethany’. They walked there in small groups and when they got near to Mary and Martha’s house they saw a clearing. They sat in this for a while and Jesus reminded that that at his baptism by John the Baptist they had been told that Jesus would baptise with the Spirit. This is what they were to expect soon. I expect he reminisced a bit and talked to them about John the Baptist, who had been so tragically killed. Perhaps he also spoke about his own parents, Joseph dying and Mary, his mother, having to watch her son die. Reminding them and us that he had truly lived and died a man.

In the Acts reading we heard Jesus telling the disciples that when the Holy Spirit came they would be able to change Israel, the Middle East, even the world!  Then he stood up, his appearance changed and as he looked up, so did the disciples. Maybe there was music and saw a bright light before he floated heavenwards and the disciples saw him no more. He had gone again, and this time they knew he wouldn’t be back. But he had promised to send the Holy Spirit to help them as missionaries. To tell the world about God, who had sent His Son into the world to redeem it. They wondered how and when that Spirit would arrive. In the meantime though they needed to get on with their lives, to try and remember all that Jesus had taught them. To spend time glorifying God for all that they had seen so far and all that was to come. With joy overflowing and engaging others who wanted to know more about this Jesus who had been crucified but yet, they were told, had risen from the dead. 

What does all this have to teach us? First it reminds us to trust God with our future. We do not know what it holds but He does and He knows how we should deal with it. If we draw close to Him, he can guide us through the exciting and the difficult, the everyday and the unexpected. It tells us that we should be joyful.

The disciples had known the risen Christ in the flesh, of course, and that was no doubt a most wonderful and remarkable experience. But then he left them, promising to send the ‘power from on high’ before disappearing from view. And yet ‘they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, continually worshipping God in the temple.’

How often do we, who now have the ‘Spirit from on high’ do that? Can others tell that we are Christians from the joy that wells up from within and cascades out to the people that we meet? I wish and pray that it were so more often than it is! It teaches us to wait on God, to let Him do things in His good time and not ours. I am sure we have all had experience of this. “Listen God, it’s fine, Thy will be done, but hurry up!” I am also quite sure that often the answer we are looking for needs time spent in prayerful expectation, trusting God’s timing. So easy to say and often so difficult to adhere to.

Finally the Ascension reminds us that as well as being truly man, Jesus was one with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. As the Nicene Creed puts it: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. We also know that: He will come again in glory To judge the living and the dead, And his kingdom will have no end. In the meantime we are called to be joyful, love one another, love and serve the Lord and spread the good news far and wide. Amen.