What Is Ascension Day?

On May 21 this year, a tweet or a blog post (I don’t remember which) reminded me that it was Ascension Day, the traditional celebration of the day that Jesus, following his crucifixion and resurrection, returned to heaven.  The most detailed of the biblical accounts (Acts 1:1-12) says that “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” (Acts 1:9, NIV)

Naturally, many scholars (and average believers) now question whether this is what literally happened. For me, the reminder about Ascension day led me to ask what Ascension Day means to me, regardless of its factual status.

I had trouble with this idea at first. I read over the various accounts of the Ascension, along with traditional Christian teachings and creedal statements, and discovered that most of it meant nothing to me!  The Incarnation is important to me; that Jesus lived as a human among humans.  His death is meaningful to me (see previous post).  The Resurrection tells me that Jesus is still with us; that he defeated death, and it did not separate him from us.

In contrast, the Ascension does seem to separate Jesus from us.  “He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right and of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” (The Nicene Creed)  He left us, returned to heaven, and someday he’ll be back.  He’s not with us any more.

But wait!  Jesus also said “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20, NIV)  And that’s been my experience — that he is with us and accessible, not separated from us until some future glorious event.

So how can a believing follower of Jesus reconcile this with the Ascension?

Strangely enough, there is a traditional belief that helps.  It’s more common in the Eastern Orthodox church, according to Wikipedia (although sadly I can’t find a source that clearly verifies this).  Jesus’ ascension “consummated the union of God and man.”  Or, as Grace of Kingdom Grace puts it, “Because of the bodily ascension of Christ, we are now lifted into and included in the fellowship of the Father, Son, and Spirit.”

Rather than a separation, the Ascension represents a joining of God and humans.  Once again, it says that God is with us, now and always, Emanuel.

President Obama and Justice

I didn’t know until this morning, when I read an essay by Dahlia Lithwick in Newsweek, that the Bible used in President Obama’s inauguration had additional significance.  Yes, it was the Bible used in President Lincoln’s inauguration.  But who was the other party involved in that inauguration ceremony (and did he get the words of the oath right)?

Chief Justice Roger Taney presided over Lincoln’s swearing in.  As far as I know, he got the oath right.  But one thing he didn’t get right was the Dred Scott decision.  Taney wrote the opinion on that historic decision, which said that Scott, a slave from Missouri, could not automatically become a free man by traveling to a free state.  In his opinion, Taney said that such African-Americans

had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race either in social or political relations, and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect, and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit.
(Taney, Roger Brooke, C.J., “Opinion of the Court,” Scott v. Sandford)

Things have changed more than a bit since then. One might say that it’s justice, poetic or otherwise, to have an African-American man take the presidential oath of office on a Bible previously used by Justice Taney.

On my other blog, I asked and partially answered, “What is Justice?“

Justice is related to the word justify.  If you work with type, or if you use word processing a lot, you might have heard the terms left-justified and right-justified before (or simply justified).  In this case, justified means the type lines up evenly on one or both sides of the text.  The text you’re reading here is left-justified; it all lines up on the left side.

So, justice can also refer to making things line up evenly, or making them line up correctly, the way they are supposed to be.  That’s the way I like to see it.

Justice does not just mean making people pay for what they’ve done, and it definitely does not mean taking revenge.

It’s about making things right.  So how do we do that?

Justice is also God’s business.  God is interested in making things right between us and God, and between all of us here on Earth.  And as I said above, this can’t involve revenge.  According to Jesus, it has to include forgiveness; continual forgiveness.  For instance, Matthew 18:

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
(Matthew 18:21-22, NIV)

It’s also essential to be reconciled with our brethren in order to be right with God:

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
(Matthew 5: 23-24, NIV)

Does President Obama’s inauguration Bible, perhaps, signal the beginning of an era of reconciliation and justice?

Where Would Jesus Shop?

Because there is always laundry to do, I spent part of my Saturday folding laundry and listening to a Christian radio station. During a commercial break, the station announced that they are having a contest, and the prize is a Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) shopping spree, complete with limo ride, lunch and $500 gift card.

I dropped one of my husband’s shirts on the floor in surprise. Yes, this is the type of contest radio stations normally offer, but I was taken aback at hearing it from a Christian station. I immediately asked myself, “where would Jesus be on Black Friday?”

The first thing that comes to mind, I’m afraid, is the Temple scene, where Jesus drives out the moneychangers and tells everyone off. I think you can make a pretty strong case for shopping malls and big box stores, and yea, even the Wal-Marts, being the temples of the United States of America. So I’m thinking he’d be there, but not to shop.

You may have heard that some people celebrate Buy Nothing Day instead of Black Friday. I’ve gone back and forth on this. It’s hard to resist the deals (especially, in the Pacific Northwest, the Fred Meyer half-price sock sale). And we don’t have a lot of money, so huge deals can be helpful to our budget. So, in some years I’ve gone with Buy Nothing, and in others I’ve shopped. Last year I even wrote an article about Black Friday deals, in order to earn a little extra money.

This year, I could easily justify scrambling for the best deals. Our budget is as limited as ever, if not more so. But I’m not going to do it. This year, above all years, we need to change our ways. We’ve seen the economy going down the toilet. Many people will tell you that the cure for this is for people to spend more money. Spending more money will make the economy better!

Maybe temporarily. But, as we’ve seen this year, an economy based on consumerism and greed is not sustainable. We can’t keep doing this.

If you believe we need to change, join me in ditching Black Friday. But don’t stop there! If we boycott Black Friday and then shop just as much as usual later on, it doesn’t make much of a difference. Think about alternatives that help other people, or that support the local economy.

• Alternative gift giving, or giving to charity instead of giving a physical gift. Check out living gifts from the Heifer Project, Mercy Kits from Mercy Corps, or the United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR) gift catalog.
• Used items: books, games, kitchen items, clothing, and more.
• Handcrafted items from a local bazaar or from Etsy (http://etsy.com)
• Make your own handcrafted gifts, and spend time together as a family while doing it.
• Gifts of time or experience rather than things: Babysitting, yard work, a trip to the zoo, dance lessons, etc.
• Give your time to help others instead of giving each other gifts: volunteer to serve a holiday dinner for the homeless, help with a food drive, or pick up trash on the beaches.

After all, Jesus didn’t just stop at throwing the merchants out of the temple. According to Matthew 12:14 (The Message), after this “Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them.” And children ran and shouted through the temple for joy.

Doing Church vs. Being Church — or Being Christ

Earlier in the year, I committed to reading through the Gospel of Mark and blogging about it.  I did end up reading all of Mark with a small group.  We met in the park and called it “Mark in the Park.”  Corny, I know.  It was a terrific experience, though — so terrific that I really didn’t need to blog about Mark!  We got all our thoughts and questions out in the group instead.

This group was affiliated with our local church (of which I am a member), but I find that doing things within the church is becoming less and less important to me.  When my husband and I first joined a United Methodist Church, we jumped almost immediately into church leadership projects, because that’s how we are.  This was great for a while.  It’s fun and rewarding to be creative in designing and leading programs and worship services, and we especially enjoyed being involved in the new church band.

But after a while, it becomes a chore.  And you realize that maybe it’s not bearing as much fruit as you thought it was.  The local church itself may benefit, but are we really doing any good for anyone else?  We spend time planning things that will bring people IN to the church, but we don’t spend enough time doing things OUT in the world.

So we’ve recently backed out of the church leadership game.  I actually stopped attending services for a few weeks, too; I think I needed the break.  We’re maintaining our connection with the local church, especially with small groups, but it is no longer the focus of our spiritual life.

We want to be the church in the world.  We’re still figuring out what that means.  Lately I’ve been looking for ways to be involved in the community without dragging the local church into it.  For instance, I’m organizing a monthly Kidical Mass bike ride in our area.  I invited some people from the church, but it was definitely not a Church Event.  I was also not proselytizing.  Just trying to do something good for the people who live here. I’m also making an effort to talk to more people in the neighborhood.

Today, I read the Fall 2008 issue of Leadership Journal, and I’d like to close by sharing some quotes from it that really struck me.

“…to be missional means to be sent into the world; we do not expect people to come to us.” –Alan Hirsch

“Is it just about trying to grow your own local assembly? As opposed to going out and loving people and not getting any credit for it” — Pastor Dave Gibbons, in an article by Helen Lee.

“We used to invite them to attend church; now we invite them to be the church.  I used to ask, ‘What can we do to get more people to attend our church?”  Now I ask, ‘How can I best equip and empower the people to go be the church in the marketplace where God has called them to serve?” –Walt Kallestad

From a cartoon of a church sign: “Midtown Fellowship:  Join us! (and gain, easily, 75-100 friends on Facebook)”

Let’s be the face of Christ in the world, everywhere we go, and in everything we do.

Jesus Christ, Elitist

In Mark 6, Jesus visits his hometown. He goes to the synagogue and teaches, and everyone is flabbergasted. They can’t believe that he has all this wisdom, and they’ve heard that he even heals. Who does he think he is? He’s just supposed to be one of them!

I can just hear them saying, “Elitist freak! Why doesn’t he get a real job, like his brothers?”

Sigh. Sometimes, we just can’t stand anyone being a little smarter, or a little richer, or maybe just a little different. I’m guilty, too. I do tend to resent people with more money. Why should they have more? And why do they spend it the way they do?

Jesus tried to heal people in his hometown, but he wasn’t able to help many, because of their attitudes. Likewise, if I have a resentful attitude toward some people, I can’t be healed. I can’t be made whole and healthy, because I’m holding on to that resentment. I can’t have whole and healthy relationships with those people, either.

But if I’m willing to listen, both to Jesus and to those whom I might resent, maybe there’s a chance for me.

No, You Can’t Come Along

“Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19b, NIV)

Jesus has just finished a healing.  He’s driven an unclean spirit from a man, and into a lake with herd of swine.  Everyone has begged Jesus to leave the neighborhood, as his powers are too frightening (and perhaps a bit disruptive to the economy).  The man who was healed, however, wants to go with Jesus.

Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?  Leave everything and follow Jesus?  But in this case, Jesus says no.  He has a different task in mind.  He sends the man home, with orders to tell about what happened.

I want to know more about Jesus, too.  Often, I’d be happy to spend my time reading and studying and getting to know Him, instead of being out in the world.  I’d like to just stick close to Him.

He’s got other work for me, though.  He’s got children for me to teach — mine and others.  He’s got people to be fed.  He’s got people out there who need a connection, a relationship with another person.  And through all of those things, I can tell people about Jesus, about what He has done for me, and what He can do for the world.

Sealed for Your Protection

I opened a new bottle of dry erase board cleaner today. It was sealed with a plastic collar around the lid — for my protection. Protection from what? Children? But that only works until you open it — once you open it, it’s fair game, unless you keep it locked up and/or out of reach. Are terrorists trying to infiltrate bottles of dry erase cleaner, perhaps? I might catch smallpox or something.

I get why our food and medicines are sealed. Some idiot back in the 1970’s thought it would be fun to inject cyanide into capsule of Tylenol, and a bunch of people died. Manufacturers started sealing medicine bottles shortly thereafter. Protective seals on food products came a little later. Yes, poison in products we ingest would be very bad, and it makes at least some sense to protect against that. I’m definitely not planning to ingest my dry erase board cleaner, though.

One thing Jesus repeats often in the gospels is “do not fear,” along with “do not worry.” In Mark 4, he tells his disciples they shouldn’t be worried about a storm:

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

–Mark 4:39-40, NIV

He really gets into this later on, when he talks about not worrying about what you will eat or what you will wear — but this is a beginning. Do not fear. Fear not. If you’re living the kingdom life (which is what Jesus is trying to give us) you don’t need to be afraid.

We have a lot of fear in our society, and it goes beyond protective seals on the products we buy. We’re encouraged to fear our so-called enemies, and especially terrorists. We have to let the government wiretap phones and hold prisoners without just cause because we’re afraid of terrorism.

We’re encouraged to fear recession, and to spend more money in order to prop up the economy.

In some cases, people have been taught to fear God — and not in the “I revere and respect your awesomeness” way, but in a scary way — and that’s wrong too.

In the kingdom of God, we do not need to fear. We let go of our fears, and live the abundant life.

House Divided

Did you know that it was Jesus who originally said “a house divided against itself cannot stand?” (Mark 3:24, paraphrased by Abraham Lincoln) Many people think that’s an Abe Lincoln original — but Abe was, like many people, just taking the Bible and applying it to modern times.

This was Lincoln’s acceptance speech for the Republican nomination for Senator from Illinois in 1858 — three years before the Civil War began. Lincoln predicted that the United States could not permanently remain half slave and half free, with half of the states legally allowing slavery and half of the states abolishing it. The country would have to come around to either abolition or legal slavery as a national policy — and he pointed out that it was entirely possible that all of the states would eventually agree to legalize slavery. It still stands as a radical speech and a strong warning.

Jesus, on the other hand, was responding to a charge by the Pharisees. He’d been driving out demons (probably healing the mentally ill, in modern terms), and the Pharisees said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” (Mark 3:22 NIV)

Jesus then responded:

So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

So…Jesus was basically using logic to defend himself, which doesn’t really have much to do with what Lincoln was talking about. I think it’s still true in both contexts, though.

About.com blogger Robert Longley noted in 2007 that Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President at Illinois’ Old State Capitol building — the same place where Lincoln made the “House Divided” speech.

Rules — Follow ‘em or Break ‘em?

I’ve been reading Mark, chapters 1 and 2 (all quotes are from The Message, by Eugene Peterson). First, the background. Mark is the shortest gospel, and was the first written of the four in the Bible. It moves quickly through the action of Jesus’ life — just in the first chapter, he’s baptized, tempted, calls his first disciples, and begins teaching and healing. He heals a LOT, right off the bat. There’s a focus in this first chapter on the casting out of evil spirits, or what we might call healing mental illness. Mark says that the evil spirits knew who Jesus was (“the Holy One of God”) and tried to expose him, but Jesus “wouldn’t let them say a word.”

That rather makes sense. Sometimes people with mental illnesses (or children, or those near death) see things differently from others.

In chapters two and three, we meet Jesus the Sabbath-breaker. This, I believe, is absolutely core to Jesus’ teachings. The first story is that on one Sabbath day, Jesus and his disciples walked through a field of ripe grain, and his hungry disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. When the Pharisees complained, Jesus told them off, reminding them that when King David and his men were hungry, they took the holy bread from the altar and ate it, even though it was forbidden. This is where he says “The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren’t made to serve the Sabbath.”

Then, he goes on to heal a man with a crippled hand, saying “What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?”

Jesus clearly teaches that we should not hold so closely to laws that we cease loving one another.

This past Sunday, I was sitting in middle of the front row, listening to the sermon and singing the hymns. On the periphery, I was aware that a young disabled woman who attends our church wanted to get my attention. She wasn’t causing a disturbance or anything, but I knew that was why she had wheeled up next to my pew. I was determined not to respond, figuring she needed to realize that this was not an appropriate time for us to chat.

Okay, so talking in church is generally frowned upon. Did I make the loving choice? Should I have just scooted over to see what she needed? It’s hard to say. This young lady tends to seek a lot of attention from people. I think (and remember that I have spent time working with developmentally disabled kids) that her disability is mostly physical, but she’s been babied, so she’s not as independent, both emotionally and otherwise, as she might be. So a loving choice might actually be to help her learn to interact with people appropriately, as I would with my children. Or, would it be better to break the unwritten rule?

Some choices seem clear-cut, and some are like this.