The final scene in Luke’s Gospel is the blessing and
departure of Jesus. The ascension
concludes his earthly ministry, and his disciples seem ready to proclaim the
astounding news of his resurrection, having confirmed that he was really the
one they had known prior to his death.
The Mount of Olives is once again the backdrop for his revelatory
action.
We struggle
to know what actually transpired in this numinous event. The language is spare: “and in the act of
blessing he parted from them” (Luke 24:51).
Other translations render the event in this way: “while blessing them,
the savior left them and was carried up to heaven.” It is understandable that the writer would
use the cosmology of the day and consider heaven to be “up,” yet holding on to
that spatial understanding presents many problems.
This past
Sunday a man in my Bible study class asked, “Where is heaven?” We have the Hubble roaming around, he said,
and it has not turned up any evidence.
His concrete question presses us to think about the location of heaven
in a different way.
Recently this
class has been studying N.T. Wright’s provocative book Surprised by Hope. He vigorously
challenges the idea that heaven is a far off place we flee to when we die. Rather, he argues for the interlocking
relationship of heaven and earth, and sees the future of humanity and all
creation as inhabiting a perfected world where God’s fullness dwells.
So where
did Jesus go? The first born from the
dead went to be with God, whose dwelling is not so far away. Indeed, God already inhabits all creation and
is slowly, almost imperceptibly “making all things new.” When we pray “thy will be done on earth as it
is in heaven,” we are participating in this renewal and welcoming God’s presence
in all things.
Creation
still groans for liberation, but the defeat of death in resurrection has
already given a clue to God’s plan. God
loves this world and will not consign it to utter destruction. Yet, this is no
“myth of progress,” which assumes things are naturally getting better and
better. Only God can ultimately lift creation out of chaos, and our hope is
grounded in God’s resurrecting power.
Humanity
has a role to play, however, both within history and beyond. We see this chiefly in the story of Jesus,
whose human life has been taken into the life of God, thereby transfiguring the
horizon of hope. His departure is for
our good, and the gift of the Spirit draws us into his resurrected life.
Molly T.
Marshall
Central
prepares women and men for seeking God, shaping church, and serving humanity.
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