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Ascension, 2021
4 years ago
Ascension Thursday, 2021
"O ye men of Galilee, what do ye marvel at, gazing at the sky?" (Acts 1:11)
Today is Ascension Day, the completion of Christ's life on Earth. Having completed His mission, He returns to Heaven, so that His disciples can grow and learn (with the help of the Holy Ghost) to stand on their own feet.
I will briefly state that I wonder that anybody should suppose that "Heaven" in the theological sense is located in the sky. Of course, Jesus rose into the sky; what else would He do? We naturally associate the sky with the gods, because both are "superior" to us. But even as I child I understood that "Heaven" was a different dimension -- or better, plane of existence -- and that at some point Jesus passed through a portal from the material heaven to the Kingdom of Heaven.
However, as soon as I translated today's quote, what struck me was the humour of the Bible. Many -- far too many -- translations are stiff, overly formal, even sour. I am reminded of a Monty Python clip a friend recently shared, where God says that the Psalms are depressing. To which I can only say they've never read the actual Psalms -- only the distorted English versions.
No indeed, the Bible is bursting with life and the praise of life, and much of the New Testament is filled with humour -- if you want to see it. And why not? God and the angels love us, but they surely are amused by our childish antics. So here I imagine the angel laughingly chiding the disciples for gaping at the clouds -- perhaps for making the same babyish mistake I mentioned above. The clouds aren't going to do you guys any good, go about your business.
"O ye men of Galilee, what do ye marvel at, gazing at the sky?" (Acts 1:11)
Today is Ascension Day, the completion of Christ's life on Earth. Having completed His mission, He returns to Heaven, so that His disciples can grow and learn (with the help of the Holy Ghost) to stand on their own feet.
I will briefly state that I wonder that anybody should suppose that "Heaven" in the theological sense is located in the sky. Of course, Jesus rose into the sky; what else would He do? We naturally associate the sky with the gods, because both are "superior" to us. But even as I child I understood that "Heaven" was a different dimension -- or better, plane of existence -- and that at some point Jesus passed through a portal from the material heaven to the Kingdom of Heaven.
However, as soon as I translated today's quote, what struck me was the humour of the Bible. Many -- far too many -- translations are stiff, overly formal, even sour. I am reminded of a Monty Python clip a friend recently shared, where God says that the Psalms are depressing. To which I can only say they've never read the actual Psalms -- only the distorted English versions.
No indeed, the Bible is bursting with life and the praise of life, and much of the New Testament is filled with humour -- if you want to see it. And why not? God and the angels love us, but they surely are amused by our childish antics. So here I imagine the angel laughingly chiding the disciples for gaping at the clouds -- perhaps for making the same babyish mistake I mentioned above. The clouds aren't going to do you guys any good, go about your business.
