Luke’s account of the
Ascension was symbolic

Speaking of Religion
The Rev. Dr. Tim Griffin

[Jesus said] "… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the Earth." When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "…why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." (Acts 1: 8-11)

On May 17, many Christians observed Ascension Day — the day on which Jesus’ ascension into heaven is commemorated. Following the account cited above, Jesus’ ascension is often portrayed visually with him riding on a cloud heading towards that "somewhere up there" where God resides.
But is that the point of this story? I don’t think so. The point of the story is that Jesus’ Earthly ministry — his life, death and resurrection — is completed, and so he may now join God the Father, leaving the church with the project of continuing his mission.
And the evangelist strives to make this point in the best way he knows how, viz., by drawing upon the image of reality prevalent in the first century. That is, Luke makes his point by using the image of a three-tiered universe with heaven (the abode of God) above us, the Earth (our home) in the middle and the underworld (Sheol or Hades — the place of the dead) below us.
Symbolically this imagery works quite well. God is "up there" with all the meteorological phenomena — lightening, thunder, etc. — and with a vantage point from which to see everything. After all, one can see farther from a higher place.
However a little reflection suffices to show that this imagery, if taken literally, is not only bad science, it is bad theology as well. It is bad science because, among other things, we know that "up" and "down" are relative to one’s vantage point. It is bad theology because, among other things, God is not confined to a "place."
Thus, to suppose that God is "up there" is to suppose that heaven is a place and that God is a being like other beings in that God is always in a particular place at a particular time. Of course we know that God is not a being like us, and we know, moreover, that God is not confined to a particular space/time. And, significantly, the people who occupied Luke’s space/time knew that too.
For example, Psalm 139, written well before Jesus’ birth, clearly indicates that God is present in all places. Luke, whose writings indicate that he was well-educated, would not have failed to grasp this point. He was using symbolism to make his point.
So what should we take from the story of Jesus’ ascension and what does it mean for our lives? Primarily the story shows that Jesus, whose life, death and resurrection was a manifestation of God, is now with God, just as he was always with God. That is to say, it shows that Jesus’ life is vindicated by God.
And it shows that our lives are also vindicated by God insofar as we live into and live out the way of life that Jesus manifested to us, i.e., so long as we love God and our neighbor as ourselves, by treating all with respect and dignity, by striving for justice and by living in solidarity with those who are impoverished or marginalized by society or by the indifference so characteristic of institutions, whether they be political, social, economic or religious.
This is the way Jesus lived among us, and this is the way that Jesus would have his community live after his departure. In this respect, the words of the two men clad in white is instructive — not only to Jesus’ immediate followers but to those of us who desire to continue his mission and ministry.
We are failing to live out our vocation as followers of Jesus if we stand gazing upwards, waiting for Jesus’ return. Our vocation is to witness to Jesus by living into that reality that he lived and taught. Living in this way is the Kingdom of Heaven. ••
Father Tim Griffin is priest-in-charge at the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, at 1946 Welsh Road in Bustleton.