we hear scriptures about Jesus ascending into heaven
that are obviously not literal.
We know that it's another one of those stories that is true
but didn't actually happen,
an experience of Divine Presence
that the followers of Jesus tried to express
in language and story that fit the world view of their time.
_______________________________________
There are some obvious clues
that lead us to see these
as expressions of faith experience
instead of historical fact.
Among other scripture scholars,
Fr. Raymond Brown points to
the developed theology of Paul's letter to the Ephesians,
written between 60 and 63 AD,
about 30 years after
the disciples experienced the resurrection and ascension.
Paul uses metaphors of his time and place—
metaphors familiar to the Greco-Roman socio-political culture
—to express the truth that Jesus has been lifted up
and lives in God for ever.
He describes Jesus as above all earthly powers,
head of the church,
Lord of creation.
Those are images that fit his time.
_______________________________________
Twenty to forty years after Ephesians,
an unknown author wrote the two pieces of scripture
that we know as Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles.
Our New American Bible
has a footnote showing that they can't be historical
because the ascension happens
on Easter Sunday night in the Gospel,
then forty days later in the Acts of the Apostles.
So, while the Bible is true,
these stories are not factual recordings of historical events.
Another way we know that the ascension stories
are attempts to tell about Jesus' meaning
rather than relate history
comes in that there are three forms of the final commission
that Jesus is shown as giving to his disciples.
One is found in Matthew (28:18-20),
one in John (20:22-23),
and one in Luke (24:44-48) and Acts (1:8).
Scholars make other observations
that point to the evolution of thinking about Jesus
as the Christian community grew.
For example, Luke has Jesus say,
“These are my words that I spoke to you
while I was still with you,
that everything written about me
in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms
must be fulfilled.”
Scholars say that Luke wrote those words
as a basic summary of the early Christian idea
that the Torah and the prophets foretold
Jesus' life, teaching, death, and resurrection.
They were trying to reconcile
what they thought about Jesus
while he was alive and preaching
with what had happened to him
and
with their continuing experience of his presence with them.
Another example is that the commissioning in Luke,
telling the disciples to preach the good news to all the nations,
expresses the goals of the early Christian community
as they ponder the significance of Jesus for them.
Those disciples, as the scriptures tell us,
mistakenly thought Jesus was a Messiah
who would take charge of the state,
set up a government,
reign as king... like David.
But then he was crucified,
and they began to understand
that his kingdom was not a worldly one.
They met and broke bread and remembered,
re-telling their memories
and continuing to experience his ongoing presence with them.
_______________________________________
Imagine them getting together and talking.
What did Jesus do?
What did he say we should do?
What does that mean for us now?
And they recognized him in the breaking of the bread.
_______________________________________
That's what we do, still, today.
We listen to the scriptures.
We ask ourselves what they mean.
We ponder our own experiences of the Spirit among us
in light of the experiences recorded by our ancestors in faith.
We express our own experiences of the Spirit of God
in ways that make sense to us,
given our understanding of science and humanity.
_______________________________________
One of the messages we hear
in today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles
is that Jesus lives in God.
Another message that we hear is that,
as followers of the way of Jesus,
we are commissioned to spread the good news
throughout the world.
That good news is
that all of creation—
including Jesus, including us—
lives with God and in God, eternally.
Thanks be to God!
--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m./Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
at 3925 West Central Avenue (Washington Church)
www.holyspirittoledo.org
Rev. Dr. Bev Bingle, Pastor
Mailing address: 3156 Doyle Street, Toledo, OH 43608-2006
that are obviously not literal.
We know that it's another one of those stories that is true
but didn't actually happen,
an experience of Divine Presence
that the followers of Jesus tried to express
in language and story that fit the world view of their time.
_______________________________________
There are some obvious clues
that lead us to see these
as expressions of faith experience
instead of historical fact.
Among other scripture scholars,
Fr. Raymond Brown points to
the developed theology of Paul's letter to the Ephesians,
written between 60 and 63 AD,
about 30 years after
the disciples experienced the resurrection and ascension.
Paul uses metaphors of his time and place—
metaphors familiar to the Greco-Roman socio-political culture
—to express the truth that Jesus has been lifted up
and lives in God for ever.
He describes Jesus as above all earthly powers,
head of the church,
Lord of creation.
Those are images that fit his time.
_______________________________________
Twenty to forty years after Ephesians,
an unknown author wrote the two pieces of scripture
that we know as Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles.
Our New American Bible
has a footnote showing that they can't be historical
because the ascension happens
on Easter Sunday night in the Gospel,
then forty days later in the Acts of the Apostles.
So, while the Bible is true,
these stories are not factual recordings of historical events.
Another way we know that the ascension stories
are attempts to tell about Jesus' meaning
rather than relate history
comes in that there are three forms of the final commission
that Jesus is shown as giving to his disciples.
One is found in Matthew (28:18-20),
one in John (20:22-23),
and one in Luke (24:44-48) and Acts (1:8).
Scholars make other observations
that point to the evolution of thinking about Jesus
as the Christian community grew.
For example, Luke has Jesus say,
“These are my words that I spoke to you
while I was still with you,
that everything written about me
in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms
must be fulfilled.”
Scholars say that Luke wrote those words
as a basic summary of the early Christian idea
that the Torah and the prophets foretold
Jesus' life, teaching, death, and resurrection.
They were trying to reconcile
what they thought about Jesus
while he was alive and preaching
with what had happened to him
and
with their continuing experience of his presence with them.
Another example is that the commissioning in Luke,
telling the disciples to preach the good news to all the nations,
expresses the goals of the early Christian community
as they ponder the significance of Jesus for them.
Those disciples, as the scriptures tell us,
mistakenly thought Jesus was a Messiah
who would take charge of the state,
set up a government,
reign as king... like David.
But then he was crucified,
and they began to understand
that his kingdom was not a worldly one.
They met and broke bread and remembered,
re-telling their memories
and continuing to experience his ongoing presence with them.
_______________________________________
Imagine them getting together and talking.
What did Jesus do?
What did he say we should do?
What does that mean for us now?
And they recognized him in the breaking of the bread.
_______________________________________
That's what we do, still, today.
We listen to the scriptures.
We ask ourselves what they mean.
We ponder our own experiences of the Spirit among us
in light of the experiences recorded by our ancestors in faith.
We express our own experiences of the Spirit of God
in ways that make sense to us,
given our understanding of science and humanity.
_______________________________________
One of the messages we hear
in today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles
is that Jesus lives in God.
Another message that we hear is that,
as followers of the way of Jesus,
we are commissioned to spread the good news
throughout the world.
That good news is
that all of creation—
including Jesus, including us—
lives with God and in God, eternally.
Thanks be to God!
--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m./Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
at 3925 West Central Avenue (Washington Church)
www.holyspirittoledo.org
Rev. Dr. Bev Bingle, Pastor
Mailing address: 3156 Doyle Street, Toledo, OH 43608-2006
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