A Reflection on the Ascension

Ahead of Ascension Day this Thursday, The Revd Canon Andy Bryant, Norwich Cathedral's Canon for Mission and Pastoral Care, shares a reflection on the Ascension and the work of Christian Aid.

Watch the video message above and read the full text below.

"Norwich Cathedral has the greatest collection of medieval carved roof bosses of any church in the world. Here in the Nave the roof bosses tell the complete story of the Bible starting with Creation and ending with the Last Judgement. Sitting in the Nave is like sitting inside a Bible!

I am standing underneath the roof boss which illustrates the Ascension. Since the resurrection, Jesus has appeared many times to his disciples and spoke to them about the kingdom of God. On this last appearance he leads them out to a hill near Bethany and, having blessed them, he withdraws from them and is carried up to heaven.

This moment marks the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It is also the moment when Jesus passes the baton on to the disciples. From now on the responsibility for sharing Jesus’ teaching and bringing in the kingdom of God lies with them. Some days after the Ascension they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and find a new confidence to go out into the world and continue the ministry of Jesus.

The responsibility to share the good news of Jesus Christ, and to bring in the kingdom of God, is passed on from generation to generation, and now rests with us. It lies with us to keep the stories of God known and understood in our time. Crucially it is important that people are able see God’s love in action in the world, and can witness how the followers of Christ make a positive difference in the world, offering a glimpse of a different way of being.

Each year close to Ascension Day, the Church also marks Christian Aid Week. Christian Aid is a wonderful charity set-up by British and Irish Churches in the aftermath of the Second World War. For over 80 years Christian Aid has provided humanitarian relief and long-term development support for poor communities worldwide, while highlighting suffering, tackling injustice and championing people’s rights. Christian Aid is God’s love made visible in the world; it is God’s love in action.

As we celebrate the feast of the Ascension, we need to renew our commitment to carry on the baton of Jesus’ ministry, even as those first disciples did many generations ago. In a broken and divided world, where enmity, anger, bitterness and mistrust colour so much of public life, the good news of Jesus Christ needs to be heard afresh. But more than being heard it needs to be seen in action. The gospel of Jesus Christ needs to be made visible in acts of kindness, gentleness, forgiveness and healing.

Where the Church just echoes the divisions and mistakes of the world its mission is fundamentally undermined. Rather as individuals, and as the community of the Church, we need to show the world a different way, offering a vision of a changed world that does not need to be broken and divided.

At this moment in the Christian year when we worship our risen and ascended Lord, let us renew our determination to be the change the world needs. In our relationships, and in our communities, let us make God’s love visible, so those around come to understand why Jesus is the good news the world needs to hear."