Physics and the Ascension


“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send [her] to you.” John 16:7

Recently, I had to do some minor home repairs and I thought about how convenient it would be to be able to reach through a door in order to adjust a knob as my body could not contort in the way it needed to be able to see what I was doing.  Regardless of what marvels appear in movies (through the power of CGI and other special effects), the laws of physics still rule our world and the simple truth is two objects cannot occupy the same space (at least not in this dimension!). 

You might ask what such musing have to do with Jesus’s ascension into heaven – and the truth is that physics plays a very important role in this situation.  Jesus in any bodily form (resurrected or otherwise), could not be in more than one place at one time.  He was still bound by the laws of physics, as he attempted to explain to his disciples in the quote from John’s Gospel cited above.  He knew that he had to go away (much to the disciples’ dismay, so he was preparing them for that eventuality) so that the Advocate – the Holy Spirit – could be present to all people everywhere all the time. 

Yes, the Spirit and the Son are different parts of the Trinity, and yet they are one.  My belief is that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the world AFTER Jesus’s ascension (i.e. at Pentecost) was a new way of being for both the Spirit and the Son, which could only happen if Jesus’s bodily form was no longer here on earth.  The physical laws of Creation needed to be followed by God in all forms for God’s greatest gift - the immanent presence of the Divine.

This is how we can say that Jesus Christ continues to live today – because it is true!  No, he does not exist in the bodily form the first disciple knew, but that does not mean his Spirit is not at work in the world and in each of us.  The Spirit may not have the same physical presence (i.e. matter) that Jesus’s human form did, but without it, the Spirit is able to move and be in ways far beyond our human understanding.  And I’m good with that. 

Indeed, that what makes Ascension Day so important, because it frees Jesus from the bonds of human limitations and allows us access to God in ways I don’t believe we have begun to explore or accept as possible.  The Church in the first century as on FIRE with the Spirit because they were not limited by scientific skepticism.  While I still believe that physics applies to Creation, the Divine can do awesome things if we are willing to let go and believe.

As we stand with the first disciples and watch Jesus ascend into heaven, we rejoice and give thanks for his departure as we await the celebration of the Spirit’s eternal presence.  Come, Holy Spirit, come!

The Collect (Prayer) for Ascension Day
Almighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

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