On Thursday I remembered with thankfulness that Jesus is the ascended King! Ascension Day passes many Christians by, which is a great pity, as it’s such an important faith marker for those who believe. All that Jesus accomplished through his death and resurrection finds completion in his ascension to the Father’s right hand. He’s now governing the universe and ruling his church.
Mother Mary
I have international friends who insist on wishing me a Happy Mother’s Day today! I’ve explained many times that in the UK we celebrate Mothering Sunday during Lent, so today I’ve been thinking about the blessing the Ascension must have been to Mary, the mother of Jesus, the most famous mother of all time.
Mary’s 33 years of mothering God’s son could not have been easy. There was the perceived shame of pregnancy, giving birth among the animals, the scary flight to Egypt and thinking she’d lost him as a boy. The opposition to his ministry in Nazareth (Mark 6) must have been hard for her and then there was her anxiety over his busy schedule that left him no time to eat (Mark 3:20-21)! Surely watching him suffering on the Cross must have been unbearable.
Behold your Son
Jesus’ words from the cross were few, but one of the seven was for Mary as he gave her into the care of his cousin John, the beloved disciple, probably because at this point his siblings didn’t believe in him (John 7:5), and as first born it was his responsibility to care for his widowed mother. He took the commandment to honour her seriously, but he also took the family of God seriously, taking precedence over flesh and blood. It was a loving gesture, but perhaps it carried a deeper significance.
As Mary watched Jesus hanging there, did she remember Simeon’s prophesy that a sword would pierce her soul? (Luke 2:35). She was no doubt crying out, ‘My son, my son’. She didn’t want to lose him, but rather to keep their mother/ son relationship as it had always been. Yet, as his blood flowed from the Cross, that relationship was changing. Jesus, the God-man, had taken on Mary’s flesh in order to redeem humanity and that included Mary, her very self. Her son was now her Saviour.
The Blessing
Jesus had to tell Mary Magdalene on that resurrection morning not to hang on to him for he had not yet ascended to the Father. Their relationship would also change for the better! His ascension would mean he would send the Holy Spirit and they could be even closer – all the time and everywhere.
For 40 days after his resurrection Jesus met with his disciples, individually, in groups and with 500 at one time, opening up the Scriptures, allaying their doubts, restoring and commissioning them. Then he led them out to Bethany and as he was blessing them he was taken up into the shekinah glory cloud (Acts 1:9). How wonderful for Mary after the horrors of his crucifixion to worship Jesus with his followers as her glorified Lord, and to return to Jerusalem with great joy in place of mourning to await the promise of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of his ascension, who would empower them to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth.
Jesus continues to bless us from on high, interceding for us with compassion, filling us with his presence and reaffirming his promise that he will come again (Acts 1:11).
Lenna’s Blog 