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, ‘Men of Galilee, 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: 9-11

After the trauma and confusion of the crucifixion and resurrection, the disciples have spent forty days walking with Jesus as he reaffirms his teachings and prepares them for the day when he will no long be a physical presence among them. Now, with one final promise of the coming Holy Spirit, he vanishes from their sight.

Can we really blame the disciples if their eyes followed him as he went? True, they’re no strangers to miracles, but there is something final about this one and Jesus is their friend. Of course their eyes stray to the place where Jesus was.

if you ever fancy causing some harmless chaos try standing in the middle of the pavement staring at the sky for a while. Eventually others will join you, straining to see what you’re looking at. Those who are trying to go about their business will eventually get annoyed and ask you to move. Oh, and you’ll get neck-ache.

The disciples watched Jesus ascend to heaven. Naturally they stared after him, hoping to catch another glimpse, but then they did that bravest of all things – they stopped staring at the place where Jesus was and went to where he would be next. God was already moving and if they’d remained, eyes glued to the sky, they would have missed it. More than that, they would have got in the way of those going about the business of the gospel.

We, like every generation of Christians since, are tasked with using the teachings of the past to bring about God’s Kingdom in the present. God is moving among us – of that I am absolutely certain. Our task then is to figure out what God is already doing – where God is already working – and to join in. Oh and try our best not to get in the way!

Love and blessings,

Laura