A soldier’s arm was amputated after a clash with the enemy. A friend sympathised with him, saying, “I’m sorry that you lost an arm.” The soldier retorted: “I didn’t lose it, I gave it!” For soldiers, the scars of war are not wounds, but trophies. For martyrs of noble causes, death is not an end but an entrance into a new life. Echoing this truth, Christians today celebrate “Ascension Thursday” — 40 days after Easter Sunday — commemorating Jesus’ being taken up into heaven.
During the past 40 days after Easter, Christians reflect upon gospel readings of Jesus’ appearances to his disciples. Common to these apparitions is the following: (a) The disciples fail to recognise Jesus since his resplendent risen form is very different from his earthly appearance. (b) Yet, the Risen Christ always shows his disciples the marks of his passion and crucifixion. (c) After realising that the crucified Jesus is, indeed, the immortal Risen Christ, the disciples are totally transformed. (d) Transformed and joyful, they proclaim Jesus’ good news of love, life and liberation.
Jesus’ Ascension is a joyful, hopeful festival of “going home”. Jesus “goes home” to his heavenly Father, thereby mapping the pathway through which all of us must travel. Jesus’ teachings of love, peace, service and forgiveness inspire us to respond to the historical here-and-now with courage, commitment, openness and optimism. However, in everyday life we also encounter life’s many mysteries that are beyond human comprehension and control. That’s when we ought to gaze heavenward in silent surrender and allow God to govern. Ultimately, we ought to work as if everything depends on us, while having deep faith and hope as if everything depends on God.
Though only Christians celebrate the feast of Jesus’ Ascension, its meaning can be relevant for all; namely, we are all created to move ahead and advance upward. Failures, disappointments, illnesses, accidents, deaths and other setbacks can be very disheartening for our spirit and destabilising of our sureties. Consequently, on the one hand, many people wallow in self-pity and lose courage; but, on the other, there are others who rise up, nurse their wounds, and journey ahead with faith, hope, optimism and courage.
Citizens like acid survivor Laxmi and “the world’s longest hunger striker” Irom Chanu Sharmila bear the marks and scars of persecution and pain on their persons. Scarred or starving, while responding to the ups and downs of history, they point out to the “Beyond” — to Tagore’s “heaven of freedom” that we all so earnestly long for and collaboratively must labour to bring about. Meanwhile, let’s whisper that beautiful prayer of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: “From untruth lead us to truth, from darkness lead us to light, from death lead us to immortality.”
