Keep Swimming

Psalm 8, 47 • Psalm 24, 96
Dan. 7:9-14 • Heb. 2:5-18 • Matt. 28:16-20

In his book Kingdom, Grace, Judgment: Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus, Robert Farrar Capon pairs the Temptation of Christ in the desert with the Ascension as bookends on Jesus' public ministry, both parabolizing "a clear lesson about how his power is not going to be used." The Ascension is "the final affirmation of the hands-off policy implicit in [Jesus' death and resurrection]." God in Christ Jesus wasn't going to save us by seizing dominion over all earthly kingdoms or by sticking around in resurrected form to go on a worldwide conversion tour. It is a deeply frustrating final act if you desire a superhero Savior.

A superhero would be nice in what feel like God-forsaken times. But Christ didn't leave or forsake us when he ascended. He drew us up into the kingdom with him, and by making it and himself invisible to our eyes invites us to make it visible, tangible, audible, undeniable.

I will finish as I began, with Capon, this time from Hunting the Divine Fox. "The human race is, was and probably always will be deeply unwilling to accept a human messiah," he writes. "We don't want to be saved in our humanity, we want to be fished out of it." If you feel like a fish drowning in human frailty now as I do, I hope I can encourage both of us to just keep swimming, for he is swimming with us always, to the end the age.

Written by Kathryn Haydon

Kathryn studies rice quality and disease as a PhD candidate in Plant Science at the University of Arkansas and can't wait to sing in the St. Paul's choir again when we can all be safe together.