“[Jesus’] resurrection was the beginning of the re-creation of the cosmos, and his return will accomplish the final marriage between heaven and earth.” –Steve Bell

He is risen! Alleluia!

We will be between Ascension Day and Pentecost when you read this, but I did not want to leave the incredible ascension of Jesus unaddressed. As you probably know by now, picturing something visually helps me grasp spiritual concepts, and I’m going to use a rather strange image today to talk about the Ascension; please stick with me.

Snuba, in case you don’t know, is a way of underwater diving that is a hybrid of snorkeling and scuba. Instead of carrying a tank of air on your back, a long hose connects your breathing regulator to air tanks on a boat on the surface of the water, allowing you to survive in and interact with a foreign environment. “What in the world does snuba have to do with the Ascension?”, I hear you ask. Well…

In the Incarnation, Jesus became human and descended from heaven (the “surface” in this metaphor) to earth (“under the water”)—laying the snuba line between heaven and earth—where he lived as one of us. His ascension after his death and resurrection sent him back to “the surface,” where he then turned on the airflow of the Spirit to us on Pentecost. It is this continually-flowing life of the Spirit that enables us to continue living “under the water” (now foreigners and strangers here; Heb. 11:13) as we wait for Jesus’ return to “accomplish the final marriage between heaven and earth.”

I know this metaphor is a stretch, but I still love it. It can help us remember that while our true home is now the Kingdom—up above the water on the “surface”—we continue living here, under the water, to spread that Kingdom life to others. In other words, the point isn’t to escape this world but to bring the beautiful life and way of the Kingdom down into it. But our Source—the only way we can continue to live the Kingdom here—is the continual life-giving Breath of the Spirit, sent to us by the Father and the Son, emanating from a place wholly other.

How does this metaphor strike you? Whether it’s illuminating or eye-roll-inducing, let’s continue to “swim” together as we anticipate once again the coming of that life-giving Spirit on Pentecost!