The Interlocking Worlds of Heaven and Earth

We pray, in the Lord's Prayer, the words:  "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done on earth as in heaven."  What do we mean by these words?  How is heaven influencing earth?  

I mentioned yesterday, in preparation for observing Ascension, that N.T. Wright speaks of Heaven being the "Control Room of earth."  That is, how might we imagine the heavenly realm influencing the earthly realm?    Wright, in his book Surprised by Hope, wants to challenge two unhelpful ideas that pervade much Christian thinking -- on one hand a belief in evolutionary optimism (everything gets better over time) and what he calls "souls in transit."  In this second pole, the belief is that things are bad here, but we're just visiting, souls on our way to freedom from the shackles of this physical realm.  This is a Gnostic view, that has Platonic roots, that has become quite prominent in our time. 

The doctrine of the Ascension is one that we often pass over, jumping from Easter to Pentecost, from Resurrection to Church.  Ascension, Wright believes is an important concept, because it reminds us that although Christ is present, Christ is also absent.  He points to the danger of simply equating the church with Christ, making them one.  I myself am perhaps guilty of this, leaving the impression that this is all there really is about Christ -- us.  Now, Paul does speak of the church as the Body of Christ, and we need to hear that, but I think it is a good warning to not too closely equate the two.

Wright speaks of the mystery of the Ascension dealing with the interrelationship of heaven and earth.  He writes:

The mystery of the ascension is of course just that, a mystery.  It demands that we think what is, to many today, almost unthinkable:  that when the Bible speaks of heaven and earth it isnot talking about two localities related to each other within the same space-time continnum or a nonphysical world contrasted with a physical one but about two different kinds of what we call space, two different kinds of what we call matter, and also quite possibly (though this does not necessarily follow from the other two) two different kinds of what we call time.  (Surprised by Hope, p. 115).

What he is proposing is intersecting, interlocking worlds, that are made to relate with each other.  He points to Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia as an example of this, but suggests we find a more adult way of thinking about the connection.  So, in what ways does Heaven influence Earth?  In what way is God's will to be done on earth as in heaven?

Jesus, Ascension and the Connection of Heaven and Earth

This Sunday we will observe the Day of Ascension (the Day of Ascension -- 40 days after Easter-- is actually observed on Thursday this year).  What is Ascension and how does it function in our theologies?  We have enough trouble with Easter and Pentecost, what do we make of this event that suggests that Jesus disappeared into the clouds?

As I contemplate this question for sermon and such, I'm also participating/leading a study of N.T. Wright's Surprised By Hope.  In this book, he suggests that heaven and earth are actually close by  each other, essentially overlapping each other, with heaven serving as the "control room of earth."  So, where does Ascension fit into the picture?  Well to answer that question we have to come to an understanding of the relationship of heaven and earth.  

Wright offers a suggestion that resonates with my mind, as I've long thought that we should think in terms of different dimensions of reality rather than trying to fit heaven and earth into the same space/time continuum.  To understand Ascension, Wright suggests, we must take a "relational view."   So consider this statement:

Basically heaven and earth in biblical cosmology are not two different locations within the same continuum of space or matter.  They are two different dimensions of God's good creation.  And the point about heaven is twofold.   First, heaven relates to earth tangentially so that the one who is in heaven can be present simultaneously anywhere and everywhere on earth:  the ascension therefore means that Jeus is available, accessible, without people having to travel to a particular spot on earth to find him.  Second, heaven is, as it were, the control room for earth; it is the CEO's office, the place from which instructions are given.  "All authority is given to me," said Jesus at the end of Matthew's gospel, "in heaven and on earth."  (Surprised by Hope, p. 111).

I find this intriguing and suggestive.  It takes us beyond the hold of literalism or simple modernist skepticism, to consider another realm of understanding.  It also invites us to consider the way in which God is present and active in our own context through Jesus.