What is Ascension Sunday? Resurrection part 2? “Why are you staring toward heaven?” two white-robed men ask. And for us as well, our focus is here. This king, this proclaimer of good news to the poor, this enemy of the state, this executed criminal, has been enthroned — and stands at the center of all that is. The Jesus community remains in hiding — but it is also marked by their eating together, a symbol of covenant. In this time Jesus teaches and commissions them as ambassadors, and pilgrims, and witnesses. This is life and living in our bodies the truth of justice and peace in Jesus — in the face of powers and principalities. We mark with our bodies in life the politics of heaven on earth.

Oscar Romero became a witness after his good friend, Father Rutilio Grande, gave his life for the poor — and Romero took up his mantle. Romero too was executed. It was an act of communion as a witness to the truth.

Tim Reardon goes on to talk about the rocket attacks and sectarian violence of mid-May in Jerusalem and Palestine in relation to Acts1:1-11. He states, “To be pro-Palestian, pro-David vs. Goliath, is not to be anti-semitic. Nor is supporting the BDS movement, which MC USA supports. Peacemaking does not mean treating all violence as equal.” Hear more as Tim discusses the history of the right-of-return agreed to as a condition of entrance to the UN in 1949, and the current situation of Palestinians in occupied territory today.

And as we celebrate the ascension, we affirm that another world is possible. We are witnesses to this new reality — this new kin-dom — that calls into question the oppression and apartheid regimes of this world. As Mennonites, we need to understand the things that make for peace. We need to call for a real and just peace.

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