World Upside Down - Reflection for Ascension Sunday, 2025

I wrote this reflection to be read during Morning Prayer on a Sunday I was traveling and was unable to find a supply priest to visit St. Mary's Church.

One of the earliest complaints against the Christians was that they were “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). What an interesting phrase—turning the world upside down. Imagine a sheet of paper that you are holding up. It’s a colored-pencil drawing of a desert at night. I imagine a rocky, dusty desert. It has small shrubs growing here and there, and colorful, rugged formations rising up in places. But above the rocky, dusty desert is the night sky. It is a dark, deep navy blue, and it is covered with shimmering stars, all giving their gentle light to the world below, keeping watch and offering guidance. Dusty desert below, glittering night sky above.

Now, in your mind, take that sheet of paper with this drawing on it, and turn it upside down. The dusty desert is no longer beneath the stars. Instead, the dust is now on top, and the stars are put at the bottom.

Strange as it may sound, this is the Gospel. This is the story of the Bible. This is the history of Israel. This is the promise of the Church. This is what Jesus has accomplished. He took the colored-pencil drawing he himself had made—which is the world itself, with the heavens above and the earth beneath—and he turned it upside down.

Last Thursday was the Feast of the Ascension. On the fortieth day of Easter, Jesus ascended into heaven. This is the completion of his work. He came as the Man of Dust, the Son of Adam. He was revealed as the Father’s Son at his Baptism. Angels begin to yield to him after his fasting in the wilderness, and after that even the rebellious angels submit to his authority. He commands the clouds and the seas. All the while he is gentle through and through, and faithful to the end. He is vindicated in his mighty resurrection, and exalted in his glorious ascension. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. Jesus is large and in charge.

For a human being to hold such a place in all of creation, the world must be upside down. The Dawn of the eighth day outshines the light of the first. The sun and moon no longer rule over the day and the night; that job belongs to Jesus now. Humanity is enthroned above the angels. The mighty are overthrown, the humble lifted high. The younger brother has inherited the double-portion. The dust is raised above the stars. The creation is flipped on its head.

Christians were accused of turning the world upside down. That’s not quite right. God did that in Jesus Christ. Not surprisingly, this is disorienting—especially for those of us who are used to picturing ourselves at the top. However, the Church did not do this. Instead, it was through the Church that the world was just beginning to recognize what God had done.

Is that still happening? When people encounter the Church, can they tell that the picture has been reversed? When someone visits our congregation, can they sense that something has changed? The people who know you—your coworkers, your neighbors, your classmates—is it dawning on them? That the world has been turned upside down? That the dust is lifted above the stars? That Jesus of Nazareth is seated at the right hand of the Father?