I wonder what it would have been like to be one of Christ's first followers witnessing the Ascension. I mean, think of the emotional roller coaster ride they'd been through.

First came Jesus' thrilling entry into Jerusalem, then his arrest, trial, torture and execution, then his unbelievable resurrection. It seems that just when they'd gotten used to the idea of the fact that Jesus is alive, he leaves again. Now, they must learn a new way to relate to him, yet again.

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus explains the reason for this departure. "Thus it is written," he tells the disciples, "that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem."

The Ascension marks the beginning of the spread of the Gospel to all nations. Perhaps it required an event of this magnitude for the disciples to fully realize that Jesus' message and ministry is meant for all people, and that they were to be the messengers in Christ's absence.

It isn't hard to imagine that, had Jesus remained on Earth in physical form, that his followers would have tended to want to stay close to him, rather than reach out to the rest of the world. Perhaps they needed to first understand and experience that the presence of Christ is not limited to a single human body, or a single culture, or even a single religious background.

The disciples must indeed learn a new way to relate to Jesus Christ. He is no longer here in person, but in spirit. And they will find him not just in prayer and worship, but also in service and ministry.

The same is true for all of us. Of course, we have not had the opportunity to follow the historical Christ. But like the first disciples, our experience of Jesus Christ will change, and we will need to learn new ways to relate to him.

For me, the simple faith of rote prayers and religious of attendance of my youth gave way to a search for more personal religious experience in my young adulthood. The intellectual debate and community experience that characterized my faith when I was in college changed when I entered the workforce, got married, and started a family. In between each of these periods came a good deal of confusion and often a feeling of lostness.

We're told that God is immutable --- that is, God never changes. But we change, and as we learn and grow and change we may find that what was once a comfortable life of faith loses its power and significance in our lives. It may be that we are simply growing, or it may mean that Jesus is leading us into a new dimension of experience.

The goal, it seems, is that we grow from followers to Jesus to leaders of ministry. That is the call Jesus gives to his followers this Sunday. As his physical presence departs, they are challenged to carry his spiritual presence to a spiritually starving world. We are called to do the same.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.