Every
year, 40 days after Easter Sunday, we celebration the solemnity of the
Ascension of the Lord. There is perhaps a bit of confusion amongst the faithful about when exactly we celebrate the Ascension. This solemnity falls on a Thursday each year,
but in our Diocese and in many other dioceses in the United States, it is transferred to the following Sunday in our liturgical calendar, so
that more of the faithful can be present for this important solemnity during
the Easter season. As we
celebrate the Ascension today, think about how every Sunday during the
profession of the Nicene Creed, we the faithful state our belief that Jesus
“ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.”
Even
thought the Ascension is central to our Christian beliefs, even though we
profess our belief in the Ascension every Sunday during mass, perhaps the
Ascension has lost its meaning in the lived experiences of too many Catholics
today. During Lent and the Easter season, we understand the meaning of Jesus’ 40 days
in the desert, of his death and resurrection as a part of our salvation, of his
sending of the Holy Spirit to accompany us on our journey. But
how does the Ascension of Jesus affect our lives in the here and now?
I
think of the words of the great 5th century theologian St Augustine
of Hippo in North Africa that he preached in a homily celebrating the Ascension:
“Today our Lord Jesus ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him…. If
you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not
the things that are on earth (below).” Augustine goes on to explain that just as a part of Jesus remains with us even after
his Ascension into heaven, so already a part of us is in heaven with him, even
though what has been promised us in life eternal has not yet been fulfilled. In
baptism, we became members of the Body of Christ. Since
Jesus is the head and we are the body, we are one in Christ, a reality that
goes back to the teachings of the Early Church.
So, if Jesus ascended in heaven, we as a part of his body, reflect that
reality as well. We cannot be separated
from him completely.
The
Ascension, in other words, does not indicate Christ’s complete absence. Rather,
the Church teaches that the Ascension is a new reality for us. Christ now lives with us in a new way. He is
now longer in a particular place as a particular human being like he was when
he lived in Ancient Israel. Jesus
is now in the Lordship of God, being present in every time and space, close to
each one of us always as we live as his disciples. Jesus
is always with us. We are never
alone. Even with his Ascension into
heaven.
I
love the imagery in our first reading from the very beginning of the Acts of
the Apostles. When
the disciples ask what Jesus is going to do, if he was going to restore the
might of the kingdom of Israel now that he has been resurrected from the
dead. We see that the disciples are
still caught up in these old concepts about what the Messiah is all about. Instead, presents them a challenge. He
calls them to action, telling them that they are going to receive the power of
the Holy Spirit, that they will be called to be witnesses on his Good News in
the world. While
they are still looking at Jesus ascending into heaven as he leaves them below
on the earth, two men dressed in white garments approach the disciples, asking,
“Why are you standing there looking?” As
Christ's disciples we are called to action just as those first disciples were:
called to action. We
are called to evangelize others. We
are called to bring healing into the world. We
are called to have the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us, to not do this
completely on our own. We
are called to be a part of a Christian community, to be members of the Body of
Christ here on earth. Yes,
Christ has ascended into heaven where he sit at the right hand of the Father to
intercede for us and to advocate for us. We
are never, ever alone.
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