We are coming near to the end of the 50-day celebration of our risen Lord during the Easter season. We celebrate the culmination of the Easter message with our Lord’s ascension into heaven this weekend and coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost next weekend. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul wrote: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God; think of what is above, not of what is on earth” (Col 3:1-2). In that statement, Paul makes a contrast between heaven and earth, between God and man, and between body and spirit. Our reading from Acts today shows Jesus in conversation with the apostles when he is physically lifted up into the sky and enveloped in a cloud as he ascends to the heavens. But I don’t think that the focus of our celebration of the ascension this weekend should be on his physical ascension into heaven but how humanity is connected to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through his presence with God the Father at his right hand, where he intercedes for us. Through the paschal mystery that we celebrate throughout the Easter season, we become a new creation in Christ.
The Cistercian monk Bernard of Clairvaux spoke of three comings of Christ. Christ came at his birth in Nazareth, he will come again at the end of time, and he come into our midst and into our hearts each day. Christ ascended into the heavens, but he is always with us in spirit. Our humanity is fulfilled in God. We must remember what Jesus proclaimed to us at the end of Matthew’s Gospel: “I am with you always, until the end of time” (Matt 28:20).
I was recently reading an article about a letter that Pope John Paul II wrote to his priests at holy week of 2005. He had the tradition of writing to the priests each year at holy week during his pontificate. His main points could be seen as pertaining to all Christians, not just priests. First, he mentioned that we should see the Eucharist as a formula for life. In the words of the consecration, the priest, in the person of Christ, prays: “"TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT, FOR THIS IS MY BODY, WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.” The priest makes present on the altar the sacrifice that Jesus made at calvary. Just as the Church draws life from the Eucharist, just as the priest draws life from Eucharist, each Christian should see his life of discipleship flowing from the Eucharist.
Next, Pope John Paul II mentioned gratitude. In the Eucharist, Jesus gives thanks to the Father for us and with us. All of us as disciples of Christ must work to cultivate a constant sense of gratitude in our lives. We are to give thanks for the gift of our faith and the many opportunities God gives us to live out our faith. Out of our gratitude, we are to be of service to God and to our neighbor. We all have our crosses in life, and sometimes those crosses can seem overwhelming. Our sense of gratitude will help us see our blessings even in our darkest moments.
A life of obedience is a third point made by John Paul II. As the pope called his priests to obey out of love, to sacrifice a legitimate freedom when the bishop asks him to do so, all of us as disciples of Christ are strive to live out God’s laws and commandments in our daily lives. The faith ideal of obedience to God is something many in our secular world would not understand, as so many in our society want the freedom to do what they want to do. But our faith calls us to a different standard.
As we will conclude our joyful Easter season next weekend, may we continue to celebrate the resurrection and the paschal mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus ascends to God, may our minds and hearts ascend to the truth of God which is always dwelling with us. By living the reality of the Eucharist in our lives each day, by having a heart of gratitude and obedience, may the mystery of Christ be born in our hearts each day.
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