The meaning behind Jesus ASCENSION TO HEAVEN

  Feast of the Ascension

THURSDAY 051321 ASCENSION DAY

Today is Ascension Day. It’s one of the Principal Feasts of the church right along with Easter and Christmas, and It’s a pity that it’s not celebrated like others. Ascension Day is worth celebrating for lots of reasons. On Ascension Day, we celebrate the day that Jesus left us to carry on his earthly ministry. As he was departing, he blessed his followers to carry it on. Instead of sorrow, they were filled with great joy.

 I think Jesus blessed us, too. Jesus trusts that you and I will carry on his earthly ministry, proclaiming the kingdom, teaching, healing, truth-telling, and reconciliation. We should be filled with joy at the honor to do this work.

So why don’t we celebrate Ascension Day? Do you think people get hung up on the technicalities of it, especially those who didn’t grow up with church? Too often when we can’t wrap our minds on something then, we shy away from it. Perhaps that’s what we did with this Feast! Questions like: Did Jesus use a magic elevator? Or where did he go physically? These are actually not helpful! It’s rather missing the point of this day. Ascension is all about Jesus trusting his followers to carry on his ministry and that includes us. It’s all about joy. It’s all about the promise of the Holy Spirit, which we will soon celebrate at Pentecost. Jesus said: [Mark 16] Go forth to every part of the world, and proclaim the good news to the whole creation... [in Acts] You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth!

 So, Ascension isn’t about Jesus absence, it’s rather about his presence with us. I will explain:

You see, a cloud took him out of their sight. In the Jewish perception a cloud is a sign of God’s presence. As my Bible commentators affirm, Jesus was not taken into outer space but he was received into Heaven, another dimension which Jesus never ceased to talk to us about, like when he asked us to pray: “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” it’s always been where Heaven and earth meets.

Do you remember the presence of the Angels? They always mark an important event. Angels were there also at Jesus birth, at his resurrection with the empty tomb and now at his ascension saying: Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to Heaven? He will come in the same way as you saw him go into Heaven. It’s as if they were saying: don’t misunderstand, He is here with you and in a little while He comes again... outside time and space...

When we love someone very much, usually being apart is a painful experience, we often say that as they leave us, they take a piece of our hearts with them, while a piece of their hearts remains with us. I am convinced that that’s what happened because Jesus took our humanity into Heaven, our very human nature got to be in the presence of God and in the fellowship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

At the same time, Jesus left us with his divinity. You will be my witnesses... you will be able to do even more than what I did! Again, Ascension is all about Heaven and earth meeting... I sense that as a result of this understanding, our prayers should be that everything about us would be brought under the leadership of Christ our Lord. May we aspire to ascend with Christ in our hearts and minds and dwell with him. May we bring Heaven on earth in all we do just like Jesus did, teach the Good News of Salvation in Christ, bring God’s peace, healing and reconciliation on earth!

Help us Lord!

Amen!

 

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