The Message of Ascension

Did Jesus abandon us when he ascended into heaven? A cursory read of the Gospel passages that describe the Ascension might evoke such thoughts.  That Jesus has left us on our own in this world while he moved on to heaven to spend the rest of eternity. That he remains with us, but only at a distance. Is this what the feast day is all about?

Of course it isn’t! At the heart of this celebration is not that Jesus disappears, but that he will now reveal himself, here on earth, in a new and surprising way. We see Jesus alluding to this in the Gospel readings for the days and weeks preceding the Solemnity of the Ascension. Over and over again he says that unless he goes, the Advocate will not come to us. And thus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Church now becomes the new revelation of the life and presence of Christ in the world. In the Church we see that our Lord Jesus does not just watch over us from a distance; he is, even right now, acting to bring heaven to earth in the Church. Christ is now present in the world in a new and surprising way. Once, he revealed himself in the body of his human nature, now, he reveals himself in a new kind of body – this body is called the Church.

What does this mean for us Christians? In Jesus absolute last words on Earth, just before he ascended into heaven. He gives us a commission, an assignment that will remain until the end of time: “Thus it is written that the Messiah 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.” (Luke 24:46-47) This is our call. At the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said these words that remain as important today. He encouraged us “… to bear witness to the faith wherever you are, even when it meets with rejection or indifference. We cannot encounter Christ and not want to make him known to others. So do not keep Christ to yourselves! Share with others the joy of your faith. The world needs the witness of your faith, it surely needs God.”

There is one other thing that we ought to keep in mind: we cannot evangelize what we do not love. Christian love means being Christlike, offering our lives as a sacrifice, a willingness to make ourselves servants. We love all that Christ loves even if it is difficult. Such is the way of a disciple to become a route of access to Christ. Our vocation to evangelize encompasses every domain of our life. Even when confined to our homes or a sick bed, we can offer up our suffering to win people to Christ. So, let us take advantage of every opportunity we have to lead people to Christ. The first step is to develop an intimate relationship with Christ, for when we are united to Christ, there is not one soul we do not love, we are interested in the salvation of every one. Spend time with God through the Mass, prayers, devotions, and the Rosary which are ports of entry to union with Christ. The feast of the Ascension reminds us every year of our own important mission as disciples. KA