Ascension

May 20, 2023

.

Most people think of the Ascension of Jesus as being a ‘departure’ moment. Jesus was here and now he is gone. We imagine Jesus going up into the clouds and the disciples waving farewell from below.

This is an unhelpful image.

It is essential that we understand what does happen and what does not happen in the Ascension event.

It would be easy to wrongly think that in his ministry showed us how to build the city of God on earth, and now he has gone and the mission is left to us.

Our mission is always Jesus’ mission. HE is the missionary. We are the loved servants. We are the tenderly embraced instruments.

True liberation is instigated and gifted by God. When humans respond and co-operate with this divine initiative, real freedom becomes an earthly reality.It is only when we relax into God’s love for us, and the enduring and intimate presence of Jesus with us in every situation and every moment, that we become effective disciples of the Master Missionary.

We are never alone. Jesus is with us.

Because of the event of the Ascension and Pentecost (which we will reflect on tomorrow), Jesus is with us even more intimately. When we live in intimate relationship with him, our efforts bear fruit.

I have never seen this more clearly presented than in Pope Benedict’s book Jesus of Nazareth. It is well worth setting aside five minutes to ponder:

“Jesus of Nazareth Part Two”

“Let us turn, then, to the end of Luke’s Gospel. Here it is recounted that Jesus appears to the Apostles gathered in Jerusalem, who have just been joined by the two disciples from Emmaus. He eats with them and issues instructions. The closing lines of the Gospel are as follows: “then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessings God” (Luke 24:50=53)

“The conclusion surprises us. Luke says that the disciples were full of joy at the Lord’s definitive departure. We would have expected the opposite. We would have expected them to be left perplexed and sad. The world was unchanged, and Jesus had gone definitively. They had received a commission that seemed impossible to carry out and lay well beyond their powers. How were they to present themselves to the people in Jerusalem, in Israel, in the whole world, saying: “This Jesus, who seemed to have failed, is actually the redeemer of us all”? Every parting causes sadness. Even if it was as one now living that Jesus had left them, how could his definitive separation from them not make them sad? And yet it is written that they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, blessing God. How are we to understand this?

“In any case, it follows that the disciples do not feel abandoned. They do not consider Jesus to have disappeared far away into an inaccessible heaven. They are obviously convinced of a new presence of Jesus. They are certain (as the risen Lord said in Saint Matthew’s account) that he is now present to them in a new and powerful way. They know that “the right hand of God” to which he “has been exulted” includes a new manner of his presence; they know that he is now permanently among them, in the way that only God can be close to us.

“The joy of the disciples after the “Ascension” corrects our image of this event. “Ascension” does not mean departure into a remote region of the cosmos but, rather, the continuing closeness that the disciples experience so strongly that it becomes a source of lasting joy. pp.280-281

“the departing Jesus does not make his way to some distant star. He enters into communion of power and life with the living God, into God’s dominion over space. Hence he has not “gone away”, but now and forever by God’s own power he is present with us and for us. In the farewell discourses of Saint John’s Gospel, this is exactly what Jesus says to his disciples: “I go away, and I will come to you” (John 14:28). These words sum up beautifully what is so special about Jesus’ “going away”, which is also his “coming”, and at the same time they explain the mystery of the Cross, the Resurrection, and the Ascension. His going away is in this sense a coming, a new form of closeness, of continuing presence, which for John, too, is linked with the “joy” that we saw in Luke’s Gospel.

“Because Jesus is with the Father, he has not gone away but remains close to us. Now he is no longer in one particular place in the world as he had been before the “Ascension”: now, through his power over space, he is present and accessible to all-throughout history and in every place   pp283-284

 

6 Comments

  1. Love this, beautifully explained.

    Reply
  2. God with us is a very powerful presence if we entered into this presence we can change the world we live in it is exciting news for today.

    Reply
  3. Thanks for this, wonderful explanation.

    Reply
  4. I like the line “it is only when we relax into God’s love..”

    Reply
  5. We are never alone, Jesus is with us! I find that very comforting.

    Reply
  6. Thank you Fr John, I think my understanding of ascension is clearer!
    If Jesus hadn’t ascended,’ then he would have been like other public leaders at that time just walking around limited to meeting people in groups or individually. By ascending to heaven he has now become accessible to us all in every time and every place.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts

touching the sacred

touching the sacred

A few years ago I was on Rēkohu Chatham Islands for what has become one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most sacred days, the ANZAC day of remembrance in gratitude for those who gave their lives, their health, their youth, their service that we may live in peace.
The art above was produced by one of the students at the local Te One school.

every which way

every which way

A good number of Food For Faith readers have discovered one of the more recent FFF initiatives, the weekly Homily Studio.
The recording of this half-hour podcast is one of the highlights of my week.

in the room

in the room

Today’s reflection marks the end of the FFF Lent-to-Easter daily email posts. Thank you for your company on this journey.  While these daily posts (for those who have signed up for the Lent / Advent reflections at this link) will take a break until Advent, those who have signed up to receive every post or regular posts at this link.  You might take a moment now to visit this page now to check your email preferences.

During retreat this week I found myself pondering just how difficult it is to accept that God, in Jesus, is really with me today.

disciplined discipleship

disciplined discipleship

As I write I’m nearing the end of retreat days with a group of fifty priests from across the USA.  As I mentioned a couple of days ago the diversity and youth of the group is remarkable with the majority being aged under 40 and a good number ordained for fewer than five years.

living in colour

living in colour

A few years ago I picked up a John August Swanson work – only a print unfortunately, but still full of power, and colour.
So much colour.
Today’s post-resurrection encounter with Jesus reminds me of this great Swanson work “The Big Catch.”
These fishermen previously endured a mere existence in black and white, getting through each day, their regular routines dictated by the demands and fears of friends and foes.