The Ascension
May
20
Written by:
Sunday, May 20, 2007
May 20, 2007
Here is a question that comes to mind when thinking about the ascension of Christ: where did Jesus go? The short answer is that he went back to heaven, where he came from (but with a human body which he still has). Since we know today that there really is no "up" or "down" in outer space, once Jesus rose past the clouds, he must have gone somewhere else. Heaven is not really "up there," anyway. In reality, it is a place in another dimension, outside of the known universe altogether. So that's where Jesus went?
Where did Jesus go? Yes, he went to heaven, and we really do hope to follow him someday into that other dimension, that place which really and truly is home. But, in a very real sense, Jesus has also never left us. His human body, now glorified in heaven, is also present among us on earth in other ways.
Jesus has never left us in the Blessed Sacrament. The power of the Lord's presence, then as now, is unlocked through the eyes of faith. With them we can still see the Lord sacramentally and powerfully present there until the end of time.
Jesus also promised to be among us whenever two or more are gathered in prayer. How very close he must be to us at such times, though just slightly beyond our sense of sight and touch. He is not beyond the reach of faith!
Jesus also speaks to us from heaven, through the Scriptures. On the last day of our lives, he will ask us if we received all the messages he kept sending us to help us find our way in life. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to have to admit we left his "voice" unopened on the shelf or coffee table?
Jesus still has a human face in this world: the face of the needy, the outcast, the desperate, the homeless, the friend who gives us a call, in the lonely and the sick we visit. His face can be found in prison, in the face of an overwhelmed parent, in the grieving, in the lonely, and the depressed. Yes, Jesus has ascended into heaven; but, come to think of it, he really hasn't left us after all.
Father Gary