The feast of the Ascension is one of those mysteries
that has somewhat defied understanding over the centuries.
We ponder it, reflect on it and
we still have more to learn from it.
It is truly a mystery.
Why did Jesus, after having raised from the dead,
remain 40 days with the apostles,
and then ascend into heaven?
There were 10 days before he comes back to give
the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
and begins the Church as we know it. Why?
There are many perspectives to take
when we listen to the story of the Ascension.
Each of the gospels reflects on it in a very different way.
Even in the Acts of the Apostles, which is authored by St. Luke,
there is a different perspective from the other gospels.
There are three primary sort of perspectives or angles,
in which one could look at the Ascension.
They are depicted in art work and
I wish I could show you the different works of art,
which show the three different interpretations.
There is the vision from the Father.
The Father is drawing up Jesus.
So, in art work, it is usually depicted
as the Father calling forth Jesus from the earth.
It is almost the reverse of Michelangelo’s Finger Creating art,
he now draws creation to Himself.
And it is a dramatic picture of that.
The other perspective is the perspective from the Apostles;
they are losing their friend;
he is “taken up into heaven.”
This is most depicted by focusing on his feet.
So, you will see in Salvador Dali’s depiction for example,
you will see just the two, marked-nailed feet
and that is all that you see.
And the disciples are distraught,
looking up at the feet rising up into the cloud.
Then there is the third perspective which is the most common.
It is that of Jesus himself,
the icon with Christ at the center of it all.
In this, you have both the Father drawing Jesus forth into heaven
and you have the disciples below.
There is this obvious tension in the artwork
that Jesus is between both.
He is going to the Father, whom he loves and
he is returning to the Father.
He is giving his blessing on his disciples and apostles,
whom he loves greatly and now wants to assure them
of his continued presence and assures them
he will send his Advocate, his Holy Spirit to be always with them.
I suppose it all depends on where we, ourselves are,
when we ponder and reflect upon the Ascension.
There is an old adage, which says:
“We don’t see things as they are.
We see things as we are.”
So, depending on where we are,
we will view the Ascension very differently.
We will look, if you would, through the prism,
the filter, of our own experiences.
But for a moment, can we draw ourselves
into the perspective of Jesus Christ?
Because if there is a way to view this,
let’s view it through Christ for just a moment.
Let us go through what Jesus does for us
to help us to understand what this profound reality,
message and mystery, is for us.
Remember Jesus spent three years in public ministry
and during this time, he was showing us, all during this time
he was showing us how to be in this world.
And he said it in action but his primary message is
that God loves us and that we are called to love him in return
by loving one another and loving ourselves.
If you distill all of Jesus’ message, this is what it comes down to;
and that as I said last week,
the universe is friendly;
the universe is good;
and that God has made us to enjoy this universe
and to care for it as his servants, as his stewards.
Then in the last few days of his life,
this message becomes intense and he warns them
that there is a transition;
and this transition of him being a loving presence physically
will change and it does.
He dies and he raises from the dead.
And he spends 40 days with his disciples now,
reminding them of everything that he had told them before.
Remember the story, “Go back to Galilee;
remember; remember; remember.
Remember what we have done.
Remember is what he is constantly saying to us.
Remember the love shared.
Remember the message.
Remember above all else that God loves us no matter what.
Then he leaves them in this Ascension.
But he promises that he will return
by giving his gift of the Holy Spirit that will dwell within us;
that this God is no longer a God of the “out there”
but a God of “in here” within our hearts.
That all we have to do is to pause and reflect
and look and remember that God is within us
through the gift of his Holy Spirit and that he is in all creation.
That is all great but what does that come down to in our daily life.
Again, Jesus shows us.
This is where he does it;
he is at the table;
he says do this in remembrance of me.
This wasn’t some sort of incidental feast.
This was a profound mystery that we are still trying to live;
that we come and we gather around the Eucharist;
or now for you, around the television at home,
as we celebrate this Eucharist,
to celebrate the real presence of Christ in the bread and wine
made into the Body and Blood of Christ.
To do this in remembrance.
He gave us this feast.
He gave us this feast to remember his love for us.
And that above all else, remember this:
that God loves us
and he is within us
and around us
and nothing, not even death can take that away.
What does that mean for us?
It means for us that depending on our perspective
and where we are in our life.
That there may be suffering in our life right now and that is difficult.
There might be joy and celebration in our life and this is quite easy.
But what we are called to do is remember the love that we have
and the love that we share with loved ones right now
before they go.
It is to remember that breakfast around the television while at Mass!
Yes, breakfast every morning with your spouse, with your family;
those small little things are where we share our love with one another.
The love of creation
is to go out and really smell the roses.
To take a moment and to breath in the beauty of creation;
to look up at the mountains;
to walk and to breath it in and
to celebrate and remember that God is here with us no matter what.
If we could do that often now so that when our loved ones suffer;
when our loved ones are dying;
when our loved ones leave us then we have this memory.
We have a memory that our love was and is real
and that love and memory will never die.
You see that is the message of the Ascension;
that no matter whatever else happens in our world,
the love that we share never, ever dies.
We celebrate that now.
We celebrate it now because it is God’s gift to us.
And to be aware of it is to have our joy be complete.
And that is what Christ wants for us.
Today, look at your loved ones,
your children, your spouse, your parents
and cherish these memories of love.
Remember them.
Remember them now so that we know they will live forever
because love never, ever dies.
Do this in remembrance of me.
