Today’s feast of the Ascension marks the transition from Christ’s presence in a limited sense to an unlimited one.  He ascends to this universal presence on account of His being both God and man.

It is a celebration, as it was for the disciples. Parting was not a sorrow. Let us consider why.  The Apostles had been prepared by Christ’s instruction after His resurrection. As the Book of Acts records: “After His suffering, He presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”  (Acts 1:3).  We may reasonably assume, therefore, that His ascension whilst an extraordinary event was not unanticipated.

He explained the teachings they had already received. The Gospel for today tells us: “He said to them: ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’ Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,  and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.  I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:44f).

For the Apostles this must have been a very intense period. They may not have understood fully all that they had seen before and they were dealing with the implications of the revolution that had been accomplished.  Holy tradition was being established as they were instructed by the risen Christ.  Then came His parting from them which we celebrate at this feast.

Duly prepared, after the Ascension the Apostles worshipped and spent time in prayer.  What had happened was awe-inspiring and so their faith was nourished and built up. They knew a great calling lay ahead as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Power from on High as promised. They knew beyond doubt that they had walked and talked with God and that they had been trained and educated by Him. We are inheritors of that great Tradition and we must pass it on.  They had struggled with their doubts, as we see in the story of St Thomas. They doubted so that we also can move from doubt to faith.  They had to think through the enormous implications of what Christ had done and then start spreading the good tidings of the Kingdom in order for the Church to grow.  We are called to carry on their work. Christ left us the Church, a holy nation, a royal priesthood both to guard Apostolic teachings against heresies and pass these on. We are the beneficiaries of that sacred Tradition and we are its current guardians.

The ascension of Christ was also the moment when humanity was taken up to be with the Father. In the words of St Leo the Great: “The subject of our present gladness is His ascension, as we commemorate and duly venerate that day on which the Nature of our humility in Christ was raised above all the host of heaven, over all the ranks of angels, beyond the height of all powers, to sit with God the Father.”  (St Leo the Great: Sermon 74). Thus our human nature is at the uttermost heights of the heavens.  Christ had emptied Himself in coming in the flesh, now that flesh was glorified. Christ who came in humility is now in His place as the most Exalted One.  He is the same so He still loves us and leads us. That alone would be cause for great rejoicing; for just as His resurrection was a foretaste of our own, so we also may be glorified if we repent.

Christ left the earth to go to the Father and He will return to judge the living and the dead. Two angels appeared at the time of the Ascension: “They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’” (Acts 1:10f).  In the words of St Leo the Great: “By which words all the sons of the Church were taught to believe that Jesus Christ will come visibly in the same Flesh wherewith He ascended, and not to doubt that all things are subjected to Him on Whom the ministry of angels had waited from the first beginning of His Birth.…As messengers from above were the first to attest His having risen from the dead, so the service of angels was employed to foretell His coming in very Flesh to judge the world, that we might understand what great powers will come with Him as Judge.” (St Leo the Great: Sermon 74).

When Christ comes again we shall be answerable for how we have lived, how have we dealt with others and how have we responded to the call to follow Christ.  The Christian life is not always easy, and some pay the ultimate price of martyrdom.  Yet, as we face the challenges of life, part of that reality is that our human nature can ascend, but only through the Cross.  Certainly we shall indeed face a judgement in front of the awesome power of a loving God.  When we stand before Christ, this time our Judge as well as our Saviour, what we truly are and have become will become plain.  Our own choices and actions will judge us insofar as they have been loving or not. To those who love Christ and show His love to others, there is no need to fear. Let us recall our Judge is the One who has shared our humanity and who is merciful.

So, to Christ our God with the Father and the Spirit be glory now and ever and to the ages of ages.