The Ascension of the Lord
Acts 1:1-11
Ephesians 1:17-23
Matthew 28:16-20

As a child, I was awed by my dad’s size and power. His occupation enhanced that image. Dad was a “tough cop” at a time when the description was positive. On Wolcott Street the Tully children had paternal “bragging rights.” I was awed by my Dad’s stature. Only after his death did I value his other qualities. Part of this was because of my own maturity but there are other reasons too. I know him better than I did. His presence in my life is a more profound influence in my decision making than it ever was. Today, the family speaks about his tenderness and sensitivity—something we could not discover while his sheer size got in the way.

Again and again, Jesus tells his disciples that he will be leaving them. They are distressed and confused. How can they believe in what they do not see? Despite Jesus’ words to Thomas, the disciples think their faith is dependent on the physical presence of Jesus. At the same time, the Lord reassures his followers that he goes only so he can truly be with them. “I have to go so I can be with you.” The words were more confusing to the early followers of Jesus than they are to those of us who know Jesus’ ongoing presence in the Church.

The Feast of the Ascension is bittersweet in the Christian memory. Truly, the Lord had to ascend to the Father so he might send his spirit and be with us in a new way. But loss of historical and physical presence seems like absence to us. These feelings are at the center of the grief that engulfs us when someone we love dies. And, like the early disciples, we are sometimes overwhelmed at what seems to be our deprivation. As time goes on, it is as if the individual reenters our life in a new and more profound way. So it is with Jesus.

“If only he were among us,” we cry and here he is. He is with us as we do his work. The task with which our community is entrusted can only be accomplished because of our faith in that presence. “Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation.”

The Acts of the Apostles relates the story. “…as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.” And then the Lord was gone...“taken up into heaven,” the Scriptures say. And we? Why are we standing here “looking up at the sky”? Our challenge is at the end of today’s Gospel reading. “And behold, I am with you always until the end of the age.” Christ fulfills his promise and the Lord who is with us today, the One whom we proclaim at this liturgy and throughout the week.

Today we give thanks and praise to the Father who has sent us his Son to live among us.