The Ascension of the
Lord
Thursday 21st
May 2020
Today we celebrate the
great Solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension into heaven, where he is seated at the
right hand of God the Father.
‘Meanwhile the eleven disciples set out for Galilee,
to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they
fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them.
He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go,
therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the
commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of
time.’ (Mt 28:16-20)
For a long time I always
struggled with this Solemnity. As a child I had this image of Jesus randomly
floating away from his friends and that this should be a day of sadness rather
then rejoicing.
Then as a teenager the
chair of governors at our high school, Canon Carter, told us about a pilgrimage
he had made to the Holy Land. He was walking in the Galilee region when a local
man approached him. The man offered to sell the Canon the very stone on which
Jesus stood at the Ascension.
This stone, the priestly
pilgrim was told, was the last footstep Jesus ever made on earth and there was
a faint outline of his feet on it! When
the Canon asked to see this holy relic, he was shown a mass produced 1960’s
concrete flagstone – with a size 12 builders footprint dented on it. The man
took great offensive when his holy product was not believed!
I was given a Greek
Icon of the Ascension when I was at seminary, similar to the one below. When it
was explained to me, I realised the true joy of this great feast.
The first thing that
strikes you is the chaos at the bottom of the icon. A huge mass of people,
gathered together, all confused and slightly bewildered. Some are looking up,
some are turning to their neighbour for answers, while others are waving their
hands around. This group is made up of the disciples. And their chaotic
behaviour is of course in part to the sadness of seeing Jesus leave. But this
is the thing! Jesus is not leaving. He is not moving away; he is not saying
goodbye and farewell. He is Ascending. Pope Benedict XVI explained it in this
way:
‘Christ’s Ascension means that he no longer
belongs to the world of corruption and death that conditions our life. It means
he belongs entirely to God...Since God embraces and sustains the entire cosmos,
the Ascension of the Lord means that Christ has not departed from us, but that
he is now, thanks to his being with the Father, close to each one of us
forever.’ (Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI)
The mystery of the
Ascension is not about Jesus moving further away from us but that he is moving
closer to us. The Ascension is that moment when the Risen Lord is not subject
to being present solely at a fixed place or time. He now transcends time and
space. He is with all his faithful, no matter where and no matter when.
The two Angels in
white seem to bring some calm and perspective into this crowd of bewildered
disciples.
‘They were still staring into the sky when
suddenly two men in white were standing near them and they said, ‘Why are you
men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken
up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you
have seen him go there.’
(Acts 1:10-11)
The Angels are
reminding the disciples of the true and comforting words of Jesus that he would
not leave them orphans. He would not abandon them but go and prepare them rooms
in his Father’s house. His destination is not a mystery. Jesus clearly said
that he was ascending to his Father and their Father. The Angels simply remind
the Twelve to recollect and think, the Ascension is not the conclusion, the
final goodbye because the story of love is never ending.
As always, our Blessed
Mother in her silence speaks volumes and in her subtle way shows us her children
how to act in the face of this mystery. She stands at the centre of the crowd
with her hands raised in prayer. A prayer directed to her Son who sits above in
majesty. Her face is not expressing confusion or frustration like the
disciples. Why? Since the earliest days Mary has always been attentive and
focused on the words and actions of her son Jesus and their significance.
‘He [Jesus]then went down with them and came to Nazareth and
lived under their authority. His mother stored up all these things in her
heart.’ (Lk 2:51)
In Mary’s
contemplation, quiet and stillness every word and action of her son Jesus has
been treasured in her heart. Our Lady stands at the centre of the icon
comforting us and consoling us not to be sad, but to know that the Son is now
more close than ever. She knows her boy, she remembers everything he said and
did and that his whole life was lived out of love for us. Why would he abandon
us now?
In her posture, known
as the Orans position – simply the position of prayer similar to when I
celebrate Mass and pray the Eucharistic prayer – she teaches us to pray and
talk to her son because he always hears us and is ever present. I invite you
now, as you are reading this reflection to copy Mary and pray. Jesus is with
you now, he is waiting in love to receive your prayer from the heart. The Lord
is not hovering on a cloud over the Holy Land. He is not trapped in a
historical time machine far far away. Because of the Ascension Christ our Lord
is here, now, with you at this very moment. Tell him your worries. Ask him for
help with this situation. Thank him for the blessings in your life. Ask him for
help to be a better disciple.
Finally let’s look at
the image of Jesus in this Ascension Icon. He is above the chaos at the bottom
of the picture and resides in the calm and serenity of heaven. This heavenly
and divine peace is emphasised by the blue mandorla around him. As we
know from the Resurrection Icon a few weeks ago, the mandorla reminds us
of the Presence and Glory of God Himself. The blue draws your eyes to Jesus and
there he sits enthroned and in pure and glorious white regal clothing. He is
the King. He is the Victor. He is the Saviour of the world. By his life, death
and Resurrection heaven, his kingdom, is open to all who freely choose to
believe and follow in his footsteps.
Brothers and Sisters,
maybe part of today’s festive message is to remember, leaving and ascending are
two very different things. A farewell is sad, a movement further away but the
Ascension is the opposite. As our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI taught, it is
is a coming closer, the Risen Lord is truly present to us each and everyday
day, unencumbered by time or space. A leaving can be a final ending but the
Lord’s Ascending is a never ending! Amen.
Happy Feastday!
God Bless and keep
praying.
Fr. O’Brien