"I am sending the promise of my Father upon you"
Luke 24: 43-52
Whether it be a stage play, a movie, a competitive sports team, a corporation, a Church, or any human organization, you need a good director, manager, Pastor, Bishop, or Pope to be sure that he/she oversees the action and keeps all going smoothly as possible. That "director" should have a vision of the bigger picture and the overall purpose that is trying to be accomplished. As we well know from history, such a position can serve to achieve the highest and most inspiring of goals or contribute to the nefarious desires of that particular director.
On this significant Feast of the Ascension of the Lord we may feel tempted to see this moment between the resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost as a sort of side bar or footnote event. Jesus ascended to heaven and soon, although we don't know how soon, the Spirit as promised was sent to the Apostles with the dramatic power of wind, fire and foreign tongues.
Yet, this moment of the Ascension ties directly to Jesus position now in heaven as the grand director of his Church. In the power of the Spirit he oversees the "action" and in the Spirit assures us of his constant presence and preservation of the Body of Christ until the end of time. So, as Bishop Robert Barron points out, it was good that he return so that he can now oversee his Church as it travels through human history. Still, unlike a somewhat distanced director simply giving orders from a distant vantage point, Jesus is very present, not a distant or uncaring memory who has done his part and left the rest to us, as fragile and weak as we can be. He holds the position at the "right hand of his Father" as one of supreme authority and watches over all while he enters the action and remains center stage.
Yet such a lofty theological understanding was not in the minds of the Apostles. They may indeed have felt on a human level more of a loss of connection with Christ. Not unlike when a loved one dies it is never an easy moment. Whether we may be anticipating the loss or it comes upon us suddenly, it's never easy to say "goodbye" to someone who has been a part of our lives for many years. Last August our mother of 95 years, although in relatively good health especially her still very clear thinking, we knew that day would come. No one better than she knew it as well and she was prepared as a woman of faith, to accept the inevitable. After so long a time with a person you strangely assume they will always be there but you know that time must march on and the inevitable moment comes to say goodbye.
As Jesus left the physical sight of his Apostles we can only imagine the sadness they felt. They knew he was not dead, would never die again, that his risen presence had become so convincing and real that maybe he would now stay with them and become the grand director on earth of a new plan for Israel, the chosen people of God. His speak of going away and yet returning might have taken various interpretations that settled on the literal. Sure, he will come back again but in the meantime, why does he have to go?
In the Gospel for the Ascension, Jesus speaks to his Apostles before that moment: "Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you . . . until you are clothed with power from on high . . ." That promise of the Father is to pour out the Holy Spirit, the Spirit which makes Christ present and active in our lives and that of his Church, upon these men who will become the great missionary pillars of the Church in the establishment of the Christian Gospel in the world. This is why we state the Church is: "One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic" the four marks of the Church.
So, Jesus prepares all believers not to see him as far away and distant but rather up close and intimately involved in the body of the Church. Jesus remains in control, overseeing and guiding and protecting the Church from destruction and error. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, given to us in Baptism and Confirmation, we share in that power ourselves if we are open to his grace.
So, in a true way, Jesus hasn't gone away and is not "up there" in heaven as on vacation or a temporary sabbatical sending us occasional updates on his progress. He remains present and involved in a different and more universal way. The faith and missionary activity of the Apostles, who were enflamed with the power of the Spirit is forever the reason why we exist, why we believe, why we gather each Sunday for Eucharist. The Ascension of Jesus has made all this possible. Let us live lives worthy of such great a divine gift to humanity and carry on with his mission as he directs us in the power of his Spirit.
Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God,
and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving,
for the Ascension of Christ your Son
is our exaltation,
and, where the Head has gone before in glory,
the Body is called to follow in hope.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit
one God for ever and ever.
(Collect of Feast)
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