A Homily for the Ascension of the Lord (C)
“Even after sharing their lives with Jesus for such a long time, after the disaster of Calvary and the mystery of Easter, after all that, the apostles understood little of Him. Only a few hours before His ascent into Heaven, they still asked Him when he would establish the Kingdom of Israel, such as everyone conceived it at that time: a kingdom of earthly and political power” (Luigi Giussani, The Journey to Truth is an Experience, Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2006, p. 53).
Clearly the Apostles did not understand Jesus, so why did they follow Him? St. Luke apparently wanted to make sure that people understood that Jesus really ascended into Heaven, because he records that event twice; first at the end of his Gospel, which was just proclaimed, and at the beginning of his second work, the Acts of the Apostles, which we heard in our first reading. Do we get it any better than the Apostles? So, why do we follow Jesus?
Hopefully we follow Jesus, even in our lack of understanding, for the same reason that the Apostles did, because Jesus has become the focus of our affections. Hopefully, in the midst of the darkness and confusion around us, as it proclaimed during the Easter Vigil, “Christ is our Life! Thanks be to God!” For the Apostles Christ Jesus enlightened them; He “was the only one in whose words they felt their whole human experience understood and their needs taken seriously, clarified” (Luigi Giussani, The Journey to Truth is an Experience, Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2006, p. 53).
So why did Jesus Ascend into Heaven? Jesus wanted to come even closer to us, to be even more intimate with us. If He had stayed on earth He would have remained limited in time and space. Now that He has ascended into Heaven, by the sending of the Holy Spirit, Jesus dwells within our hearts.
More importantly, the Ascension is the establishment of Jesus’ Kingdom on absolutely unshakable ground. Earthly kings and emperors, which the Apostles were still looking for, always remain vulnerable because even if their enemies do not usurp their power, death surely will. However Christ’s reign will never come to an end; He is no longer vulnerable. Because He has ascended into Heaven, God made Christ the everlasting King, and His kingdom is firm; His Church will never be destroyed. If we stay faithful to Christ the King, our victory over sin, evil, and injustice is assured, and this will bring us everlasting happiness. Christ’s ascension should fill us with joy, as it did His Apostles, because now we know for certain that the Christian cause is unassailable, and that Jesus’ lordship is unconquerable.
The fact – that Jesus Christ, true God and true man – by His Ascension has become the everlasting bridge between Heaven and earth posses a challenge to what Pope Benedict XVI calls the “tyranny of relativism” which threatens to enslave the world today. Too often we are afraid of offending people who do not share our beliefs. We are so very concerned about being tolerant. There is a goodness in that tolerance because every human being does deserve our respect because everyone is made in the image and likeness of God, and Jesus came to save everyone. However such respect and tolerance should never turn into indifference. Indifference is easy and often more comfortable than actually defending and spreading the Truth. Yes, I said Truth – a singular – and not “truths” a plural. There is only one Truth, and Jesus tells us that He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). Only Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven, and He alone is the Savior. True, God is gracious and His mercy is not limited in any way, but He has made His mercy known by sending His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Finally, God desires to extend His mercy to every person through the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ. This is why it is our mission, as His Church, to preach “repentance for the forgiveness of sins in his name to all the nations.”
As we receive the Eucharist today, the food that nourishes us, let us ask that we have the strength never to be ashamed of the truth of Jesus Christ, the only Truth that will truly set us free.
