The Ascension: Don’t be distracted by the spectacle

The Archdiocese owns a piece of aboriginal religious art that is called ‘The Ascension’. The artist, a Western Desert woman, depicts—in that uniquely aboriginal style of dot painting—the ascending of the figure representing Christ into glory. But this occupies only the top right corner of the painting. Moving from bottom left to top right, the work is composed of four distinct sections: the Nativity; the Last Supper; the Crucifixion, and finally the Ascension. These four simple pictures symbolise the four chief realities of our faith: the incarnation of Christ, who became one of us; the sacramental presence of Christ, who feeds us; the death of Christ, who forgives us; and the glorifying of Christ, who returns us home.

We might be tempted—at least, I find myself so tempted—to reduce the ascension of Christ to that miraculous moment of the disappearing body of the earthly Jesus. It is certainly fascinating to try and imagine what it must have been like to be there at that moment. But it is not ‘what happened’—not the spectacle—of the ascension that matters. The return of God’s Son to a heavenly reality is the bringing of our humanity into the heart of God. The father’s Son, who took on our frail reality, who left us the gift of his life, who gave up his life for our sake, now takes our lives into eternal life.

We need to take seriously those two angels who suddenly appeared with the disciples, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky?’ Indeed, why might we be tempted to do the same, to be distracted by the spectacle and miss the reality? The departure of the earthy Jesus is the arrival of the glorious Jesus into our earthly realities. His bodily absence opens to us his real presence. It is the fulfilment of his promise that he would not abandon us—we have not been left alone to fend for ourselves. Says Jesus to us in his Ascension, I will be with you always.

There is a handing-over that takes place at the Ascension; as Christ is glorified, we are endowed with his Spirit. Christ’s Spirit—the Holy Spirit—is unleashed in us. It is the combined Spirit of trust and boldness, of humility and strength. As Jesus put it, by his Ascension we are clothed in the power from on high. His glorification gives to us the ongoing presence of God’s divine life in an earthly fashion. As we pray so often, ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.’

The Ascension of Christ brings our earthly reality into the sphere of God’s divine life. This doesn’t mean that suddenly all things will be made right for us. We know this not to be true, even if sometimes we wish it was. To have our bodily lives brought into the presence of God is to bring to our lives a way of living that orients us towards our good. It also pushes us towards offering this life in Christ to others. It is to see that we are made and redeemed for forgiveness and reconciliation—that is, communion. It is to appreciate that the ongoing challenges and struggles we each experience—some to a deeply troubling extent—are not without purpose. It is to trust that the trials of our sufferings, and ultimately our mortality, are not lived in vain.

The Lord’s ascension is hope for us.