UP UP JESUS!!!

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came from heaven, the son of man who is in heaven. Today is ascension Thursday; a day we commemorate Christ going up to heaven. His ascension to heaven returns him to the heavenly throne at the right hand of God from whence he came to earth (cf. John 1:14). Jesus’ ascension brings to an end the resurrection appearances; whereas the resurrection expresses the reality of Jesus’ triumph over death and the identity between the risen Lord and Jesus, ascension brings out the divine aspect of Jesus’ destiny. After the nailing on the cross comes the hailing into glory. Thus, the reality of the ascension of Jesus into heaven is a truth which provides the key to an understanding of many different aspects of our faith. For John Chrysostom, in the resurrection, the disciples saw the end but not the beginning, and in the ascension, they saw the beginning but not the end.

According to the Acts of the Apostles, for forty days, Jesus continued to appear to his disciples and instructed them about the Kingdom of God. And it has been forty days since Easter Sunday. Forty here can imply a time of fullness which allows the mind length of days so that the idea of the Lord’s glorification could germinate like a seed in the ground. And so, the ascension of Christ to His eternal glory in heaven reminds us of our Christian hope of eternal life with God in heaven. Since the fourth century, the feast of the Ascension has been celebrated on its day within the Easter season.

The First Reading (Acts 1:1-11) tells a version of the ascension story. In that version, before ascending to heaven Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to his apostles. Now that he was not going to be bodily present among them, it would behove on them, aided by the Holy Spirit to witness to all nations. In the Second Reading (Eph. 1:17-23), Paul describes the meaning of the ascension, which is that God has raised Jesus above all earthly powers, and made him not only head of the Church but Lord of creation. The Gospel (Luke 24:46-53) gives another version of the ascension story. Before leaving his disciples, Jesus sums up for them the meaning of his death and resurrection. He promises them the Holy Spirit, blessed them and before them was carried up to heaven. They worshipped him and went home very joyful, and continued to praise God in the Temple. Each of the Synoptic evangelists gave his own version to the ascension story. But here, Luke narrated his in the manner of the departure of Elijah, who was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire, but whose spirit came to rest on his disciple Elisha (2 Kings 2).

However, there is something queer in that ascension story of Luke. The evangelist tells us that Jesus withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven; but then, he says again that they went back to Jerusalem full of joy. I think it would have made more sense and realistic to return to Jerusalem heavy hearted and sad that their master is gone because for the past 40 days, this same master had come appeared to them in many kinds. They saw him, touched him, spoke with him and even ate with him. He could walk through locked doors, even with his tangible body. He who was with them as the risen Lord now withdraws from them and is taken up to heaven. Therefore, he has gone back to his Father. But far from being downcast, these apostles went back to Jerusalem full of hopes and joy, and are found in the temple praising God. What is then the reason behind this different attitude?

The reason behind this is that the apostles had realized that even though Jesus withdraws from them and goes back to heaven, he would still remain with them. The ascension then, does not entail that Jesus had abandoned his disciples. It implies that Jesus had built his home in the hearts of the apostles. Jesus is risen. He is at the right hand of the Father, but he still lives among us. Thus, far from the feeling of abandonment, the apostles were right to have left in great joy. Jesus continues to live in us, his followers. So we must not look upon him as being far from us. A special perspective Luke draws our attention to in the story of the ascension is the reaction of the disciples: they worshipped Jesus, went back to Jerusalem full of joy, and were continually in the Temple praising God. This ought to be our reaction in the face of the wonders God does in our lives. There is always great joy in the thought of how Jesus transformed death into the dawn of a new life. And God is to be praised every day in the proclamation of his works. Ascension brings joy. May this joy endure. Amen. God bless you.