TO GO AWAY FROM US IN ORDER TO STAY WITH US.

THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD.
May 28, 2006.
(First reading: Acts 1:1-11) (Psalm 47:2-3, 6-9)
(Second reading: Ephesians 1:17-23) (Gospel: Mark 16:15-20)

TO GO AWAY FROM US IN
ORDER TO STAY WITH US.

Let us illustrate the Ascension by presenting the following case situation: In a poor and destitute family, the bread-winner who truly loves his family must leave his loved ones for a time so that he may be more fully with them upon his return.

Let us further explain this case situation: The bread-winner (a father or a mother) must seek work in a foreign land in order to bring back home what the family needs to survive.

Both, the one who leaves and those who stay behind do remain united by their common interests, namely, the bread-winner is committed to bringing better means of life for the ones he loves, while the loved ones are to benefit from what they will receive.

There is, therefore, an intimate unity between the bread-winner and his loved ones in spite of their physical separation. It is as if the one who left truly stays in the family.

By his glorious Ascension into heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ does not leave his loved ones (every human being), but rather, he strengthens his real presence in all of us, turning us into "his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way" (Ephesians 1:23).

In other words, by the Lord's Ascension, those who believe in him are reaffirmed that the Lord's place is as much at "the right hand of his Father in the heavens" (Ephesians 1: 20) as it is in each human being for we are "his witnesses... to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1: 8).

By the Ascension we are reassured that the Lord Jesus is not merely "with us" (as if in physical proximity) but he is essentially "in us":
According to the Gospel, the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven so that he may live "in us". In deed, he lives in those who believe in him because he makes them recipients of all his power:

"In my name [that is, in me, with me and for me] they [those who believe in me] will drive out demons [the demons of injustice, hypocrisy, falsehood, dispossession, abuse, global oppression, war], they will speak new languages [the language of truth, peace, justice, unity, equality, respect]. They will pick up serpents [the powerful tyrants who rule our world] with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing [the retaliation from the powerful ruler], it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover [the peoples of the world will recover their lost dignity, liberty and peace]" (Mark 16:17-18).

By his Ascension into heaven, the Lord Jesus bestows on all human beings the power and responsibility he himself had while he was physically on earth. The moment of the Ascension marks the time when we are to take action, the time when we must rid ourselves of our idleness: "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?" (Acts 1:11).

This is our task: We must allow Jesus to live in us so that he may return when we establish justice and peace, unity and equality, truth and mutual respect among all human beings. That is our job!

This is the benefit humanity awaits from the Lord's Ascension: By diligently working "in" the Lord, humanity hastens his glorious second coming: "This Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

After his Ascension, the Lord continues to live in us for he went away from us in order to stay with us.