Jesus said "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as the disciples were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. [Acts 1.8-10]
May 10 is the Feast of the Ascension. As a chaplain, this is an incredibly appropriate feast for the end of the school year, since this was Jesus’ graduation. He passed the final exam of the crucifixion with the perfect score of the resurrection. He graduates summa cum laude and immediately climbs the ladder to the highest position in the universe, sitting at the right hand of the Father to direct the work of his Body, the Community of Disciples, and empower them with his Spirit.
At this point the analogy falls apart and we are left with theological language to say that the Ascension makes eternal what was begun in the Incarnation in the womb of Mary. In the Ascension, the union of humanity and divinity crosses beyond the limited time of a human life, and even beyond the limited time of the universe, and is transposed into the eternal Now of God’s undying life. The Ascension is the assurance that God has fully embraced human nature— all of humanity through all of time— and God has united our life with God’s life in Christ forever.
So although we may not yet fully experience union with God in Christ, the Ascension is our certainty that it will come to pass, and nothing in all Creation will be able to separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Lastly, since no post about the Ascension would be complete without a picture of Astronaut Jesus, here you go:
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