I. Going Home
A. If you’ve ever traveled, you know that however wonderful it is to see new places and meet new people, there is a longing in your heart for home. And when it comes time to leave, your heart aches for the wonders and people you’ve met and now must say good-bye to, and yet your heart aches for home, for where you really belong.
B. You’re probably thinking, "Ah, he’s describing what Christ was feeling when he ascended into heaven." But if you think that, you’d be wrong. Those feelings, that aching heart, that longing to go home, are what we feel as we join with the Apostles in watching Christ ascend to heaven.
C. Make no mistake. This is a triumphal day. Christ’s ascension into heaven marks his victory over the powers of evil. That spiritual warfare, that combat with evil, that cosmic battle against Satan–all this forms the backdrop for the Ascension. On the Cross, Christ was King, and yet his glory was veiled in suffering. Only the centurion recognized who he really was. Now, Christ is seated at the right hand of his Father. He rules in majesty and might. We don’t know what Jesus thought about leaving his apostles, his mother Mary at this time–it seems from earlier statements he made in the Gospel of John that he was sad. But we do know that the apostles were devastated that Christ had been taken from their sight. There was a longing there, a wish to go home with the Lord, a wish to be with him always. And in that longing, in that heartache, lies the most profound mystery of the Ascension.
II. The Meaning Of This Feast
A. The reason why we rejoice so much over the Ascension is because of what it says about human beings. This wasn’t simply the Word of God being taken up into heaven. This was Jesus, truly God and truly human being taken up into heaven. For the first time, a human being enters heaven. For the first time, not an angel, but a human being who is also God sits at the Father’s right hand. You probably heard this old saying before–"God became human so that we might become more like God." Here’s where it happens. "We as human beings enjoy a unique distinction. A member of our race, our Head, is seated at God’s right hand: as members of his Body, we become divine." [Pius Parsch] Christ ascends to heaven and makes it okay for humans to be there. In fact, as truly God and truly human, he sits right next to the Father. We are made holy. We are made divine.
B. Remember at Mass, just before the Holy, Holy, the priest says, "Lift up your hearts." And the people respond, "We have lifted them up to the Lord." That’s where we belong, with hearts lifted up to the place where Christ dwells. Except that when we do that, we cannot take sin with us. Sin chains us to the earth. Only a heart free from sin, from worldly cares, from doubt and despair can sit by Christ.
C. But where Christ is is where we should be. And we know this in our hearts. St. Columban, a great Irish monk, used to say, "We are but guests of the world." And he was right! This is not our home; heaven is where we belong. And that is why we can identify with those apostles who stare bleakly up at the empty sky where Jesus has disappeared. They think there hearts ache because their friend has gone. But actually, as Jesus left he awakened in them the longing for heaven, our true home.
D. Don’t feel bad for those apostles standing lonely on that hill in Galilee so long ago. Rejoice with them. Because for the first time, their hearts are restless until they rest in the Lord. For the first time, their spirits say, "I want to go home to the Lord." For the first time, they know that by becoming human Christ has given all humanity a divine goal, to live with him in glory forever. That’s why this feast is meant to be joyous. Going home brings ultimate joy!
E. As we celebrate this feast, we remember that Christ has said he is going to prepare a place for us. The next time we feel that life is getting us down, or that life isn’t providing all we thought it would, may we recall where our true home is. And may we resolve to do the things here that are necessary to prepare ourselves for heaven–prayer, worship with the Sacraments, good deeds, and a love for all people. Then we can pray to God with hope in our souls: "Lift up my heart, O Lord, for I am tired, a stranger on earth’s shore. Lead me to the land of the angels. For I yearn to go home, to the hope of Christ, to the peace of heaven. Amen."
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