Discussions 5-22-04

Thoughts on Ascension Sunday

Dear Good Shepherd,

This Sunday is Ascension Sunday, the last major feast day of the Easter Season. Forty days after he rose from the dead, Jesus ascended into heaven. The significance of this is twofold.

1.  At the Crucifixion, God in Christ gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins. At the Resurrection, God in Christ defeated death. At the Ascension, God in Christ transcended the effects that sin and death have wrought on Creation. God created human beings to be with him forever. Sin entered the world and broke that relationship, and death was the result. Jesus, being fully human, completed the full reconciliation between God and humanity. He rose from the dead, but he rose from the dead to be reunited in the body with the Father. Jesus in his humanity participates in the divine life. In the same way everyone who is united to Christ in faith can partake in that life and be related to the Father through him.

2. When Jesus walked around with his disciples on earth, his real presence was limited to them only. But now that he has ascended into heaven, he and the Father have sent God the Holy Spirit to live in every believer's heart. Through God the Holy Spirit, Jesus—God the Son—is with believers always and everywhere. He can be in my heart and your heart at the same time. That's what Christians mean when we talk about inviting Jesus into our hearts. Whenever anyone surrenders himself or herself to Jesus Christ, Jesus comes by the power of the Holy Spirit and makes his home in that person and stays for all eternity. All of this was made possible because Jesus ascended into heaven.