THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD

Friday 15 May 2026

Sts. Matthew & Mark, Barrington, R. I.

 

 

A standard interpretation of Christ’s Ascension tries to fit it into the wider narrative of his life, death, resurrection, and return. God the Son came down from heaven, took flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, his mother, was born as a human child, grew up, and embarked upon his ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing. At length, he was betrayed, arrested, put on trial, sentenced to death, and executed. Everyone thought that was the end of him, but no, on the third day, he rose from the dead and spent another forty days mysteriously appearing to his disciples, manifesting a new and glorious humanity that still bore the scars of the crucifixion and yet was wondrously renewed and transformed. 

 

Then, at the end of forty days, he really did have to leave for good. Returning to his Father in heaven, he sent his disciples to carry on his mission on earth. At the end of time as we know it, he will return to judge the living and the dead. But in the meantime, he’s up there, and we’re down here.

The problem is that this telling of the story misses one crucial point. Whatever happened at the Ascension—whether the Risen Jesus physically lifted off the ground and ascended into the clouds, or whether this imagery is visual symbolism written down to express a profound theological truth—our Lord has entered the direct presence of God, his Father, in heaven. Having united our human nature to his divine person at his conception, he does not leave his humanity behind at his Ascension but takes it with him into the inner life of the Holy Trinity. Henceforth, his human nature lives in God’s presence and sees God face to face.

 

The implications are astounding. The Church’s liturgy speaks of dying and rising with Christ in Holy Baptism. But if we participate in Christ’s death and resurrection, we also participate in his Ascension. This is not merely a future promise but a present reality. If baptism has united us to Christ and made us members of his Body, then, in a mysterious sense, we stand with him at God’s right hand. If he’s entered heaven on our behalf, we’ve also entered heaven in him. Being “in Christ” implies not only that he’s still with us “down here” but also that we’re already with him “up there.”

Most of the time, we’re not consciously aware of this mutual indwelling. But occasionally, perhaps in moments of deep prayer, we receive intimations of our Ascension in Christ. Sometimes people speak of experiences in the Church’s liturgy and music when they feel lifted out of themselves and transported into the celestial realms. Such experiences may be visions opened to us by our participation in Christ’s Ascension. As members of his body, we receive momentary glimpses of the beatific vision, which is his in eternity. And these glimpses stand as pledges of the glory in which we shall one day share, provided we remain united to him.

 

It’s a mistake, then, to think of Christ’s Ascension as his leaving us behind. Rather, in a virtual sense, he’s taken us with him. True, we remain here to continue his mission on earth until he returns at the end of time. But the larger point is that after Christ’s Incarnation, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, everything is changed. In Christ, human nature itself has ascended into the heavenly Father’s presence. And, in a reciprocal exchange, the Holy Spirit descends upon humanity on earth. The Ascension thus opens the way for Pentecost. They are two sides of the same coin: humanity lifted up into heaven and divinity poured down upon earth. And so, the union of divine and human natures begun in Christ’s Incarnation does not end in the Ascension but continues to grow and spread until that day when all creation will be caught up into his eternal kingdom.