by The Rev. Charles Henrickson

Scripture: Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:15-23

Text: Acts 1:1-11 (ESV)

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

Text: Ephesians 1:15-23 (ESV)

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Where is Jesus, and what is he doing? That's a good question to ask on this Ascension Day. Where did Jesus go when he ascended, and what is he doing now? Alright, you say, I know the answer to that question--we just confessed it in the Creed: He "ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father." OK, fine, but what's the big deal about that? Is that enough to have a whole special festival on it, that we have to come out and have church on a Thursday night? Well, I would say, yes. But I want you to be able to say yes, too, and to have some idea as to why we say that, more than just, "It's forty days past Easter and that's when Ascension falls on the calendar." And so tonight, on this Ascension Day, let's find out more about where Jesus is and what he is doing, and what that means for us.

In the Ascension account at the end of Luke, it says that Jesus "parted from them and was carried up into heaven." In the text at the beginning of Acts, it says that Jesus "was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight," and the angels tell the disciples that this Jesus "was taken up from you into heaven." Our reading from Ephesians says that God "raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places." OK, well, there you've got it: Jesus "ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father." What we say in the Creed is simply restating what the New Testament tells us. But that still leaves us wondering what all that means and why it's so important.

What does it mean that Jesus ascended into heaven and sits at God's right hand? Does it mean that Jesus just went away, that's he's taking a break, like he's on vacation for a few thousand years until he comes back? Does it mean that Jesus has been taken away from us, far away? We can't see him anymore, and, oh, how I wish we could been so lucky to have been like those disciples and been able to spend some time with him and see him, for a few years at least. Oh, well. But now he's gone, and we'll just have to muddle through somehow. Is that it? Jesus is absent, stuck up there in heaven, and now we're on our own. Jesus, missing in action. Out of sight, out of mind.

Nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, let's unpack what it means that he "ascended into heaven." To be sure, it does mean that Jesus rose up into the sky, bodily, in view of his disciples, on that day long ago some forty days after Easter. Jesus had told his disciples that he would be going away, returning to his Father, that the Father would glorify him upon the completion of his saving mission. And that is what is taking place, beginning, really, since Easter. Jesus appeared to his disciples over a period of forty days, met with them, taught them, let them touch his hands and his side that bore the marks of his crucifixion, by which he won our salvation. So the Ascension is part of that continuing exaltation of Christ, his glorification, and further proof of his victorious, bodily resurrection. It shows the Father's approval of what his Son has done in dying for the sins of the world. God is saying yes to that. It shows the victory of the cross. Ascension Day is Christ's triumph day. He is received into heaven with a "Job well done!" and "Welcome home!" And the angels are rejoicing.

But there's more. Christ ascends into heaven and "sits at the right hand of the Father." Now we need to understand this "right hand" business. In the biblical way of thinking and talking, to be seated at the right hand of a great king means to exercise royal authority. It is to be the king's "right hand man"--we even have that expression in English. Why? Because for most of us, our right hand is our dominant hand, the hand with which we do stuff. So to be at God's right hand means to exercise divine, heavenly power and authority. That's where Jesus is and what he is doing now, seated at the right hand of the Father.

Now this is great and tremendous! Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now is ruling all things in heaven and on earth. He is Lord of all! That is what Ephesians is getting at, for it goes on to explain what being seated at the right hand means: God raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."

So Jesus Christ now is ruling all things for the sake of his church. We are intimately connected to Christ--he is the head, we are his body--and he is head over everything. All rule, all authority, all power and dominion, belong to the risen and exalted Lord Jesus Christ.

What's more, when Jesus ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, he went there as our brother and our high priest. Christ is both true God and true man, and now ascended to the throne room of God, we have a friend in high places. Jesus knows our every weakness, and he is interceding for us, praying for us. He's on our side, he has the Father's ear, and he is able to help in every time of need. And Jesus ascended into heaven as our great high priest. Like the high priest went into the Holy of Holies with the blood of the atonement, so Christ enters heaven and presents his blood as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Our ascended Lord is seated at the right hand of God, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. But does "far above" mean "far away"? Does Jesus' absence from our sight mean that he is now distant and detached? Triumphant, yes, transcendent, yes, but rather cold and aloof, far removed from us, far away up in heaven. Is that the meaning of Ascension? By no means!

No, it is no contradiction to say that Jesus is both "far above" and "here and near." Did you catch that? Jesus is both far above and here and near! Think of the Great Commission, in Matthew 28. The risen Lord Jesus meets with his disciples during those forty days, and he says: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." You see? There it is, both sides of the coin. "All authority": Yes, Christ is exalted and will sit at the right hand of the Father. There's the "far above." And then, in the very same passage: "And behold, I am with you always." "With you"! There is the "here and near"! They're both true! And they're both wonderful gospel for you, my friends!

Think of it. Remember what Jesus said? "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." You see, Christ is here, present among us, for we are gathered here in his name. Christ is here, present among us, present to save, present to bless, present to forgive your sins, for this is where his gospel is.

And one more thing. Think of Jesus' words, "This is my body, this is my blood." Those words are still true, even as we celebrate our Lord's ascension into heaven. That Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father does not mean that he is limited to one small space off in a distant galaxy somewhere. No, Christ is here, and in particular, he gives us his body and his blood at this altar, for us Christians to eat and to drink, and so to receive his benefits. Yes, Christ's true body and his true blood are here, really present in this sacrament, for your forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Where is Jesus, and what is he doing? The exalted Savior has ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of his Father. And thank God he is! It shows he has won the victory over death for us and will come again one day to bring us to himself. We share in his resurrection and eternal life. Jesus now is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us, our brother and our sympathetic high priest. Jesus is ruling all things in heaven and on earth for the sake of his beloved church. That's all good news. Jesus is "far above" all other rule and power, exercising divine, heavenly authority, for our good.

And not only is Jesus "far above," he is also "here and near." He is here among us, present with his church, present to bless you, God's children. Your Savior is here, with you in your trials and difficulties, walking with you all the way. He could not be any closer.

by William C. Dix

Alleluia! sing to Jesus! His the scepter, His the throne.
Alleluia! His the triumph, His the victory alone.
Hark! the songs of peaceful Zion thunder like a mighty flood.
Jesus out of every nation has redeemed us by His blood.

Alleluia! not as orphans are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! He is near us, faith believes, nor questions how;
Though the cloud from sight received Him when the forty days were o'er
Shall our hearts forget His promise, "I am with you evermore"?

Alleluia! bread of angels, Thou on earth our food, our stay;
Alleluia! here the sinful flee to Thee from day to day:
Intercessor, Friend of sinners, Earth's Redeemer, plead for me,
Where the songs of all the sinless sweep across the crystal sea.

Alleluia! King eternal, Thee the Lord of lords we own;
Alleluia! born of Mary, Earth Thy footstool, Heav'n Thy throne:
Thou within the veil hast entered, robed in flesh our great High Priest;
Thou on earth both priest and victim in the Eucharistic feast.

by Christine Sine

The fortieth day after Easter Sunday is a day of great significance as we celebration the ascension of Christ into heaven. It is also and, in some ways more importantly, a celebration of the new creation that Jesus' resurrection brought into being. What beautiful imagery to carry with us for the rest of the season until Pentecost. It seems such an appropriate celebration for those of us who are interested in sustainability and creation care.

I used this as the focus of my reflection last year 'Ascension Day is Coming: Celebrate the New Creation' and found myself revisiting this imagery as I thought about Ascension Day this morning. Ascension day is a day of hope and promise. The ascended Lord will return to judge that which is broken and unjust. He will return as leader in a glorious future. in which he will abolish injustice, end suffering, destroy death and set up God’s new world of truth, righteousness and love.

Because Jesus ascended and sits at the right hand of God,

a new world has broken into ours –
a world in which justice does come for the poor,
freedom comes for the prisoners,
and healing for the sick.

Because Jesus ascended and sits at the right hand of God,

a new community has been formed –
a community that loves and cares for all members,
a family that welcomes all who are abandoned and rejected,
a place where all find a place of belonging.

Because Jesus ascended and sits at the right hand of God,

a new creation has begun –
all that was distorted is being restored,
all that is corrupted is being renewed,
all that was broken is being made whole.

Because Jesus ascended and sits at the right hand of God,

God’s new world has begun.

by Dr. Luke Bouman

Gospel: Luke 24:44-53

Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." 50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
- Luke 24:44-53

This text from the end of the Gospel of Luke (and its cousin from the start of the book of Acts) leaves us with many more questions than answers. Why does Jesus need to go? Where does he go? How does he go? Is he coming back? How will he come back? Why are the two accounts so different? Which one is the "right one"?

I'm afraid there are more questions than answers in these two texts, especially when you put them side by side. We are not going to get to the bottom of most of them, today or ever. What we have here, as with much of the Christian witness is a matter of mystery that in some sense remains shrouded. We do not know, for example, why God chose to become human and enter our existence, but we know that God did. We don't know why God chose to reveal himself in the last place we would look, dying on the cross, but God did. We don't know why God removes himself in this last scene from Luke's Gospel, or for that matter why Luke chose this event as the bridge between his two volumes, but there it is.

That should not prevent us from asking the questions, but these questions should also not be asked away from the both the reality of the ministry of Jesus in Luke's Gospel, nor the ministry of the disciples in Acts. These questions should not be asked without the context of our faith, in which we become the witnesses to these things, and particularly to Jesus as our Messiah and Lord even today. We do not need answers to all of our questions to come to some understanding. We do need to know what the Ascension means for us, and for where we are heading.

In most of my early Christian education I was taught the "party line" concerning the Ascension of Jesus. That he disappeared visibly to end his earthly fellowship with the disciples and to take up his heavenly dominion over all creation. This was done so that he could use his body's new powers in the resurrection to be "present anywhere and everywhere he chooses." (For more of this type on interpretation, see the Reu Catechism, for example.) While I have no specific disagreement with this way of thinking, it does not quite square with the text, as we have it in Luke's Gospel.

Jesus does, on the surface appear to be disappearing. It is interesting to note, then, that the disciples do not act as though this were actually true. They do not go away sorrowful, or mourning the loss of Jesus. In fact, the text reports that they are worshiping as they return with great joy, praising God in the temple day after day. They do not experience Jesus as absent.

We don't have to look too far back in Luke's resurrection account to find others who experience this same phenomenon. The disciples on the Emmaus road do not in fact recognize or experience Jesus as present when he walks and talks with them. They are caught up in their loss and grief. It is only later when Jesus breaks the bread with them that he is made known to them. And in that moment, when they experience his presence most fully, he is no longer visibly with them. But rather than thinking that they missed something, instead they run back to the rest of the disciples overjoyed that Jesus is risen and still present.

It is also obvious, to even the most basic reader, that the disciples take up the ministry of Jesus in Acts and do some extraordinary things. They heal the sick, they raise the dead. They die forgiving those who kill them (as Stephen did) and they endure much of the same treatment as Jesus. All along they do not take credit for any of this! They proclaim the living presence of Jesus. In fact, I assume Luke's inclusion of these stories is meant to lead us to conclude that Jesus is very much still around and active, through the disciples. (A point Dan Erlander makes in his Children's Communion Book, "A Place for You.")

It is not, as I said earlier, that Reu's Catechism missed something, but rather it didn't go far enough. Jesus ascension is not experienced by the early disciples as his leaving or disappearing at all, according to Luke. While he is taken from their sight, enshrouded once again by clouds (like the Shekinah of Sinai in Exodus) he is not absent at all. In fact, as the newly baptized disciples gathered around the apostle's teaching, the breaking of bread, and prayer, they experienced the presence of Jesus! (See Acts 2:41-42.) Jesus does not go to be someplace else and to show up now and again capriciously. Jesus is experienced as real and present in washing and in scripture, read and explained, in the table fellowship and the prayers on behalf of the world, much in the same way that Christians today experience Jesus' presence in these same actions that together mark our communion.

The problem is that we think of heaven as another place, as there are places in the world. If Jesus ascends to heaven, then he must go to that other place. That is what logic might tell us. But that does not appear to be the case. In Luke's Gospel, the Kingdom of God, what many people assume to be heaven is portrayed not so much as a reality in a different place (located up in the sky somewhere) but rather it is God's future that in Christ's death and resurrection has broken into the present. Understood this way, we have a new possibility, even for such an ancient thing as the Ascension of our Lord; new for us, not probably for the Christian witness.

If, as many theologians have rediscovered, the risen Jesus belongs to the future, then we can understand that he has also ascended to that same future. (See NT Wright's "The Resurrection of the Son of God," for example.) The language of our liturgy and song, the language of the apocalyptic writings like the book of Revelation, the language of our creeds, and our experience all now begin to converge. We experience in worship a "foretaste of the feast to come" because we understand how God's future banquet has broken in upon our present world of famine. Though we suffer, as did the people in Revelation we understand that in God's future the victory is certain. When we proclaim our faith in the ascended one, we are proclaiming that despite events that seem to contradict it, we can see and participate in the future Reign of God with Jesus in the here and now. We experience, not the absence of our Lord, but his real and life transforming presence. The marvel of this is that if Jesus goes to the future ahead of us, there is no place in our journey that we now go where Jesus is not there to greet us.

Our world seems so much less secure these days. It is unclear to me whether the world is actually more dangerous or just seems so because we are instantly aware, through media coverage and social media, when tragedy strikes. Be it shootings in Newtown, CT, bombings in and shootouts in Boston, MA, explosions in West, TX, or earthquakes and other natural disasters around the globe and close to home, we experience them in our lives and feel, somehow, shaken as the earth that moves under our feet. It is difficult for us to process this never ending parade of tragedy and grief. It makes life's journey particularly challenging.

What is surprising to me is that our life's journey as individuals and as a human family, no matter how dark the bends and how terrible the destination may seem, is not bereft of hope. It may sound pietistic and trite to say this way, but the Jesus of the future is at every turn of this journey and I am inclined to trust that he will be there ahead of us each step of the way. I should not be surprised, I suppose, but still, we do not often see what we do not expect to see. But day by day, I continue to understand that when I confess that Jesus ascended to heaven, that I am confessing that Jesus awaits me in very ordinary places and ordinary ways with extraordinary grace and love. It is comforting, and challenging, all at the same time.

As my father lay dying of cancer eight years ago, we became accustomed to saying that there would be no bad outcomes of his illness. There would be sad ones, of course, as we who love must always come to grips with loss. But that is as God intended. Genuine love is always given in the face of certain loss, rather than in the expectation of keeping our loved ones forever. But we were and remain hopeful because our Lord's future is stronger even than death, and more powerful, by far than our grief. This comprises both the challenge and the comfort.

Here, then is the payoff. I have more courage to face the challenges of today with hope and dignity because the future is now safely in Jesus' hands. We all do, really, I suppose. The ascension is the assurance that the battle is over and has been won. We live in the in between time: between the final victory and the consummation of the reality that is already present in Jesus Christ.

I remember reading a story in the "weekly reader" at school in about 1970, some 25 years after the end of World War II. Some Japanese soldiers were cut off from any word that the war was over. They continued to fend for themselves and hide from others, particularly Allied others that were nearby, out of a sense of duty to a country that no longer existed, at least not at war. One by one, the ones that survived stumbled out of the forest only to discover that the war was over, and they were free!

Because of the ascension of Jesus, we too now see a future in which we are no longer slaves to a community and a war that still needs to be fought. We are free to live in a new reality, where death and the threat of death no longer have dominion. We are free to live for others in a world that has yet to hear this good and wondrous news. We can live courageously, even in a world where the fighting is still going on around us, perpetuated by those who have not yet heard that the battle has been decided. We are free to experience the Jesus of the future, who still breaks into our present world giving himself to us anew in the washing, the teaching, the eating and the praying of our gathered community at worship. We are called to live this future into the present as well. We don't know where Jesus IS, so much as we know that Jesus is WITH US. We don't know what the future brings so much as we know that the future is safe in Jesus' hands. And finally, we too can return to the world after our encounter with the Risen One, hearts and heads held high, rejoicing and worshiping and blessing God.

By: Msgr. Charles Pope

The ascension feast is not merely about something that took place two thousand years ago. For, though Christ our head has ascended, we the members of his body are ascending with him. Since he was ascended, we too have ascended. In my own life, as a Christian, I am brought higher every year by the Lord who is drawing me up with him. This is not some mere slogan, but something I am actually experiencing. An old song says, I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore. Very deeply stained with sin, sinking to rise no more. But he master of the sea, heard my despairing cry. And from the waters lifted me. Now safe am I. Love Lifted me, When nothing else could help. Love lifted me!

Yes, the feast of the Lord's Ascension is our feast too, if we are faithful. Let's look at it from three perspectives.

I. The Fact of the Ascension.

The readings today describe a wondrous event that the Apostles witnessed. The Lord, by his own power is taken to heaven. In so doing he opens a path for us too. The gates of paradise swing open again: Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in! (Psalm 24:7). In Christ, man returns to God. Consider three things about the Ascension:

A. The Reality

Imagine the glory of this moment. Scripture says, As they were looking on, he was lifted up and cloud took him from their sight….they were looking intently in the sky as he was going (Acts 1:9). So impressive was the sight that the angels had to beckon them to get along to Jerusalem as the Lord had said, Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven (Acts 1:11). Yes, it was glorious. Jesus had once said as a summons to faith, What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? (John 6:62). He had also encouraged them saying: Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:51) So here is a glorious reality, and a fulfillment of what Jesus had said.

B. The Rescue

In the Ascension, it does not seem that the Lord entered heaven alone. As we have remarked, in his mystical body we also ascend with him. But consider too this remarkable text that affirms that: Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things (Eph 4:8ff). Yes, the Lord had earlier, just after his death, descended to Sheol and awakened the dead and preached the gospel to them (cf 1 Peter 4:6). And now, for those he had justified, came the moment ascend with Jesus as a “host,” as an army of former captives, now set free. Behold the great procession that enters behind Christ through the now opened gates of heaven: Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac Jacob, Rachel, Judith, Deborah, David, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Malachi, John the Baptist….and one day you! Yes this is a great rescue. Adam and his descendants have not simply been restored to some paradisaical garden, they have entered heaven.

C. The Rejoicing

Consider how, this once captive train, sings exultantly as they follow Christ upward to heaven. The liturgy today puts before us a likely song they sang: God mounts his throne to shouts of Joy! The Lord amid trumpet blasts. All you peoples clap your hands, shout to God with cries of gladness, for the Lord the most high, the awesome is the great king over all the earth. God reigns over the nations, God sits upon his holy throne (Psalm 47:6-7). I also have it on the best of authority that they were singing an old gospel song: I'm so glad, Jesus lifted me! Yes I also have it on the best of authority that they were even singing an old Motown song: Your love is lifting me higher, than I've ever been lifted before!

Yes, Here are some glorious facets of the Ascension.

II. The Fellowship of the Ascension

We have already remarked that, when Christ ascends, we ascend. Why and how? Scripture says, Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it (1 Cor 12:27). It also says, All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. By baptism we were buried together with him so that Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of God the Father, we too might live a new and glorious life. For if we have been united with him by likeness to his death we shall be united with him by likeness to his resurrection (Rom 6:3ff). So, when Christ died we died. When Christ rose, we rose. When He ascends, we ascend.

But you may say, he is in glory, but I am still here, how is it that I am ascended or ascending? Consider a humorous example about our physical bodies. When I get on an elevator and punch the button for the top floor, the crown of my head gets there before the soles of my feet. But the whole body will get there unless some strange loss of integrity or tragic dismemberment takes place. So in an analogous way it is with Jesus' Jesus mystical body. In Christ our head we are already in glory. Some members of his body have already gotten there. We who come later will get there too, provided we stay a member of the Body. Yes we are already ascended in Christ our head. We are already enthroned in glory with him, if we hold fast and stay a member of his Body. This is the fellowship of the Ascension.

III. The Fruitfulness of the Ascension

Jesus does not return to heaven to abandon us. He is more present to us than we are to ourselves. He is with us always to the end of the age (cf Matt 28:20). But in Ascending, without abandoning us, he goes to procure so very important things. Consider four of them:

A. Holy Ghost power

Jesus teaches very clearly that he is ascending in order to send us the Holy Spirit: Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you (Jn 16:7ff) He also says, These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you (Jn 14:25ff). And yet again, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come (Jn 16:13-14). So the Lord goes, that he might, with the Father, send the Holy Spirit to live within us as in a temple. In this way, and through the Eucharist, he will dwell with us even more intimately than when he walked this earth.

B. Harvest

Jesus says, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me (John 12:32). While the immediate context of this verse is the crucifixion, the wonder of John's gospel is that is that he often intends double meanings. Clearly Christ's glorification is his crucifixion, but it also includes his resurrection and ascension. So, from his place in glory, Christ is drawing all people to himself. He is also bestowing grace on us from his Father's right hand to be his co-workers in the harvest: But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). Yes, from his place in glory, Christ is bringing in a great harvest, as he said in Scripture: Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps' is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” (Jn 4:35-38). Harvest! And it is the Lord's work from heaven in which we participate.

C. Help

At the Father's right hand Jesus intercedes for us. Scripture says, Consequently he is able, for all time, to save those who draw near to God through him, since he lives always to make intercession for them (Heb 7:25). The Lord links his ascension to an unleashing of special power: Amen, amen, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (Jn 14:12).

It is true, we must not understand asking in the name of Jesus as a mere incantation, for to ask in his Name means to ask in accord with his will. And yet, we must come to experience the power of Jesus to draw us up to great and wondrous things in his sight. Despite the mystery of iniquity all about us, we trust that Christ is conquering, even in the puzzling and apparent victories of this world's rebellion. We read, In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Though, at present we do not see everything subject to him, yet we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor….so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Heb 2:8-9; 14-15). Thus, from heaven we have the help of the Lord's grace which, if we will accept it, is an ever present help unto our salvation.

D. Habitation

Simply put, Jesus indicates that in going to heaven he is preparing a place for us: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (Jn 14:2ff) Yes, indeed, He has the blueprints out, and a hard hat on. He is overseeing the construction of a mansion for each of us that we may dwell with him, the Father and the Spirit forever.

Here then are the ways that Christ, by his love, is lifting us higher, than we've ever been lifted before. Yes, love lifted me, when nothing else could help, Love lifted me.