The Lord is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!
…but that isn’t the end of the story.Each Sunday we confess, “…he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” This is the reality we celebrate at the Feast of the Ascension.
There’s a great irony to Ascension Day. We talk a lot about the Ascension’s effects but fail to talk about the Ascension itself. We often hear people ask, “How do I get to heaven?” This is how! Ascension Day is how!
We are an Incarnation people. Part of the incarnation’s logic is “He, Therefore We.” In Jesus, God takes man by the hand. They walk together, hand in hand, through a life, blazing a trail for others to follow.
Sometimes the “He, Therefore We” logic presents us with an imperative, something we ought to do. He cares for the vulnerable, therefore we also ought to care for the vulnerable. But sometimes the “He, Therefore We” anticipates a future, defines a hope. He has been raised from the dead, therefore we also will be raised from the dead.
And this second kind—this “He, therefore We” of future, of hope—is at work in the Feast of the Ascension. He ascended into heaven, into the bliss of the Father’s presence, having done the work it was given for him to do, therefore we also will follow, one day joining him in the presence of the Father.
Thursday Night, May 10th, at 6:00pm
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