The Ascension

The Ascension of Jesus is the forgotten feast of the church (it was celebrated last Thursday). Accounts of the Ascension are to be found in Mark (Mk 16:19-20), Luke (Lk 24:50-53) and the Acts of Apostles (Acts 1:9). In the ascension, Jesus is visibly removed from the presence of his disciples. This was a demonstration of the reality of his departure. He would no longer be present with them physically. His presence, until his return at the end of the age, was to be mediated through the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Jesus. We like to think of Jesus being present with us, but we also need to come to terms with his absence. John, although he gives no account of the event of the ascension, has numerous references to Jesus's departure (Jn 14:2-3, Jn 14:28-29, Jn 16:4-5 and so on) and also to his return. So aware was the early church of the absence of Jesus that they expressed their longing for his return in a cry preserved in Aramaic, "Marana tha - our Lord come". Although we truly experience the presence of Jesus at the moment through the Spirit, the Ascension reminds us that far more is yet to come. Max.