Jesus said to his disciples:
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you;
but stay in the city
until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany,
raised his hands, and blessed them.
As he blessed them he parted from them
and was taken up to heaven.
They did him homage
and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
and they were continually in the temple praising God.

As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.

Today we celebrate the ascension of our lord into heaven. I want to focus on two things in today’s reflection, first is the word “taken” and second the “direction” in which the Lord Jesus was taken. There is much exegesis that needs to be explained here so that we can get to the heart of what is actually happening, and to better understand the full significance of the ascension.

First, this passage today reads “he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.” The word “taken” here is sadly very confusing. Does this mean that God the Father lifted Him up, does it mean Jesus lifted Himself up? Or does it mean something else? It is very important here that we not take the english translated words as the definitive. Translations are difficult things and languages change and evolve over time. But words, when translated, are chosen for very specific reason and those reasons can vary from author to author. And while we can debate as to whether or not the right word was chosen, when we find ourselves confused by scripture we should not immediately assume that what is written is the literal word of God, and instead read other translations and dig more deeply into what the original writer actual intended us to understand.

So to fully understand what is being written here, we must explore the etymology of the words to learn their full meaning. If you look up the greek word that “taken” is translated from, it is “anaphereto”. This word’s full definition is to “carry something through its sequences, to reach its needed consummation.” Further the common usage of this word in greek is to (a) carry up, lead up, or (b) offer up (on a high altar) as a sacrifice, or to offer up to God on high. The word in this later context makes a lot of sense because it means first, that it is a action that Jesus is doing, it is something being done by Himself to Himself, not something being done to Him, and second that it is a word that connotes consummation and priestly sacrifice. These are all things that are distinctive to the person of Jesus, and unique to this moment in time.

Second we have the ascension itself. Have you ever wondered why God ascends into heaven. We learned earlier in the Passion that Jesus descends into Sheol to save the souls waiting there. But why down to hell and up to Heaven?  Have you ever pondered that question? The first answer is that it seems most natural to us. When we look up we see the marvels of God’s creation, the trees, and mountains, and sunsets, and the sun, the moon and the stars. When we grow we move upward. When we sing our hearts are lifted up, and even when we ponder and think about the mysteries of the world our eyes instinctually glance upward. On the other hand when we die, we go into the ground, when we are afraid, we cower and shrink, and when we are sad or ashamed our eyes look down to the ground. Everything about our lived experience expresses these natural reactions.

But I think that there is still more to it than just that. On a spiritual level, connection between souls depends on looking outward and upward, and division instead causes us to selfishly look inward and down. Our souls are most fulfilled when we think of ourselves less and instead focus on others more, and our souls are most broken when we only think about ourselves, and neglect or even persecute others. And that fact is most true when we to relate to God Himself, in heaven. That is why our churches have high ceilings, and that is why the altar is placed on high above everyone else in the room, and that is why the incense and music and bells are used… to elevate our senses, and that is why we should be on our knees when we receive the eucharist from hand of God’s divine mercy.

So with all that being said, why is the ascension important. For this we have to go back to the Garden of Eden. When God created man, He created them perfect and without sin. But they “fell” from that grace. They chose themselves and their own will over what God had willed for them. Their sin would cause sickness and disease, it would cause sadness and suffering, and it would lead ultimately to the death of the body, and even death of the soul for some that would die in hatred of God.

When Jesus was incarnated, in the womb of Mary, He came to restore what was lost in the fall of man. In His sacrifice on the cross He would restore what was lost by Adam’s original sin. In Jesus’ obedience He would reverse what was lost by Adam‘s disobedience. The consequences of Adams fall were threefold… man lost fellowship with God, the hope of eternal life, and gift of God’s grace. The ascension is significant because it is the consummation of His mission and the restoration of all of those gifts. In the ascension He show us that His passion is now complete and that He has restored our relationship with God and we are now able to find communion with Him again through the eucharist. By ascending with His body, He opened the gates of heaven and showed us that our bodies are a good thing, created by God, intended for our happiness and joy, and which are necessary for our full happiness in heaven. And in the ascension, He brought His time in this world to an end, and sends us the the holy spirit to work in our souls and bring us the grace of God that we need to convert from our sins, and turn to the Lord.

And so we come to the end of this passage and the end of the Gospel of Luke. It concludes with the apostles looking into heaven, and two angels come and ask them what are you looking at. This seems funny at first because the answer is obvious, Jesus our Lord is leaving us. But that is not the answer the Angels are looking for. They are essentially saying to the apostles, “don’t you understand what just happened? Jesus has just handed over to you His church, and charged you with the job of saving souls, why are still here? It is now time for you to get busy, and go out into the whole world, proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord and baptizing souls in the name of the Father, and or the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Get to work!”

And that is the message for us as well. We are not to look to the sky’s waiting for His return. But instead, we are to be about the work of bringing souls to the lord and using our knowledge of the scriptures to slay error. So I ask you “what are you looking at?” Are you focused on your life or your job, or your phone? Or are you about the work of saving souls? This is our call too, we need to learn to listen to the voice of the holy spirt, we need to learn our faith and teach it to our spouses and children, and be about the work of staying close to the Lord, through frequent participation of the sacraments of eucharist, reconciliation and anointing of the sick. And by doing so, we prepare ourselves for the end, and for our eternal disposition…, either in heaven or in hell.  I sincerely hope you choose Heaven!

Oh lord thank you for giving me the ability to explore your word and to more fully understand what it is that you want to teach me. Help me to understand all your mysteries more completely, and give me the wisdom to choose eternity with you in Heaven.