Fulfillment of God’s Promise

Jesus said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”

The celebration of Ascension can evoke some strangeness within us. Jesus goes away to heaven, and why is this cause for a celebration, and not sadness? Isn’t Jesus going to be absent, then?

No, Jesus is not going to be absent. But he is going to be present in a new way: more powerful than before. Technically, he is not going away, but he will be present in a concrete, precise way. Jesus will be present in the Eucharist, the memorial-meal that he had instituted before he suffered and died. He is going to be present in and as the Word of God. He will be present in those people, even if they are two or three, who are gathered in his name. Jesus will be present in the Church, he being the Head and the Church being the Body of Christ. He will be present in and through His Spirit. Jesus’ presence is not going to be restricted to Israel, but opened up to the whole universe. (Historical becomes trans-historical. Particular becomes universal.)

Therefore, the ascension is not about absence but a celebration of the new presence of Jesus. The fullness of his Godhead is revealed in today’s solemnity. He is going to be seated at the right hand of the Father, that is, he is God from ever, for ever—revealed and manifested fully in the Paschal Mystery of his Passion, Death, Resurrection, Ascension and the Pentecostal outpouring—and its culmination will be experienced in the Second Coming of Jesus.

So, when will be experiencing his glorious and visible “Coming” of Jesus? Will it be end of history? Will it be the end of the world and the universe? God the Father is in charge of times and seasons. As Jesus instructs, it is not for us to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. We wait. We allow God to have His way. It is not upto us, but it is all upto Him.

How to live ascension in our daily lives?

When we meet with suffering or misfortune, we don’t give up hope. Sometimes we could become dejected based on factors we cannot control: the destructive choices of a spouse or child, the state of the economy or politics and its effect on our lives. But we don’t give up hope. We know that life will be restored to us, in one way or another. This is ascension in our lives.

And we go about like Jesus, making very convincing signs of new life within us. We plant seeds and hope they will grow. We take off the clothing of mourning and put on a fresh shirt, get a haircut or do a facial. We gather with friends whom we have put off visiting when we were beset with sadness. We reach out to offer our help, after so long being on the receiving end of sympathy. When new life comes to us, it is unmistakable and uplifting to everyone around us. It is an ascension of body and spirit. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise. As we live our hope, we will surely see that God’s promise is already being fulfilled.

“In the time after his suffering Jesus showed them in many convincing ways that he was alive.” Let us try this. Let us also show that Jesus is alive in our lives.