The Ascended King reigns through the Church in the Sacraments

"God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast" Psalm 47:5

Happy Solemnity of the Ascension!

Today we celebrate the mystery of the Lord's ascension, his "going up" into heaven in His resurrected and glorified body. 

We profess this mystery every Sunday at Mass in the Nicene Creed "He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end." But do we ever meditate on what this means? Why do we ever profess it in the Creed? If Jesus rose from the dead and we believe in the resurrection, isn't that enough? Why is the ascension so important that it is in the creed?

The mystery of the ascension is the crowning event of our salvation. In the incarnation, God become one with humanity in the person of Jesus Christ and shares our human nature. In the crucifixions, Jesus dies and takes all of our sins upon Himself. Death takes the bait and tries to swallow him up, but as St Maximus the Confessor teaches, death by trying to swallow Jesus is now destroyed by His divinity. Through the mystery of the Hypostatic Union (the union Divine and human nature in one person) - this means that by taking away our sins in His physical body and destroying death in the resurrection, that now our bodies are able to be free from sin and death. We share in His resurrection, through our union with Him in baptism, because we are now one with Him. 

But this is not the end... there is more!

In the ascension, Jesus is now bodily glorified and enthroned at the right hand of the Father. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead (Apostles Creed). So our bodies will also be raised one day and brought to heaven. Jesus goes before us to the Father, and will come back for us and bring us with him. He is preparing a place for us right now (John 14:2) and when the time comes, he will return with trumpet blast at the Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas both make the connection from the 2nd Reading we have in Ephesians today, that in the ascension, Christ is now the Head of the Church, and we as his Body here on earth in the Church will come to share in His enthronement and glorification next to the Father (Ephesians 1:20-24). So through our baptism and union with Christ, we are not only Children of God, but we are also members of Christs Body which is the Church. So as His members, we will share in everything He has gained for us - resurrection, glorified bodies, eternal life, victory over sin, heaven, and Divine Indwelling of the Trinity.  

Is there any wonder why today in the Responsorial Psalm, we repeat the words "God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord." Because Christ himself has now taken His throne, and ascended to the Father. He has now been exalted, had all things put under his feet and is the ruler - the Head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22). His victory is now complete and he takes his place prepared for him from the foundation of the world (Psalm 110:1-5, Ephesians 1:4-6).

So if Jesus is now reigning in Heaven as the head of the Church, what about us now here below? Didn't He promise us in the Gospel to be with us always until the end of time? (Matthew 28:20). This is where the importance of the Sacraments come in!  

Many of the Church Fathers made the connection that through the Sacraments, Jesus is still present in the Church in a mysterious but physical way. This is how Jesus keeps the promise of always being with us and not leaving us orphans, although he is now seated in glory at the right hand of the Father. 

Now some of you may think that the emphasis on Jesus being physically with us in the Sacraments and linking this to the ascension, in some way tries to deny the physicality of the resurrection and is some new age wishy washy teaching! I myself used to be skeptical of this, until I read the 1st reading in the Office of Readings today that says "He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things" (Ephesians 4:10).  

Pope St Leo the Great also makes this connection of Jesus still physically being present to us in the Sacraments, but in a mysterious way. This is why He promised the Gift of the Holy Spirit who will Comfort us, and lead us into the Truth (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is present in the Church as its very soul, giving us life and power ever since Pentecost.

This is why the Gospel today ends with Jesus telling the Apostles to go baptise, and then ends with the promise of always being with them. The Church has the mission from Christ to continue His work of salvation, bringing people into His Body the Church, offering them salvation and new life. It is precisely through the Sacraments that Jesus remains present with us and among us, so long as we are united in His Name and in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the gift and seal, the promise of Jesus that guarantees He is with us still (2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit is the one who continues to be the Lord and Giver of Life as we profess in the Nicene Creed. The Holy Spirit vivifies and sanctifies us in the Church, and this is done primarily through the power of the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments. Just as Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and became man, so too Jesus continues to remain physically with us through the guarantee and power of the Holy Spirit. 

Just as the Church is the Body of Christ, it is also the beginning of the Kingdom of God on earth. Our King is Jesus Christ, the Shepherd King of Love. So Christ reigns in His Kingdom and is present at all times in His Sacraments, making each and everyone of us coheirs with Himself. This is the gift of what we remember and celebrate today at the Ascenion. As with anything we celebrate liturgically - it is not just a past of historical event. But through the Holy Spirit in the Church, what we celebrate liturgically is a life giving reality that we participate. It is something that we also take part in and receive the blessings from. 

In Baptism we died with Christ, in His Resurrection we have Risen from the dead - and in His Ascension we are raised up to heaven with Him. (Colossians 3:1-4, 1 Timothy 2:11, Romans 6:3-11, Ephesians 2:6)

So today, let us shout for joy and sing praises. Let us acclaim with the Psalm that the Lord has mounted His throne to songs of praise. Let Jesus be enthroned in our hearts as we participate at Mass, sharing in the mystery of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. Becoming one with the Risen Christ, so that united with Him, when He comes again in glory for us He will recognise us as His own.