The Ascension of Jesus can seem to some people like a gratuitous and mythological oddity, and so we rarely speak about it. We often get stuck wondering what it looked like. Did Jesus "really" float on clouds? We would do well to stop worrying about the physical character of this flight, especially as the physicality of the risen Jesus is like nothing we have ever experienced. In Luke's account of the event, the angels even chide the apostles themselves, “why are you standing there looking at the sky?” The point is not really what Jesus physically looked like in this moment, or how we should today try to imagine this unimaginably unique human experience. The point - and the heart of the Christian claim - is that a new form of human existence began with the Resurrection of Jesus, a way of being embodied that doesn’t suffer physical limitations when it comes to our powers to know and to love. This new humanity, the flesh of Jesus, now sits at the right hand of God to rule all history.
Enjoy the homily! Here are the readings:
Readings: May 21, 2023 (Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20)