Peace be with you!
The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord that we celebrate this weekend completes a full circle of faith for us. When the Son of God became incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation, the foretold restoration of fallen humanity had begun. In the person of Jesus who is fully God and fully human, we recognize the union of mankind with God; the marriage of human nature with divine nature. Jesus’ mission was to reconcile mankind with God but the love and intimacy in the way God chose to do this—by becoming human is good beyond our imagining! God was not satisfied that we should know Jesus as the one who suffered and died to take away our sins: our Redeemer, our Rescuer, our Savior. This was not enough! Jesus raised his human body from the tomb of death and showed himself to the disciples—fully alive! He reveals the resurrection to new life. Jesus shows us that a sinner does not have to die in sin but through him may find forgiveness and a completely new life. But even more than this, Jesus takes his human body to heaven where it is enthroned at the “right hand of the Father”! Just sit back and contemplate this event. Let the shock of God’s exaltation of human nature sink in to your heart and mind! Jesus changed human status from broken, fallen and condemned, to wholeness, holiness, exalted and enthroned at God’s right hand! Additionally, we are not separate from God as individual persons but perfectly united and one with God! This union does not destroy or eliminate our individual identity but rather augments and completes it because in it, we become fully who we are, united to each other and to God. I hope that everyone can feel the confidence of love and trust that God is extending to each person. Once this invitation is understood and accepted, we will no longer doubt or stand looking up into the sky. We will work together diligently to make disciples of all nations, bringing them to the waters of regeneration in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It is time to pray for the outpouring of the Spirit that we may be builders of the great and eternal kingdom! God bless you all! +++ Fr. Peter
