Acts 1:1-11 / Ephesians 1:17-23 / Luke 24:46-53
In this feast of the Ascension, it is understandable if we were to visualize or imagine Jesus ascending and going back to heaven.
We are even more inclined to think that Jesus is up there now, waiting for us to join Him eventually.
As the disciples watched Jesus ascending into heaven, the last they saw of Him were probably the soles of His feet.
And as He disappeared from their sight, it was back to life and back to reality, with their own feet on the ground.
But it is no more the same ground that they used to tread on.
Because where once Jesus walked with them, now He is no more with them.
And we share that same feeling with the disciples. Since Jesus had already ascended into heaven, we may also think that He is absent from us.
And after a while, we may get used to this absence, and we may forget that there is something more important in this life.
We forget that while we are living in the temporary, we are also heading towards eternity.
Yes, we may get so absorbed in the things of earth, that we forget all about the things above.
But all these are just consequences of thinking or feeling that Jesus is absent from us.
But this feast of the Ascension prepares us for a deeper presence of Jesus, a presence brought about by the Holy Spirit.
Today is the beginning of the Church’s Novena – 9 days of intense prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
In these days of prayer, we reflect about the temporary and about eternity.
We reflect about the things of earth and about the things above.
More importantly, we prepare our hearts to receive the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the power from on high that Jesus promised to send to the disciples and to us.
Our prayer for the next 9 days can be just these three simple words: Come, Holy Spirit.
With the power of the Holy Spirit, we will feel Jesus being present with us and walking with us.
And indeed, the ground that we are standing on will not be same again. Because it will be our mission ground as we go forth to be witnesses of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
So let us rejoice and pray and wait to be clothed with power from on high.