Dr Augustin Sokolovski
Preachers often speak of the Ascension as a sorrowful event. As if the Apostles were left in a state of confusion and bewilderment, going through a period of repentance during the ten days between the Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is not the case at all.
The Ascension is a glorious event. It is the culmination of a great achievement that is both divine and human. Indeed, if we think in terms of metaphysics—that is, a kind of philosophy beyond philosophy—then everything becomes clear. God became man, was glorified, and ascended into Heaven.
But if we set aside metaphysics—which is, after all, a human construct—it becomes far from obvious that the Almighty, the Great, Boundless God, having become human, will lead this human life successfully: He will not destroy human nature, will not overstep human boundaries, will not be capricious or irritable, will not sink into indignation, nor, conversely, will He remain indifferent and submissive to any circumstances. Outside the realm of metaphysics, anything could have happened.
But it turned out that even this was, in fact, inconceivable. For man was originally created in the image of God, and God is the true archetype of every human being—and thus the future of humanity—so that this compatibility between God and man was revealed in a most excellent way. The union of God and man in Jesus Christ proved to be amazing and magnificent. God is the future of humanity; The Ascension is the mystery of the great compatibility between God and man.
In Jesus, true humanity was revealed: there is no one more beautiful, more wonderful, more kind, more magnificent, more blessed, more joyful, or more religious and devout. The culmination of this reality was realized in the Ascension. For the Lord Jesus not only rose from the dead, but, having gathered around Himself His original Church—the Apostles and the Myrrh-bearing Women—He blessed them and ascended.
Jesus ascended in glory. Let us imagine: He ascended in glory. Our beloved Teacher, the Lord Jesus, ascended in glory. Lightly and freely, like a bird, like the eagle of biblical symbolism found on coats of arms and emblems, yet with human dignity, magnificently and solemnly, He ascended into Heaven. He did not simply rise and ascend, but, as the Scriptures and the Creed testify, He ascended into Heaven and sat down at the right hand of God’s majesty in Heaven. This means that a human heart beats within God. This is the eternal truth and the dogma of the Christian faith.
For believers, this is a stark warning. For we are unable to truly be human beings; we are in no way able to truly embody our humanity. For example, we are dissatisfied with our age. We would like to live in a different era or time period. Those with overly liberal values would like to live in an era of great freedoms, while the more conservative among us would like to be incarnated in the Middle Ages. The other cannot become human, because he constantly behaves like an animal. Not because animals are bad in any way. On the contrary, they are properly incarnated because they humbly conform to what God intended for them.
The Church, as the Community of Believers, asks God to send us the Holy Spirit so that we may truly become flesh, that we may become authentic human beings. For only through true incarnation and humanization will a person be able, at the end of history, at the Second Coming, to ascend worthily and dwell with God in Heaven, where the Lord Jesus already dwells in glory and constantly intercedes for us, as our Friend and Brother, so that what was accomplished in Him may be accomplished in us. Christ has ascended into Heaven!