He Was Lifted Up Before Their Eyes
“For the Souls in Purgatory – Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord”
Acts 1:9-11
When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?’
Grace Prayed For
Lord, lift our hearts and our hope toward where you are — not away from earth, but rooted in earth and reaching for the fullness where you have gone before us.
Reflection
The disciples stood there looking up. It is a completely understandable response — and the angels are not harsh in their gentle redirection. They simply name what is happening: the standing and staring is not the assignment. The one who has ascended will return. In the meantime, there is a mission.
The Ascension is one of the less-observed feasts of the Christian year, and this is a loss. It is the completion of the Incarnation — not the reversal of it. The Son of God does not leave his humanity behind when he ascends; he takes it with him into the Father’s presence. The throne of God now has a human being on it. Our nature has been elevated to the right hand of the Father.
This is the meaning of the Ascension for prayer: we have, in Jesus, a High Priest who has passed through the heavens, who intercedes for us from within the experience of being human. Our prayers do not rise toward an alien God who observes our struggles from infinite altitude. They rise to the one who has wept at a grave, been betrayed by a friend, been exhausted and hungry, and has now carried all of that into the Father’s presence on our behalf.
The disciples were told not to stand staring at the sky. But before they turned back to Jerusalem, they had to see where he went. There is a place prepared. There is a Priest interceding. There is a Lord who will return.
Now there is work to do. Not instead of the hope — but energized by it.
Why are you standing here looking at the sky? There is a city waiting, and a mission, and a Spirit who is coming.
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Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post