This coming Sunday in the Solemnity of the Ascension taken from the Gospel of Mark: 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. 20 But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.”

The writer of the longer ending then records the Ascension. This final verse of the long ending notes the fulfillment of the commission, in that the disciples obeyed the call of 16:15 by preaching the gospel. Furthermore, what Jesus predicted would happen (16:17–18) was now happening—the Lord was confirming the disciples’ work with many miraculous signs.

And a final thought

Not that it is a valid question, but, if you have to “rank” the importance of the Ascension when compared to the Resurrection and Pentecost, where would it fall? I suspect many people would reply, “they’re all important!” Rather like asking a mother which ones of her children she loves the most.

But here is a final thought for your consideration.

The cross brings the story of the Incarnation to a close. If the Incarnation, humanly speaking, is the beginning of life, then surely the cross is the moment of death. But is that the conclusion of the purpose of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Doesn’t the story continue? Yes, the One who came from the Father necessarily returns to the Father.  Just as he descended from heaven (cf. John 1), so Jesus ascends, returning to the Father. The return to the Father makes new life possible for the believing community because Jesus’ ascent to God renders permanent what was revealed about God during the Incarnation. The love of God embodied in Jesus was not of temporary duration, lasting only as long as this earthly life. Rather the story concluding in the Ascension is the fulfillment of the Covenant and makes the Kingdom of God a reality – a new and full relationship with God, a fresh possibility of life as children of God. A life of lasting joy.

Credit image: detail from “The Ascension” (1775) by John Singleton Copley | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | PD-US