SOLEMN FEAST OF THE LORD’S ASCENSION A
HEAVEN, I’M IN HEAVEN…
MT. 28:16-20
MESSAGE
“On the third day he rose again; he ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” Heaven is a very attractive topic, ever since the Lord Jesus was said to have returned to it after his earthly life. Just recall the songs that use heaven as its main theme: Stairway to Heaven, Just Like Heaven, Knocking on Heaven’s Door, Tears in Heaven… “Heaven, I’m in heaven; and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak; and I seem to find the happiness I seek; when we’re out together dancing cheek to cheek.” This last one is from the 1930’s, imagine!
But what is this heaven that took Jesus in after the world rejected him? First of all, it is a place, but not one that we imagine a place to be. It is not a location where you find huddled together the angels, saints and good people, eternally playing harps and sitting on clouds. It is a place of encounter in love. Heaven is the place for those who knew love and lived love. There is no selfishness and hatred in heaven.
Second, heaven is a handclasp, a hand-in-hand or arm-in-arm. Yes, heaven brings persons together because it is an experience of unity, communion, closeness. Jesus is in perfect communion with the Father and the Spirit and those who follow Jesus to heaven are persons who lived their lives in intimacy with God and solidarity with others.
Third, heaven is a gift. Nobody can claim heaven. No one can manufacture it nor produce it with their own power. We wait for heaven to be given to us because it is pure grace. We do not deserve it, and yet God opens the door, and the door is the Lord Jesus his Son. As with all gifts, we need only to be willing to receive, and to leave behind all that will hinder the gift to reach us.
REFLECT
Because heaven is an encounter in love, an experience of unity, and a gift, then we can start to experience it while living on earth. Let us ask the Lord for the grace to live closer to heaven each day by living lives of love and service.
