We think of Jesus ascending to heaven as through he left us -- “retired”. But Jesus promised the disciples, “I’m going away and I’m coming back to you.” He wasn’t talking about coming back at the end of the world. He was talking about coming back after he had gone through death to the other side, to a transformed human existence, ascended to heaven, and sent his own Spirit to be with us and close to us.
Now that is a beautiful teaching.
Sometimes I may think that because Jesus ascended, he’s left me. But Jesus is able to come back to me and be with me, closer than he could be with the disciples when they were traveling with him. That’s because when he sent them off in different directions, he couldn’t go with each of them. He was limited by time and space, as we are. But now having gone through death to a transformed human life, Jesus can be close with each of us – not just alongside us but in the Spirit. He’s there to be on our side, with us. The last words of today’s Gospel – “And behold I am with you all days, even to the end of the age.” – are to console us, to protect us, to help us, to heal us, to give us comfort.
It’s great news.
We use many images for God because God is way beyond anything we can think of. We talk of God as a shepherd. God’s not a shepherd, but God is like a shepherd because God takes care of the flock. God is a rock. God’s not a rock, but God is solid. We use the image of Father. God’s not a father. God’s not a man.
On this day, think of the image of God as a loving grandparent, because grandparents love their grandchildren. Grandparents, even if we do something wrong, understand. And in some way they manage always to be on our side.
Always.
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