This week we Lectio the Liturgy with the Collect for the Vigil of the Ascension.
O God, whose Son today ascended to the heavens as the Apostles looked on, grant, we pray, that, in accordance with his promise, we may be worthy for him to live with us always on earth, and we with him in heaven. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
The Ascension is an interesting Mystery in the life of Christ to meditate on. As I studied the Collect for the Vigil of the Ascension, I noticed a similar theme found in the Collect for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, which is celebrated by the handful of dioceses who celebrate the Ascension on Thursday.
If your Feast of the Ascension is on Thursday, the Collect you will hear on Sunday, asks that we, who believe that the Savior of the human race is with you in your glory, may experience, as he promised, until the end of the world, his abiding presence among us.
This is the similarity between these two prayers that I’ve been thinking about is this: Jesus is both, on earth as He is in heaven.
Just because Jesus walked on earth, doesn't mean He left heaven. The Trinity is three Persons, yet, they are inseparable; they are one God. In John 5:19, Jesus tells us “a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also.” Jesus was still in full communion with the Father in Heaven while He was on earth.
When Jesus ascended into heaven, He didn’t ascend just spiritually, His glorified earthly body was raised as well. When He ascended, we did, too. In Ephesians 2:5-6, Paul tells us that that God brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved), [and] raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus.
We, too, can experience life on earth as it is in heaven. I would even go so far as to say that this is the life that God has called us to.
We know that heaven’t isn’t a physical place. The cloud Jesus ascended on probably didn’t go to the moon and take a sharp left turn. Heaven is found in the Father. When Jesus ascended into heaven, He ascended into the fullness of God. We won’t experience that fullness until we get there, but Paul calls us to live like we already are there, right where we are.
Paul tells us in Colossians 3:1-2, If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
This week is the time to consider your own lower-case ascension. Distractions, distress, and despair are everywhere. It is so easy to get sucked in, but we, too, are called to be on earth as it is in heaven. We are raised with Him. We are to keep our minds on what is above. We are not people pleading for heaven to come down. We heaven on earth, bringing the Kingdom to those around us.
Don’t let the news, social media, or politics drag you down. Let nothing steal your peace. Live like Jesus did. Let your mind and heart ascend to heavenly places and you, too, will be on earth as you are in heaven.