Have you ever said goodbye to a colleague or a friend who is moving to a new job or new house that will see them leave your close-knit circle? How did you feel? Were you joyful or sad at their departure? One would imagine that unless we did not get along with a colleague we would not be joyful at their leaving! Yet in today’s Gospel that is what we see happening – Jesus leaves his disciples and they are joyful!
We might ask ourselves today “why are the disciples not sad at Jesus leaving them?” The answer is because today, Ascension Day, completes Jesus’ mission among us. It is not an abandonment of the disciples or of us because he remains forever with us. And there is a second reason to be joyful today, because today he promised to send the Holy Spirit upon us to guide us and to gift with us with all that we need to become witnesses to the Gospel here on earth. So today let us rejoice that Jesus is returning to his Father to make way for us to become what he has taught us to be – his disciples here in our time and place.
Karen OSU