Christ is not absent from the world

The Ascension of the Lord

The solemnity of the Ascension draws our focus back to seeing Christ with the eyes of our hearts. With Thomas on the Second Sunday of Easter, we trained our eyes to see Christ’s presence in the wounds that his risen body still bore and in the mercy and care that the members of his body give to those in need.

On the road to Emmaus, we fixed our gaze upon the stranger walking beside us and in them recognized Christ ever before us, even in his absence. And today, with the disciples who followed him throughout Galilee to the cross in Jerusalem, we direct our attention not to the heavens but to the ends of the earth, where we have been sent to go and make disciples.

From the beginning of his mission, Jesus was always on the move, found in the streets, the neighborhood homes, the marketplaces, and the temple. To be Christian is to follow his footsteps, to find him never in one place but to be on the go, taking his message of hope to where it needs to be heard.

For Christ is not absent from the world. Through the sacraments we celebrate, joined to Christ by the Spirit, we are now his presence. When others see us and encounter our joy and care, there they should also see Christ.