Holy days/feasts: Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Readings: Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11; Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23; Luke 24:46-53

“MATTER IS ANYTHING that has mass and takes up space.” We learn that fundamental definition of the physical universe in grade school. For those of us who like to keep up on the latest scientific discoveries, we also know that matter has yet to be completely defined. First we thought all matter was made up of molecules; then atoms; then particles; then protons, neutrons, and electrons; and now it’s down to quarks, leptons, and neutrinos. Scientists keep hoping they’ve reached the smallest, most elementary particle, but somehow they’re able to divide matter just once more.

As for the origins of all this matter floating around in space, physicists are now leaning toward a theory of the universe that doesn’t include a big bang, but merely a was-is-and-always-shall-be theory of matter. I happen to like that theory. It sounds a lot like god-talk (“Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”), and it helps me understand Jesus’ ascension. Here’s why:

Matter, which we theists believe is of God’s making and we Christians believe is good because it issues from God—in fact, is glorified by God through Jesus—has apparently been around forever and will continue to be around forever, according to current scientific theory. That sounds to me like scientists have made a pretty strong case for what Jesus was trying to tell us all along: That God has always existed and will continue to exist forever, and that human beings have their origins and destiny in this ever-existing God. In other words, we come from God and are meant to return to God.
 

If we honor our divine natures and live true to ourselves, we will live forever, but first we must die. Death, as Jesus taught us, is the first step toward transformation to new and glorified life."

If we honor our divine natures and live true to ourselves, we will live forever, but first we must die. Death, as Jesus taught us, is the first step toward transformation to new and glorified life. Think of the small deaths we each endure daily that continue to transform us—watching ourselves age and our children grow; admitting our faults and accepting forgiveness; facing our limitations and receiving help. Surely death, as the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin noted, can be looked on as a friend.

Self-destruction, on the other hand, is what happens if we deny our divinely inspired humanity. Scientists might call this becoming our “anti-selves”—our complete opposites, which can negate who we are or who God wants us to be. As physicist Stephen Hawking warns in A Brief History of Time, “If you meet your anti-self, don’t shake hands! You would both vanish in a great flash of light.”

Jesus' death led to his resurrection and then ascension. The ascension is the pièce de resistance in Jesus’ banquet of hope. First through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus proves to us that our lives—with all the hurts, disappointments, and injustices—are not in vain. Then through his ascension we are given the promise that our lives, minus the heartache, will never end.

Our beings, Jesus assures us, are so connected with the make-up and maker of the universe that if we follow God’s path of love and justice, we, too, will ascend into the mystery of the universe and be enfolded in the love of our everlasting God. Because of Jesus’ ascension, “we become the most sublime of materialists,” says theologian Karl Rahner. The Ascension confirms our sacred origins and that of all matter, including the smallest of smallest particles.