Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? We commemorate today the feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ into the heavens. And although the image we have of the Ascension is that of departing, of Jesus going away, in reality, the Ascension represents the silent presence of Jesus Christ everywhere in the universe. No longer limited by time and space, Jesus is present in every gathering of his people. He is present among us now, present whenever his people are in need. He is present in our hearts and in our lives. To celebrate this feast today is not to recall a past event — that day long ago ‘when he went up to heaven’ — but to rejoice that Jesus is our living Lord, with us now, leading and guiding us, because he is not tied down to a moment in earthly history. The Ascension of Jesus into heaven took place forty days after the resurrection. It was an event that marked an essential stage in Jesus’ relationship with his followers. The resurrection of Jesus as well as the subsequent post-resurrection appearances had revived the hopes of the disciples. But just as they were getting used to the idea of a resurrected Jesus living in their midst, he was suddenly taken up from their midst. The disciples were not prepared just yet to see Jesus leave them. It was so sudden. It took place in the middle of a conversation. We can argue that Jesus had prepared them for his departure if we have been following the Gospel readings in the last couple of weeks. However, no one is ever prepared for a separation from a loved one. It was not to be easy for the disciples either. Jesus had become one of them. He had walked with them in their moments of strength and of weakness, and now he was leaving them. Still, it was important for the disciples that Jesus departs from them and returns to the Father. As he had often reminded them, it was for their own good that he returns to the Father. The Ascension was to be a guarantee to the disciples of God looking out for them. The Ascension is for us, who commemorate it today, a guarantee of the omnipresence of Jesus. Jesus departed from the disciples when he knew they were ready. It is important that the ascension took place when the events of the holy week were still fresh in their minds. It was important that the ascension brought joy and songs of praise on the lips of the disciples when the events of betrayal, defeat and death were still fresh in their minds. It was important that the ascension take place after Jesus had called and gathered them for a second time after they had lost faith and dispersed. It was important that the ascension take place after Jesus had forgiven them for abandoning him, for only then were they ready to go out and preach the forgiveness of sins. Jesus knew that their preaching of forgiveness would be genuine if it was tied to their own experience of being forgiven. This is the same commissioning we are given today: to go and preach the forgiveness of sins. We can effectively do this if we know that we too have been forgiven. Like the disciples, we too are being sent to bring hope. We can do this only if we have been given hope too. Like the disciples, there have been times when we have been beat up, bruised, betrayed our cause and almost gave up. But then a force from somewhere helped us turn our weakness, our betrayals, and our defeats into gracious moments. The ascension was such a gracious moment. May we draw strength of proclaiming the Gospel from the knowledge that the ascension of Jesus paved the way for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. May this very Holy Spirit descend upon us as we go forth to preach the forgiveness of sins. Amen.