"Galileans, what are you doing standing there staring at the sky?"
Two men dressed in white uttered these words to the apostles as they watched our Lord being lifted up and disappearing from their sight. They had just seen Jesus, as it were, leave the stage of the visible world, and they stood there in awe, gazing upward.
This scene is reminiscent of a famous monologue from the play As You Like It by William Shakespeare: “The whole world is a stage, and all men and women mere actors; they have their entrances and their exits....” In a sense, it might seem that Christ has played his part in the drama of the world and now leaves the stage.
The psalm describes his departure with celebration: “God ascends amidst acclamations; the Lord, to the sound of trumpets”. But this raises an important question: why do we rejoice at the departure of someone we love? We don't normally celebrate when someone leaves our side. So why does the Church celebrate the Ascension with such joy? We certainly don't celebrate because a bad ruler or a tyrant is gone. Quite the contrary. We rejoice because we know where Jesus has gone. Jesus has not simply gone away or disappeared into some distant place beyond the clouds. As St. Paul says to the Ephesians, God the Father raised Christ from the dead and seated him “...in the presence of God".“to his right in heaven".
However, there is another reason for our joy. We rejoice because Jesus trusts us. The Ascension is a feast that celebrates the extraordinary trust that Christ places in his disciples. Jesus is not like a boss who thinks that no one else is capable of continuing his work. In our world, we sometimes find people who refuse to delegate because they believe that no one else can do things as well as they can. But Christ is different. He knows that before Him came others - the prophets who prepared His way - and He also knows that after Him others will come to continue His mission.
Jesus has the courage to step aside. He steps off the stage, so to speak, and hands over the baton to us. And he does not leave us alone. He promises the Holy Spirit, who will guide and strengthen the Church: “The Holy Spirit will guide and strengthen the Church.“you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.".
That is why the angels ask the apostles: “Galileans, what are you doing standing there staring at the sky?”Ascension is not an invitation to stand still and watch the clouds. It is a reminder that the mission has been entrusted to us: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.".
Perhaps today's feast also invites us to learn something about trust. Sometimes we find it hard to believe in others, especially in the new generation. We may think that, without our presence, everything will fall apart. But Christ shows us another way. He teaches us that trusting others is part of God's plan. The mission of the Church continues from generation to generation.
