By Roxane B. Salonen

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” ~ Acts 1:11

In today’s first reading, we are reminded that, after spending forty days with His apostles following His death and Resurrection, Jesus is about to return to the Father.

In a rather dramatic moment, just after He’d been conversing with His apostles, out of the blue, Jesus is lifted up in a cloud. His shocked friends, watching Him disappear, suddenly realize that “two men … in white robes” are standing beside them. 

The strangers ask them why they’re looking into the sky, explaining that Jesus is gone but will return again “in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Grandma Betty’s saying

This reading brings my mind back to the funeral homily for my Grandma Betty in 2016, when Monsignor Thomas Richter highlighted Grandma’s favorite saying, “Keep your chin up!”

What Grandma wanted to convey, of course, was that we need to look on the bright side of life. But Monsignor assigned an even deeper meaning to her frequent pronouncement, intimating that what Grandma was really saying was, “Don’t stop looking up; that’s where the good stuff is.”

For years now, I have been looking up rather intently. At some point in my adult life, I began noticing the sky—a lot. First it was the sunsets, then the different formations of clouds, then the Northern Lights. The sky is so curious and awe-evoking; it must be so even for the non-believer. We humans can’t help but be inspired when we look up.

An eternal perspective

But I wonder if Monsignor wasn’t right to suggest that there’s something more here than just an optimistic attitude. Our whole faith is based on the hopeful view of eternal life. Knowing this, and seeking it, changes everything for the better. 

We need to keep our heads in the clouds for that reason, but God sent messengers to the apostles to remind them that, for now, they also had to focus on the horizontal; to notice those in their midst who needed them here and now. 

In other words, there’s still work to be done before we can truly enjoy the beatific vision. 

It’s not always easy to bring our gaze down to earth. It can be scary to feel that, if we do, God is no longer with us. But the Incarnation, and the Ascension that we celebrate today, remind us that that’s just not true. 

Even when we can no longer see God clearly, we can take our eyes out of the clouds because of what we hear in today’s Gospel. It is a sublime and comforting assurance; one that has given me great hope in times of uncertainty—a promise Jesus himself gives us, as recorded in Matthew 28:20: “And lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

Remembering that even though Jesus has returned to the Father for now, He is still with us in a very real way, gives us the confidence to live our lives with courage and purpose. 

We are not alone; thanks be to God.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, some of Your ways don’t make sense to me, but I know that every word You uttered and every action You enacted while on earth was purposeful and meant to help orient us to the True North: You. Help me to never take my eyes off of You, whether I’m gazing horizontally or vertically.   

Call to Action:

Do you love sky gazing? The next time you’re looking upward at the celestial mysteries, invite someone—your child, a neighbor, a friend—to gaze along with you. And when you’re peering into the far-off heavens, remember what Jesus said about being with us always, and know that He is, as the song “Communion” says, “closer than our skin.” 

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