Jesus remains with us always

As they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight (Acts 1:9). This description of Jesus’ Ascension into heaven unfolds in the opening chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. In a final and dramatic vision of his resurrected body, Jesus leaves his disciples in awe and wonder as his crucified and risen body now enters divine glory.

A full-page illustration of the Ascension of Christ from the late 6^_th century is an exquisite example of early Christian art offered here as a visual Gospel for our contemplation. The illuminated miniature is from a well-known manuscript known as the Rabbula Gospels, named after the monk Rabbula, who copied the text in the Beth Zagba monastery near Apamea, Syria. While scholars debate the date and the provenance of the text and its collection of illuminated miniatures, there is general agreement that this 6^_th-century masterpiece is a unique testament to the art that flourished in Syria at that time. This miniature invites us to ponder Jesus’ journey to his heavenly Father and its meaning for the journey of our spiritual life.

The descent and ascent of God

“He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” These words of the Creed professed each Sunday invite the ­question—why were the apostles given this final vision of Jesus’ Ascension?

The Ascension of Jesus into heaven is closely linked to his descent from heaven in the mystery of his Incarnation. As the Catechism notes, only the One who “came from the Father” can return to the Father: Christ Jesus. “No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man” (661; cf. Jn 16:28; Jn 3:13). The divine movement that begins in God, the inner life of the Trinity, unfolds in an “exitus-reditus” (exit and return), a theme conveyed by theologians who speak of creation coming from God and returning to God through divine incarnate love.

Jesus’ Ascension draws his earthly life and saving mission to a victorious conclusion. The central mystery of Christian faith—the Incarnation of God in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus’ life, death, and Resurrection—is brought to perfect fulfillment as he ascends into heaven.

A master miniaturist

This dramatic event is brought to life in exquisite detail and rich color by the miniaturist who painted the illuminated pages of the Rabbula Gospels. This scene, found toward the end of the manuscript, is one of four full-page illustrations showing the Crucifixion and Resurrection, the Ascension, Christ enthroned with four monks, and Pentecost.

The scene is divided into two registers, evoking the heavenly and earthly realms that Jesus unites in the fullness of his divinity and humanity. In the lower realm, two groups of disciples look up to heaven with lively facial expressions and dramatic gestures. They point our gaze to Jesus as if to invite us to share in this sacred moment with eyes of faith. Two haloed angels point the disciples to Jesus’ movement to his heavenly Father. And at the center of the lower register is the Mother of God, robed in blue, with her serene face framed by a golden halo rimmed in blue. She lifts both hands in the gesture of prayer and joyful praise to God at the fulfillment of her divine Son’s earthly mission.

Directly above the Blessed Virgin Mary is the radiant figure of Jesus enclosed in an oval halo that encircles his resurrected body. His dark beard and flowing hair echoe depictions of Christ as the source of divine wisdom and eternal power found in early Christian iconography. Four angels float around the ascending Christ whose divine mission they serve. The crowns the angels hold indicate the heavenly glory that awaits Jesus. With his left hand, Jesus points to the tomb from which he has risen, and with his right hand he points to where he will abide with his heavenly Father. Jesus’ right foot extends to touch a multi-winged angel who is surrounded by the traditional artistic symbols of the four evangelists, namely a lion, an ox, an eagle, and a man.

I am with you always

Jesus’ Ascension, as depicted by the miniaturist of the Rabbula Gospels, invites our confidence, hope, and joy in the faithful promises of God. The risen Jesus does not leave his apostles, or us, alone in this world with its empty promises and illusory paths to happiness. We are created for union with God in the person of his divine son, Jesus, now seated with the Father, whose hand descends below the angel.

We were created for nothing less than friendship with God. This truth of faith is conveyed in the solemn blessing prayed at the end of Mass for the Solemnity of the Ascension: “May Almighty God bless you, for on this very day his Only Begotten Son pierced the heights of heaven and unlocked for you the way to ascend to where he is.”

As we grow each day in friendship with God, our lives open to the overflowing generosity of God’s grace. The gift of divine grace transforms us, making us ever more like God, in whose image we were created and who desires our full human flourishing.

Our destiny is a glorious one—to be one with Jesus Christ, “the center and principal actor of the liturgy that honors the Father in heaven” (CCC 662). In response to this gift of faith we give daily witness as missionary disciples, with living hope and unshakeable joy for the kingdom that will have no end. Then the blessing for the Solemnity of the Ascension becomes a reality: “And may you who believe he is seated with the Father in his majesty know with joy the fulfillment of his promise to stay with you until the end of time.”

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Jem Sullivan
Teaches catechetics in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America and is the author of Believe, Celebrate, Live, Pray: A Weekly Retreat with the Catechism (Our Sunday Visitor)

The Ascension of Christ (586), Master of the Rabbula Gospels (6^_th c.), Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Florence, Italy. © Alinari / Bridgeman Images.