Please read this passage before reading the homily.
My sisters and brothers,
Today we celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the Lord to the glory of the Father.
At his birth Jesus was called Emmanuel, a Hebrew name meaning God-is-with-us. At his ascension, Jesus promised to remain with us “always even to the end of the world. At his ascension Jesus is still Emmanuel, God-with-us. Christ went away, but he is always with us in his Church.
The disciples went away to Galilee and met Jesus on the mount where Jesus has preached the Beatitudes. The start of his public life and the start of the ministry of the Church are from the same place (according to Matthew). The ministry of the Church and the ministry of Christ is one and the same.
Jesus went up the mountain as Moses had gone up the mountain at the end of his life. There Moses had a vision of the future greatness of his people, and there Jesus could see all the lands of the earth baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Jesus fulfilled the vision and hope of Moses perfectly.
After the exile, Cyrus, king of Persia, sent the Israelites back to rebuild the temple that was in Jerusalem, because God was with them. After his resurrection, Jesus, king of the universe, sends his disciples out to build his Church, which is the new temple of his glory in all the places of the world.
The mission of Christ is the same mission as the Church’s: Go, make disciples, people who would obey the voice of the Father. Those who are disciples will know that Jesus is Emmanuel, God-with-us.
The ascension of Jesus is the entry into the Promised Land that Moses saw from a distance and that Jesus has glorified by his ascension. The ascension of Jesus is the continuation of the presence of Jesus in his Church. Emmanuel: God-is-with-us.