The Return Home

Today is the Feast of Ascension, the day on which Jesus Christ returned physically to His Throne in Heaven. It has been forty days since we celebrated His Resurrection but today is no less important than Pascha. Today is the day on which we celebrate our return home to God.

As we state in the Creed, “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” He left His throne to save us, and He returned home to His Throne to save us. His work was not completed until He returned home.

Our salvation is not just that we live forever because of Pascha. Our salvation is that we are sitting on His Throne with Him because of His Ascension. I always like to remind people that being united to God in baptism and chrismation means we are united to Him on His Throne.

That has meaning for us beyond a ‘place’ to sit. God created humanity for communion. Some like to think that Adam and Eve were perfect and ‘saved’ in the Garden. We were created by God with the potential of perfection and union with God. The “Fall” proved we were not ready.

The Feast of Ascension could be considered like a huge family reunion. The Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the Prophets, the Apostles, the Martyrs and Saints, and even you and I, are all sitting with God on His Throne in Heaven.

For Christians, home isn’t the house in which we sleep at night. Home is the Church, the dwelling place of God. Home is the loving embrace of God which welcomes our return every time we repent. Every time we pray and participate in the Sacraments, we are home with God.

All this is possible only because Jesus Christ came to save us and bring us home. We were lost, and He found us hiding in our sins. He came looking for us and brought us home. So, today we celebrate our return home, thankful to God for more than we will ever know.