I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life
14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; [1] believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? [2] 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (Gospel of John, ESV Bible).
Take a fresh look at this text from what we call the “Upper Room Discourse”; the intimate conversation Jesus had with his disciples, following the inauguration of the New Covenant and just before he went out to his enemies to be crucified.
What did Jesus mean when he said,” I go to prepare a place”?
Why was it necessary that he ascend into heaven for the duration of this present age? What is he accomplishing in his new role at the “right hand of the Father?” These are very important questions to meditate on and see what answers you can come up with in the Biblical narrative. You can start by reading Revelation 5 and get the heavenward perspective. Here are some more starters-
- His office/function as our Mediator between the Father and humankind.(see Hebrews)
- His perfect communion as the beloved Son on behalf of his followers on earth.
- His role as carrying out the Father’s Kingdom rule as he told his disciples: “All authority has been given me in heaven & on earth”.
- His role as the Head of the Church which he actively engages in through His Spirit (see letters to the 7 churches of Asia minor of the Apostle John, and the Ephesian letter of the Apostle Paul).
- His role of judging the nations (see John 5:16-47).
These consequences, and much much more, directly flow from the victorious Christ above to us here on earth because he did win the decisive victory on planet earth & then ascended into heaven to carry on the battle: ” Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet!”
The tragedy is, The Ascension is probably the most neglected event in the Church’s liturgy. Please don’t neglect it on May 9, 2013!
see related post: What is Jesus Doing?
see also the article at Wikipedia
June 5, 2011 at 9:26 am
A sincere ‘thank you’ to all that have viewed my Ascension post since Wednesday, June 1st. Personally, I have benefited greatly in my own spiritual formation by meditating once more, indeed ‘feasting’ as it were on this part of the mystery of the Incarnation.
I originally intended to put another post on today, Ascension Sunday, but after reading the great article @wikipedia, decided to send readers to that instead.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascension_of_Jesus_Christ
June 10, 2011 at 10:26 am
A link to one of the better visual images of the Ascension:
http://www.edgardegasgallery.org/painting-Giotto-The%20Ascension-01786.htm
It’s Giotto — I’m a fan of Giotto because his images — though early fourteenth-century — tend to show the characters in them as actual people, rather than that flat, two-dimensional, no personality aesthetic from Duccio and Cimabue.
Thought you might be interested.
June 10, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Excellent taste, as usual. Thanx for the link. I’ll leave it here for all art lovers. As in most of the ‘hinge’ events of the Incarnation, the Church enjoys a rich heritage of artistic contributions that can be easily accessed on the internet.
January 25, 2012 at 11:39 am
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity- Day 8
“United in the Reign of Christ on Earth”
see Don Garlington’s Reigning with Christ
http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/eschatology/reigning.html
May 5, 2013 at 11:45 am
Anxious to Celebrate Ascension Day on May 9th
with hymns of the Church such as this-