First & Last Impressions
Growing up my parents taught me the importance of a good first impression, of learning to greet each person as I enter a place, of presenting myself in a good manner when going to an event, of dressing well for Mass, Weddings and Funerals. But it wasn’t until I joined the seminary that I learnt the importance of a good last impression. I learned that sometimes, what is more important is how we leave a place, and to leave it well.
Today we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus Christ. We celebrate Jesus being taken up into heaven. Jesus knew how to make a good first and last impression. When the Son of God came down and became human the very first impression he gave us was that of an innocent child. He didn’t come as an all-powerful ruler, a rich successful billionaire, or even superhero like Captain America or Superman.
No… Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word made flesh, the creator of the universe came down to earth as a child. He became human like us: vulnerable, prone to weaknesses, prone to sin, prone to pain and suffering. Yet, he was still God.
You see, sometimes you and I don’t appreciate enough the significance of Jesus Christ’s incarnation. And if we cannot appreciate the significance of Christ coming down to earth, we won’t be able to appreciate his being taken up into heaven.
In the person of Jesus Christ is the meeting of Heaven and Earth, in Jesus the divine and human meet. In Jesus, God became man, became united in one single person. If we look closely at Jesus’ life we will see that throughout all that he did during his life here he was constantly working towards bringing about this meeting of Heaven and Earth.
He brought food to the hungry, health to the sick, sight to the blind, love and mercy to sinners. He brought light into darkness and ultimately new life into death itself.
Far too often we can think of heaven being somewhere far far away and that we are stuck here on earth until one day we hope that we can perhaps escape to a better place. But this is not the Christian worldview. This is not reality.
When Jesus began his ministry he didn’t say kingdom of heaven is a very nice place that you will one day go to. No he said, “the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent and believe in the Gospel!” Jesus was saying to the crowds, the Kingdom of God is right here in me! And in you being here, the kingdom of God is being brought about in you! In some sense, when the disciples encountered Jesus Christ, they encountered heaven.
When you and I have a relationship with Jesus Christ, when we encounter his love, when we encounter his body and blood in the Eucharist, when we encounter his mercy in the sacrament of reconciliation, that is Heaven coming down into our lives. And in this encounter with Heaven, if we allow God to touch our lives, we are sanctified and we are transformed.
Jesus earthly mission has always been to come down and break into our lives, into our earthiness, into our darkness and transform it. He wants to bring heaven into it, he wants to bring light into it.
Today, we are not celebrating Jesus flying off into the sky and leaving us forever, but rather we are celebrating Jesus who has taken on our humanity and now unites it back to heaven once and for all. He takes our broken humanity, our sufferings, and lifts it up and transforms it.
But before he does this, he does not leave with a simple goodbye or see you later. He first instituted the Eucharist, so that his presence would always be with us. He gave the apostles the power to forgive sins. He promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to guide us always. And then He commanded his disciples; “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…”
Through all of this, through all of the sacraments, heaven and earth are united. Within each of us, heaven and earth meet, and in so far as we let it, Heaven, the Kingdom of God is coming about in us. And Jesus commands us in the Great Commission to go out and continue his mission of uniting Heaven and Earth.
Jesus empowers us to be instruments of his mission. We too, as Christians, go out into the world and bring heaven with us. When others encounter us, they should encounter Jesus… and when they encounter Jesus, they too should encounter the transforming power of Heaven.
The first impression of Jesus, is that of a little child in a manger… but you… you are the last impression of Jesus… May we be a good last impression.
