By Demi Prentiss

Just a few days ago, the Christian church observed Ascension Day, commemorating the day the disciples saw the risen Christ ascend into heaven.  The Western church often depicts Jesus rising like an Atlas rocket, soaring toward the heavens as though propelled by a NASA booster.  The Eastern church tends to understand the Ascension less as a heavenward escape from terra firma and more as the second person of the Trinity expanding to fill the entire cosmos, infusing Christ’s presence into every atom of the universe. 

In their classrooms, teachers of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd tell the Ascension story and then extinguish the Paschal candle.  Lifting the snuffer from the candle, the catechist engages the children: “I wonder where the smoke goes?” and points to the dispersion of the smoke as an example.

I love the concept of the Universal Christ, the “glue” connecting all things since the Big Bang. Ascension Day prompts me to see the glory of the Lord all around me –  in each person I encounter, as well as in the whole creation. The more skillful I become at glimpsing God’s glory wherever I look, the more grateful I become.  I can feel the connections among all of us creatures, as I become more aware of the truth of ubuntu – an ancient African word that conveys the philosophy “I am because you are.”

I believe one reason Jesus left the disciples on that faraway hillside long ago was to widen their vision. Rather than focusing on Jesus the person, they began to see God at work in the world, in their brothers and sisters and community – and even in themselves. They sharpened their vision to see God’s glory in unexpected people and places and things. And their eyes – as well as their lives – became brighter.

John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus said, “The glory that you [Father] have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one.”[1] Poet Steve Garnaas-Holmes helps us see God’s glory more clearly:

                      Glory
“The glory that you have given me I have given them.”  — John 17.22

God has given you the same glory God gives Christ.
You are not created in error or failure, but in glory.
God's glory shines in you. God is not served
when you dismiss God's work, or dishonor the light.

Beneath the grime of our judgments, the slop
and crud of our feelings, invisible even
to the person themselves, is a great magnificence,
humble, often lonely, yearning to be seen.

God's glory shines in everyone, in every child,
in the demented curmudgeon, the strung-out addict,
the convict and the executioner, and most of all
in the person you meet next. Do you see it?

Like an antique dealer looking past the dust,
a mother loving her child beneath the stains,
learn to see as God, with eyes for glory.
Seeing so will make your own eyes brighter.

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[1] John 17:22