Newsletter – The Ascension of the Lord. Year A.

REFLECTION by Dianne Bergant CSA

The feast of the Ascension is really a kind of liminal moment in the Easter season. It is a time between times, a moment when we have left one place in our journey but have not yet arrived at a second. The glory of the Risen Christ has already been revealed in us, but not yet totally. The feast itself celebrates the exaltation of Jesus. Today we stand awestruck, watching Jesus ascend into the clouds of heaven, there to be enthroned at the right hand of God. Today we are overwhelmed by the reality of the divinity of the one whom we have known in his humanity. Like the conquering creator-god, he has overcome his enemy (death) and now reigns over his new creation (the church).

Christ who ascended into heaven in his body carries on what he began on earth through his new body, the church. He teaches through its apostles and evangelists. He ministers through its prophets and pastors. In and through the church, Jesus continues to heal and to comfort; to forgive and to include. We have not been left alone; we have his power, the same power with which he performed marvels when he walked the earth. We have not been left alone; we have each other. Together we make up the new body of Christ. Together we await the fullness of this body. It is this new body that stands in between the times, secure in what we have, confident of what we will be given.

© Dianne Bergant CSA

Dianne Bergant CSA was a Professor of Biblical Studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where she taught from 1978 to 2014. She holds a BS in Elementary Education from Marian College, Fond du Lac, WI; an MA and PhD in Biblical Languages and Literature from St Louis University. Amongst other things, she served as President of Catholic Biblical Association of America (2000-2001) and has been awarded honorary doctorates from several other universities. She was an active member of the Chicago Catholic/Jewish Scholars Dialogue (1988-2017) and sat on the editorial boards of The Bible Today (1979-2005), Biblical Theology Bulletin (1990-2014), Catholic Biblical Quarterly (1992-2001), New Theology Review (1997-2003), Teaching Theology and Religion (2003-2005), and Chicago Studies (2003-2009). She has taught and lectured in many places in the United States and abroad and has written numerous books, articles and chapters in books.