Episode Transcript  

One

“Do Not Cling to Me” 

The first person the Risen Lord appears to in the Gospels is Mary Magdalene. She’s there at the tomb weeping, and when she sees Jesus, she doesn’t recognize Him. Remember? She thinks He’s the gardener. And then, suddenly, He calls her by name, and in a flash, she knows that it’s the Lord. 

Then do you remember what Jesus says to her? He says, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father.” In other words, Jesus is telling Mary Magdalene that He’s going to spend a second period on this earth, but it’s going to be a very short time. It’s the time between the Resurrection and the Ascension.  

So what do we need to know about the relationship between Christ’s Resurrection and His Ascension into Heaven? 

Two 

The Ascension Confirms the Resurrection 

One thing to remember is that the Ascension is what validates the truth of the Resurrection. Those who doubt Christ’s divinity deny that Jesus rose from the dead. Of course, most people will admit that the Apostles themselves believed in the Resurrection, after all, they believed in it so much that they were all willing to be martyred for witnessing to it. 

So the Apostles weren’t faking. But they also couldn’t be mistaken. The Apostles couldn’t have just hallucinated the resurrection. If they had, it wouldn’t explain why the Roman soldiers and the Jewish authorities admitted that Christ’s tomb was empty. 

On the other hand, some deny that Jesus truly died and rose. Some have claimed that He merely survived the crucifixion. Others claim that someone else was made to resemble Jesus and was crucified in His place. This second view is a common traditional Islamic interpretation of Surah 4:157, which says that Jesus was not killed or crucified, but that “it was made to appear so.” 

But both these theories are falsified by the Ascension, because someone who had merely survived death, or a merely natural imposter, would have simply died a natural death, probably surrounded by His followers. The Ascension is what shows that there was no funny business about the Resurrection. The one who was miraculously taken up into Heaven is the one who was miraculously taken up out of the Tomb. 

Three 

The Ascension and the Meaning of the Resurrection  

One of the key purposes of the Resurrection is to show us Christ’s definitive victory over sin and death, and to assure us that, if we are joined to Him, we can share in His victory over sin and death. But Christ’s resurrection wasn’t a resurrection simply to more life on earth. Because life on earth wasn’t ultimately what we are made for, and it isn’t ultimately what can satisfy us. Without the Ascension, we might have hoped for a mere immortality, but an immortality banished from the transforming union with God is just what we mean by Hell. 

The Ascension reminds us why we should be looking forward to the next life. Not just because Heaven is a kind of theme park, a kind of the “greatest hits” of this life. Heaven does have the best of this life. But it has so much more. It has the Eternal and Infinite Source of all Good. 

If we are united to Christ, that’s what’s waiting for us on the other side of death. 

Four 

Fearlessness of Death 

Satan has us afraid of death, because he makes us believe that all the goods available are here, in this life. If you believe in the resurrection, the primary result should be to take away your fear. It should take away your fear of not maximizing your pleasures or successes or experiences in this life, since what’s waiting on the other side is far better than here. 

The resurrection really happened. Which means death is really not the end, but the beginning. So, if our goal in life is transforming union with God, then what exactly are we afraid of?  

Five 

The Mission after Christ’s Ascension 

Before Jesus ascends, He gives us our mission when He says, “Go, and make disciples of all nations.” That is the mission to live friendship with Jesus and friendship with others. We begin that mission by asking one question: Is friendship with Jesus the central goal of my life? We deepen that friendship by receiving Him frequently in the Eucharist and spending time with Him in daily meditation. 

Jesus said, “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:14). So, every meditation should end with a resolution: one concrete good action by which we put into practice what Jesus has told us in our meditation. 

And how do we evangelize? By building bridges of friendship so we can cross over to others and help them cross over to God. Friendship develops through shared activities and good conversation. Start with the people closest to you. Invite them to something simple: a meal, a walk, a game. Be curious about their lives. Ask good questions. A few that I find work well, “What have you been thinking about most for the last month or so? What is the best thing about your life right now and what is the most difficult?” When someone reveals a burden, wound, fear, or problem they cannot solve, we can gently say, “I’ll pray for that.” Then we can ask, “Have you talked with God about it?”  

If they say no, we can invite them to begin very simply, “Tonight, just tell Him exactly what you told me. Ask Him for help. You don’t need special words. Just speak to Him as a Father who loves you.” 

This is our mission. Are we living it? And what’s one small way we can begin again today? 

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