The Ascension of the Lord (Seventh Sunday of Easter)

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call. - Ephesians 1:17-18a

Paul does not pray that the Ephesians would understand more. He prays that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened. The heart's eyes are a different organ than the mind's eye - they see the hope that belongs to his call, the riches of the inheritance among the holy ones, the surpassing greatness of the power at work in those who believe. These are not intellectual conclusions. They are the perceptions of a heart that has been opened by faith and prayer, that has been looking at the right things long enough to begin to see.

The Ascension can feel like absence. The cloud takes him and the sky is empty and the disciples stand there staring. But what the Ascension actually produces - in ten days - is Pentecost. The going makes room for the coming. The one who ascended is now enthroned as head over all things for the Church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way. The Church is not the remnant of what was left when Jesus departed. It is the fullness of the one who fills everything. And you are part of that fullness.

Sister, the eyes of your heart. What have they been looking at this week - what has been taking up the heart's attention and forming what it sees? The Ascension is an invitation to redirect the heart's gaze from the empty sky to the enthroned Lord, from the absence to the power at work, from what has been lost to what the going makes possible.

Paul's prayer is worth praying for yourself this week: God of our Lord Jesus Christ, give me a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of you. May the eyes of my heart be enlightened. Pray it each morning this week, before anything else. Then watch what happens to what you see.

Lord, enlighten the eyes of my heart. Let me see the hope that belongs to your call, the riches of your inheritance, the surpassing greatness of the power at work in me - the same power that raised you from the dead. I am part of the fullness of the one who fills all things. Let me live from that. Alleluia. Amen.