Why The Ascension Matters

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (Luke 24:50-53)

Today is, traditionally, Ascension Day. Well, in certain states, anyway. In most diocese, the celebration actually takes place on Sunday. Not that important, actually: what matters is that recognize -- and celebrate -- the ascension of Christ into Heaven. 

The Ascension itself is important for several reasons. Christ's ascension tells us something about His nature. A lot about His nature, in fact. That Christ was born of flesh, died in the flesh, rose again, and then ascended to Heaven reiterates His dual nature as both God and Man (Philippians 2:5-8). So God -- who created the universe (John 1:1-5 reminds us the Word was God, was with God, and created everything), allowed Himself to become low, to become like us, in order to bring us back in relationship with the Father. By His ascension, we see that, really, He could always come and go as He wished. But He chose to be born of woman. Why is this important? 

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

That says it all, really. He came as one of us, so that His call to be Holy, to be Perfect, was not hollow or hypocritical. He defeated sin as a Man so that Man would be empowered through Him to claim that victory. Then He, as a Man, bore our sin -- became our representative -- and was crucified in our place. 

The Ascension, then, reminds of what Christ left behind when he descended to our level. It also reminds us that He is the King over all creation, and that He will be coming back.