The Ascension

Gospel MT 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
The message of Easter is that death is not the end.  It wasn't for Jesus and it is not the end for us.  Just as Jesus ascended into heaven to be with His Father and all of the angels and saints, so too will we ascend to heaven.  When it is my time, I will be reunited with the Father, the angels, the saints, my brother Larry, my father, Tita Amy, everyone who has been dear to me.  Honestly, it's hard to comprehend this.  And how does this effect how I live my life right now when I know how my life ends?  It means I can let go of all the "small things" that might be keeping me from loving others more deeply.  We can rejoice together in the fact that what God has started in us here on earth, will be made perfect in heaven.