The Ascended King of the Universe

    Monarchy has been the most common form of government in human history. There is a good reason for this. When the reins of power are in one set of hands, a government can act quickly and efficiently. But there is also a perennial problem with monarchy. What happens when a good king dies? How can you ensure that the next king will be just as good? The times of greatest prosperity and peace in every civilization have come under the rule of wise kings. But most kings are not wise. Most kings, like most human beings, tend to be selfish, weak, and shortsighted. And so history shows the same tragic pattern happening again and again: a great king brings peace and prosperity to a wide realm, only to have it shattered after his death.

    King David in the Old Testament was 30 years when became a king and he ruled for 40 years. He was a man after God's own heart (1 Sam 13:14). After the death of David's son, Solomon, in 931 BCE the kingdom was divided into a southern part, Judea, and Israel in the north.

    Charlemagne (748- 814 AD) united and Christianized most of Europe, but when he died his empire was divided among three selfish and petty sons, who tore it asunder. King Louis IX of France reigned for 44 years. His vast kingdom spread justice and mercy as the sun spread light, but his sons and grandsons ended up sowing the seeds of division that would soon tear apart the rich fabric of Christendom.

    What the peasants of France sang upon St Louis's death, "To whom will poor folk cry out, now that the good king is gone, who loved them so?" reverberates throughout history: But there is one King, wiser and better than any other, who has come back from the dead. His name is Jesus Christ, and his Kingdom will last forever, because he has ascended to the everlasting throne, where he sat at the beginning, sits now, and will sit without end.
(Adapted from journal The Priest).

Jesus did not just "go away."

    Every year, forty days after Easter Sunday, the Church celebrates the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This event is often underestimated and overlooked, but holds a profound truth: Christ did not merely rise from the dead to conquer death, but ascended into heaven to open the gates of eternity and remain with us in a new and deeper way. His ascension was not a farewell, but a transformation of His presence - He is no longer in one geographic location, but present in all places and times through the Holy Spirit.

    Christ is our eternal mediator, our Advocate. By ascending, He enters heaven with his glorified humanity, bringing our flesh into the heart of the Trinity, creating a new relationship between God and humanity. Our humanity is already seated at the right hand of the Father where Christ is already reigning, even though His Kingdom has not been fully manifested. It is now the time of the Church, the time of witness, of active waiting, and of building up the Kingdom within the world.
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