Homily for the Feast of the Ascension
so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened,
you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance,
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power.
(Eph 1:17-19 NRSV)
Saint Paul offers a beautiful blessing to the Ephesians: “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened.” (Eph 1:18)
In biblical terms, the heart is the place where the Lord speaks to us. It is the place where the Holy Spirit dwells.
Another way of saying it would be, “May the eyes of your hearts be opened.” May I see as the Lord sees. May the Lord cure my blindness and let me see the handiwork of God all around me.
Or if I make this a more personal petition, “Lord, open the eyes of my heart.” Each morning this week, I prayed this same petition, “Lord, open the eyes of my heart.”
Rather than see things through the eyes of my head – my ordinary eyes – I saw situations with the eyes of my heart. My ordinary eyes are judgy, ego-driven, skeptical, and self-serving. I see what I want to see. With my ordinary eyes, I often see a world gone crazy filled with hopelessness and decadence.
With the eyes of my heart, however, I saw the fruits of the Spirit at work. I saw love casting out fear, joy as the antidote for discouragement, peace as a definite possibility, and patience washing away my restlessness. I saw new ways to be kind or generous.
The eyes of my heart helped me see a different reality – people trying to do their best. Before I went to work, I prayed, “Lord, open the eyes of my heart.” When a coworker made a mistake that created extra work for me, I smiled at the opportunity to serve. When I was stuck on the phone for 25 minutes trying to place an order, I thanked the person who finally helped.
As I consider my next steps in life – do I retire, or do I continue working, or do I do something entirely different – the eyes of my heart see this decision differently than the eyes of my heart. The eyes of my head see retirement accounts, a need to be appreciated, and an inner desire to bolster my status. The eyes of my heart see a child a God with a heavenly Father who wants a deeper relationship. The eyes of my heart see new possibilities in answering my call and giving God glory.
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Aside from simply having a healthier outlook on life, why does Saint Paul want the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened? He says this may give you knowledge of three things: “the hope of God’s call… the riches of his glorious inheritance… and the surpassing greatness of his power.”
All three of these refer to the Ascension of the Lord. As Paul says, God “raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavens.”
The hope Saint Paul talks about isn’t just that one day we’ll get to heaven because Jesus went to heaven. The hope is that one day heaven will come to earth. Saint Paul says the hope is “not only in this age but also in the one to come.”
He is referring to these often overlooked words in the creed: “I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come.” The Ascension is only the beginning of a glorious future.
When I open the eyes of my heart, I have that ‘hope of God’s call’. The world may be descending into madness, but I have hope that God’s plan will be realized. God is in the process of not just uniting humanity to the divine glory in heaven, but uniting heaven with earth. With the eyes of my heart, I see in the Ascension that “the wedding feast of the lamb has begun” (Rev. 19:9) With the eyes of my heart, I see how God is answering my daily prayer here and now. “Thy kingdom come.”
Saint Paul says to open the eyes of your hearts so you may know hope. He also says to open the eyes of your hearts so you may know “the riches of glory in his inheritance”. The glorified body of Jesus ascended into heaven, and all humanity with him. This is just a step in God’s ultimate plan of redemption. God plans that one day, all of our bodies will be glorified, creation will be restored to its original innocence, and we will continue to do the work of the Father as stewards of this new creation. Through our work, we will give fitting honor to the creator of all. With the eyes of my heart, I can see this as my glorious inheritance and that of all the saints.
Lastly, Saint Paul says to open the eyes of your hearts so you may know “the surpassing greatness of his power” In the age to come, the power of Jesus will rule over all of heaven and earth. This power is not for domination and control, but this power establishes order and harmony in all of creation as God originally planned. Imagine all creation rightly ordered – no sin or duplicity. Just justice and peace.
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This week, offer this simple prayer each morning. “Lord, open the eyes of my heart.” Let this new perspective guide your activities during the day while strengthening your hope in the glorious age to come.