Good-bye.
Don’t go.
When will I see you again?
We never spoke again.
We lost each other.
We just sort of passed each other by.
Endings.
Loss.
Leaving.
Departures.
Divisions.
Separation.
So much of the life that we know is about losing one another, sometimes we get to say good-bye, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we say good-riddance and walk away, sometimes we run.
Sometimes endings are a relief, a mercy, something to celebrate,
but normally losing one another means grief and bittersweet thanks for the time shared together.
This is the life we know, we get good at saying goodbye, at not holding on too tight.
Sometimes it is too much and we hide, if we never say hello, if we never share a connection with others, then we never have to know the pain that comes with endings. And that is a bad thing.
Sometimes we hold on too tight and grasp and smother and control. And that is a bad thing too.
This is the life we know, we get good at saying goodbye at not holding on too tight.
There is a rumor, the wind is changing directions, there is news that this life that we know is changing, the life of endings and loss and separation is changing into something more.
They call it “Gospel”. They call it “Good News.”
They call it Ascension. They call it the victory of God.
The one who died and rose from the grave, a risen human being, alive again, he ascended. Humanity ascended into God, ending the life of endings, separation became communion.
What can this mean?
It means that this is no longer a world of goodbye and endings, of separation and loss.
It means that this is a world of beginnings, of coming together, of communion.
The ascension of Christ means that it is now always, “hello”.