Ascended

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 
Nicene-Constantinople Creed
This isn't a dogma I struggle with; I just accept it. The post-easter stories are fascinating.  They don't follow any linear pattern so we can create a timeline of His activities but a few things are very consistent among them.

Key among them is that He came to them in bodily form not ghostly form. The Thomas story is the obvious case of that. Thomas had to touch and feel. (Our weekend assistant pastor says "Good for Him. We shouldn't always believe hearsay!") Luke repeats a similar story in which Jesus invites them to touch him. At Emmaus the recongized him when he ate with them. Luke and John have various stories of him eating with them.

He came, He visited, He ate with them, He continued to teach and then he was lifted up.


The Feast of the Ascension 2009
The meaning of Christ's Ascension expresses our belief that in Christ the humanity that we all share has entered into the inner life of God in a new and hitherton unheard of way. It means that man has found an everlasting place in God...Jesus Himself is what we call heaven.
Benedict xvi

Let us live in joyful expectation of His return in glory! 
to which I add--the time in which we join Him

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