Lift Up Your Hearts: The Joy and Power of Christ’s Ascension

We make much of Christmas, and rightly so. Easter is the center of our joy. But, in many parts of the world—especially in Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe—the Ascension is a bigger deal than Christmas. Churches pack out on Ascension Day. Processions fill the streets. The feast is marked with joy, music, and proclamation.
Why?

Because the Ascension of Jesus Christ changes everything.

The story comes near the end of the Gospels and the beginning of Acts. Jesus, risen from the dead, gathers with his disciples one last time. He blesses them—and then, in full view, he is “taken up” into heaven and hidden by a cloud (Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:9–11). Angels appear and tell the disciples: “This same Jesus… will come back in the same way.”

This isn’t just a miracle of levitation or a poetic way of saying Jesus left. It is, as one theologian put it, a “theological earthquake.” Jesus doesn’t disappear. He ascends—meaning, he is exalted, enthroned, glorified.

He doesn’t go away to rest. He goes to reign.

When we confess in the Apostles’ Creed that Jesus “ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father,” we’re using royal language.

To sit at the right hand is not a statement of location. It’s a statement of authority.

The earliest Christians understood this. They quoted Psalm 110 and Daniel 7—texts where the Messiah is raised up, given dominion, and enthroned alongside God. Jesus now reigns from heaven, not just over the Church, but over all creation, visible and invisible.

That includes every government, every economy, every system, every human heart, and every cosmic power. As Paul puts it: “God raised him up… and seated him at his right hand… far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Ephesians 1:20–21).

So if Jesus is King now, we can live with confidence now.

In John 16:7, Jesus says something shocking: “It is better for you that I go away.”

Why? Because when he ascends, he will send the Holy Spirit. The Church will not be left alone. The Spirit will come to fill us, empower us, and guide us.

That’s why the Church celebrates Pentecost ten days after Ascension. The two are connected. Ascension isn’t about absence—it’s about expansion. Jesus, now ascended, is no longer limited by geography or time. He is present everywhere—by his Spirit, in his Church, and in the Sacraments.

The Ascension isn’t a strange add-on to the story of Jesus. It’s what everything in Scripture has been pointing toward.

• When Enoch was taken up without tasting death, he became a mysterious sign of humanity’s destiny to dwell with God. Jesus ascends having passed through death and been raised, not merely taken but enthroned—so that by his triumph over the grave, he might lead many sons and daughters into the presence of the Father.
• When Moses ascended Mount Sinai and entered the cloud of God’s presence, he returned with a covenant. Jesus ascends into the true heavenly sanctuary as the mediator of a new and eternal covenant.
• When Elijah was taken up into heaven, his prophetic spirit fell on Elisha. Jesus ascends—and the Spirit falls upon the Church to carry on his mission.
• When the high priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year with blood. Jesus enters once for all, carrying not animal blood but his own, as our eternal intercessor.
• And the cloud of glory—that mysterious sign of God’s presence that hovered over the tabernacle and temple—now surrounds Jesus as he enters heaven itself.

The Ascension is the climax of Jesus’ priestly work and the beginning of his royal reign.

Here’s a beautiful and often overlooked truth: Jesus didn’t stop being human when he ascended.

He didn’t discard his body or leave it behind. He ascended with his resurrected, glorified, fully human body—and took that humanity into the very life of God.

Which means: our humanity is now seated at the right hand of the Father.

The Ascension isn’t just good news about Jesus. It’s good news about you. Your body matters. Your suffering matters. Your future matters. Jesus has made a place for you with God.

He is our forerunner (Hebrews 6:20). Where he has gone, we will follow.

The Ascension is also cosmic warfare.

The Bible speaks of “powers and principalities”—spiritual beings that influence nations, cultures, and systems of injustice. When Jesus ascends, he is exalted above them all (Colossians 2:15; Ephesians 1:21). He is not just King over the Church. He is King over the whole universe.

The Ascension means that Christ is not only Savior—he is Lord. His authority is already established. His kingdom has begun. And the Church is now his embassy, bearing witness to that kingdom in a world that doesn’t yet see it.

If you’ve been in church and heard the words:
     “Lift up your hearts.”
     “We lift them to the Lord.”
…you’ve celebrated the Ascension.

This ancient call and response in our communion liturgy reflects the truth that in worship, we are being lifted up to where Christ is. As Hebrews 12 says, we come to the heavenly Jerusalem, joining the worship of angels, saints, and the enthroned Christ.

St. Leo the Great once said, “What was visible in our Redeemer has passed into the sacraments.” Christ is not gone. He is gloriously present—in the Word, in the Table, and in the gathered Church.

The last thing Jesus says before he ascends?

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The Ascension isn’t the Church’s retreat—it’s our commissioning. Jesus reigns from heaven so that the Church can bear witness on earth. He is our intercessor, our King, and our strength. And until he comes again—as the angels promised—we live as his ambassadors.

That means your life, your work, your prayers, your parenting, your friendships—all of it is part of proclaiming: Jesus is Lord.

In Ephesians 2:6, Paul says something amazing: “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places.”

Already.

That means the Ascension isn’t just about what happened to Jesus. It’s about what has already begun to happen to us. Our hope isn’t wishful thinking—it’s anchored in heaven, where Jesus reigns, where prayers are heard, and where our future is secure.
One day, he will return. One day, the skies will part. One day, heaven and earth will be made new.

But until then, he is not gone—he is reigning. He is not absent—he is with us always, in a new and powerful way.

This Sunday—right here in our own congregation—we will celebrate the Ascension. Maybe for some of us it’s the first time. Maybe for others, it’s still the beginning of a new rhythm.

Let’s not let this feast pass us by.

Let’s rejoice that Christ has ascended—not to leave us, but to reign over us. Not to withdraw, but to fill all things with his presence. Let’s tell our children. Let’s remind our hearts. Let’s gather at the Table, lift up our hearts, and say together:

“We lift them to the Lord.”

By Deacon Andrew S. Ames Fuller

Photo credit Getty Images