The feast of the Ascension celebrates the exaltation of Jesus. Today we stand awestruck, watching Jesus ascend into the clouds of heaven, there to be enthroned at the right hand of God. Today we are overwhelmed by the reality of the divinity of the one whom we have known in his humanity. Like the conquering creator-god, he has overcome his enemy (death) and now reigns over his new creation (the church). Christ who ascended into heaven in his body carries on what he began on earth through his new body, the church. He teaches through its apostles and evangelists. He ministers through its prophets and pastors. In and through the church, Jesus continues to heal and to comfort; to forgive and to include. We have not been left alone; we have his power, the same power with which he performed marvels when he walked the earth. We have not been left alone; we have each other. Together we make up the new body of Christ. Together we await the fullness of this body. It is this new body that stands in between the times, secure in what we have, confident of what we will be given.