God Mounts His Throne

"God mounts his throne to shouts of joy:
a blare of trumpets for the Lord." (Ps 47:5)
Psalm 47 was originally written as one of the "Psalms of Ascent", sung when the Ark of the Covenant was carried in procession to the Temple with people shouting and trumpets blaring. God is referred to as King, and not only king, but "king of all the earth, the Most High, the Awesome." (Ps 47: 2). How appropriate, then, for these verses to be applied to the Ascension.
This is part two of the resurrection, its completion; the return of Jesus not only to life, but to the right hand of his father, signifying his place or equality with the Father as one of the Trinity. This alone give us every reason to "shout for joy", but there is a further reason for jubilation, for just as Jesus in full body enters heaven, so shall we, who share in his resurrection through our baptism, enter heaven in full body at the consummation of the world as we know it now. Jesus is the first-born, we, his brothers and sisters, will follow the same path, providing we remain faithful to him. What joy, what motivation for filling our lives with goodness, love, and self-giving! The Church calls this a holy day of obligation, urging us to gather around the altar as a community to celebrate the Ascension of Jesus, and eventually our own. What better place can we imagine to do this? Let us make it a point to find time to join our community's shouts of joy.
Bro. Rene