“I am with you always” (Mt 28:20)
Seeking redress for injustice is a human need: when we perceive that we are unjustly treated we want justice to be restored. There are mainly two ways in which we desire justice. One, by wanting revenge on the unjust aggressor; that is, by harming or wanting to harm the unjust aggressor we feel consoled, and our status restored. Though the Hebrew Scriptures see this means of seeking justice to be right, the teachings of Jesus totally rule this out. The second way in which we seek justice is by appealing to a higher authority – even God – to defend us and prove us righteous. This is often referred to as the vindication of the just; that is, without necessarily causing harm to the unjust aggressor, the integrity of the victim is restored.
Seated at the right hand: When Jesus was hanging on the cross, the Father seemed silent. Jesus himself questions the silence of God as he prays Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus does not pray for revenge. He forgives his enemies. At the same time, he recalls “the saving justice” of God (Ps 22:31), and calls on his Father to defend him. Apparently there was silence then. Jesus was buried. There was silence still. But suddenly, in His own time, God vindicated him by raising him from the dead. The first sermon of Peter, after the Pentecost, alludes to this (in Acts 2). This is also related to the reference to Jesus being seated at the right hand of God in several texts in the context of Ascension (Lk 22:69; Acts 2:33; Mk 16:19), which is actually a fulfilment of Ps 110.
I am with you always: The feast of the Ascension of the Lord, therefore, assures us of the power of God who vindicates the just, at least in two ways. First, the same God who defended His Son will also defend us in His own time. Secondly, that image of Jesus being lifted up (Acts 1:1-11) not only fully restores Christ to his divine status, it also consoles us that from that vantage point above, Jesus Christ continues to defend us with his enveloping presence. That is the assurance that we heard read in the gospel of text of today: “And lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20).