REFLECTION:

There is something interesting in today’s Gospel that I think we can easily overlook.

Jesus says: “You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Ascending and descending. Up and down.

And really, when you think about it, that movement is the story of our faith. God descends so that humanity might ascend. That is what Jesus did.

A King descended from his throne so that his people could be raised up. God became human so that humanity could share in the life of God.

Jesus descended into our weakness, our suffering, our messiness, even into death itself—not because he wanted to stay there, but because he wanted to bring us back up with him.

And maybe that gives us a different way of understanding the Archangels we celebrate today. Angels are always moving. Ascending. Descending. Going from God to his people and bringing God's people closer to him.

Gabriel descends with a message. Raphael descends to accompany and heal. Michael descends into battle against evil. They come down because God is always reaching down to lift his people up. And maybe that's also what Christian life is supposed to look like.

Sometimes, we have to descend so that someone else can ascend.

A person who has been blessed with wealth descends from comfort to encounter the poor—not simply to give them something, but to help raise them up. A leader descends from the office, the title, or the position of authority to meet people where they are—so that the people entrusted to that leader can rise. A teacher comes down to the level of a struggling student so that student can grow. A parent bends down to a child so that one day that child can stand on their own. A friend enters into another person's pain, not to stay in the darkness with them, but to help them find their way back toward the light.

We descend so that others might ascend.

And maybe that's the challenge of today's feast.

The world often tells us that greatness means climbing higher: more power, more recognition, more influence, more status. But Jesus shows us another way. Sometimes the way up begins by going down.

Because our God did not save humanity by shouting instructions from heaven.

He came down. He entered our world. He walked our roads. He touched the sick. He ate with sinners. He washed feet. He carried a cross. He entered the tomb. He descended into our humanity so that we could ascend with him into eternity.

So when Jesus says today, “You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending,” perhaps we should ask ourselves: Who is God asking me to descend toward today?

Who needs me to come down from my pride, my comfort, my position, my busyness, or simply my own world—and meet them where they are?

Because sometimes the most heavenly thing we can do… is come down, so that someone else can rise.