The Ascension of Our Lord, May 21, 2023
Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20
After his resurrection, having spent forty days with his
disciples, our Lord ascends to his beloved Father. Indeed, this feast of the Ascension of Jesus
to his Father is a Mystery and not easy to grasp but at the same time it marks
the beginning of the Mission of the Church.
In today’s Gospel we have the farewell scenario between the disciples
and Jesus and we read the intimate moment of separation between friends. As he
prepares to depart from the earth he offers them his parting gifts: the gift of
understanding so that they can now fully comprehend the meaning of the
Scriptures; the promise that they will receive the power of the Holy Spirit; a
final loving blessing and promise that he will not abandon them but be with
them till the end of times. He gives them the command to preach the Good News
to all nations. The reaction of the disciples
indicates a striking transformation.
The Gospels contain many parables of a master who sets out
on a long journey and gives his servants charge of his estate until his return.
In the feast of the Ascension of the Lord parable becomes reality. Jesus
departs to his heavenly Father and leaves his disciples in charge of the
affairs of his kingdom till his return in glory. Each of the Gospels we have
ends with a scene in which Jesus finally takes leave of his disciples. These
farewell scenes focus not on describing the event in detail but on the last
words that Jesus leaves with his disciples. In fact, the very fact of a bodily
ascension of Jesus into heaven is described only by Luke. It is Luke who wrote
the Acts of the Apostles from which we got our first reading today.
The Ascension of Jesus was an essential stage in his
relationship with his followers. He had walked with them in their moments of
strength and of weakness, and now he was leaving them. It is, of course,
significant that this moment occurred immediately after his apparent defeat and
after they had betrayed him.
By meditating on the story, we discover similar moments in
our own relationship with God, with a cause, or with people who have touched
our lives.
Ascension Jesus left his disciples and passed to the glory
of heaven, he became to his disciples more than a memory of a great person who
had died. First, he is still alive as the risen Lord; second, he is gone but he
stays with us by his Spirit of strength and wisdom and love and in this way he
is our companion in life. He still speaks his word to us, he still gives
himself to us as our food and drink, and he is alive in our communities. Listen
to him present among us here and let him nourish us with his word and his body.
We are reminded today that it is not the task of Christians
to ‘stand looking up into the sky’ either to mourn Jesus’ departure from earth
or to simply await his return. Our role until his Second Coming is to witness
to him. This we do through recognising that we have indeed been clothed with
power from on high. As his body, the church, we are to be Jesus’ continued
presence on earth bringing freedom, healing and forgiveness to all who long to
know the true God.
Happy and Blessed Sunday
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