June 2, 2019

Ascension of the Lord C
Acts 1: 1-11; Hebrews 9: 24-28; 10: 19-23; Luke 24: 46-53
In Jerusalem is a religious site called the Chapel of the Ascension in the Mount of Olives section of
Jerusalem, an Arab majority neighborhood. (Mount of Olives in Arabic is ‘At-Tur’.) There’s not a lot to
see here other than a place of some Biblical significance. It’s a small, very high chapel converted into a
mosque by Saladin in 1187. Now it is a tall circular building containing a large preserved footprint,
many believe is the last footprint of Jesus on earth. At first sight it seems like a singular enormous
footprint burned in by an ‘rocket like force.’ There is nothing else in the structure. What people could
come away with is that Jesus: came, lived, died and is now up in heaven and has no contact with us at
all. But the Ascension of Jesus is more than an ‘extraterrestrial excursion’ which has no significance to
us. The Ascension teaches us more about who Jesus is and what He does for us. And most importantly
it leads us into what we should do in return. The Good News is that God loves us, Jesus showed us this.
Jesus has redeemed us from our sins and showed us our place is in heaven. This has been God’s intent
forever. Am I living, knowing that God loves me so much that He has a place for me in Heaven? Am I
living in a way that accomplishes this ‘mission’? Am I living the life God needs me to live as being His
creation? We look to the readings today to connect the mystery of the Ascension to real life.
Early Christian tradition from the late second century identifies Luke, a Syrian from Antioch as the
author of the third gospel. The prologue of his gospel makes it clear that he is not part of the first
generation of Christian disciples but is very dependent upon the traditions he received from
eyewitnesses. It is possible that Luke wrote His gospel about A.D. 60 and Acts around A.D. 62.
Now Luke Gospel closes briefly describing the Lord’s ascension around Bethany and then the apostle
returning to Jerusalem. Acts describes this in further details. Here Jesus is preparing His apostles for
their mission: being witnesses in spreading God’s kingdom of love. They are not ready for this yet.
Over the course of the next forty days, the risen Lord opens their minds to understand God’s plan. They
knew the Old Testament and the prophecies but they had no idea that the Messiah would be the
Suffering Servant who came to show God’s total love. This was God’s purpose. They wanted a return
to Israel’s glory years where they were a dominant nation under Saul, David and Solomon. Jesus had to
show them the bigger picture, there is much more to God’s plan than they could have ever imagined.
We could say that they went into an intensive review of Scripture as it pertained to the Messiah and
God’s plan for the redemption of the world. The final step in the preparation was the apostles realizing
the role of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had repeatedly promised them that He would never leave them alone
and would send the Holy Spirit. Saying this, and then realizing the truth of all of Jesus’s preaching and
mission, was a work in progress. We can see this in their questions: “Lord, are You at this time going to
restore the kingdom of Israel.” They were still hoping that this would happen and they would have ‘big
positions’ in God’s new kingdom. Now after Jesus ascended, the resurrected Jesus will make no more
appearances in the Acts of the Apostles. They have now received their mission as we have: “But you will
receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Paul takes a different approach: He looks at the ritual sacrifices that the people had made in the Old
Testament years. What worth was that…which animals were chosen…even in some cultures, there was
human sacrifice…the purpose was to appease God. Jesus came to show that the single sacrifice of
Himself is the final annulment of sin. Now we have direct and confident access to God through the
person of Jesus. He is our Lord and Redeemer. He has commissioned us to spread the word of His love.
The Gospel account of the Ascension switches our focus on to Jesus. Everything that has happened to
Jesus has been part of God’s divine plane. There have been no coincidences, nothing has happened by
chance. Jesus reminds His disciples of this in the opening words today “Thus it is written that the Christ
would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be
preached in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” Now they are
to wait in Jerusalem until they are “…clothed with power from on high.” The Holy Spirit in their lives…and
the Holy Spirit in our lives. What happened is the tremendous missionary activity of the disciples
empowered by the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles. Their activity has continued down throughout
the ages to each one of us. We would not be here if not someone had told someone, who passed the
word on and it has reached our ears and our lives.
Living the Word, Scripture Reflections and Commentaries for Sundays and Holy Days presents a
wonderful analysis of Luke’s two readings today.
“When I served the Dominican sisters of Grand Rapids, Michigan, we accompanied a sister’s body to the
hearse after a funeral Mass. When her body was placed in the hearse, a bell tolled and we sang the Salve Regina,
watching the hearse until it was out of sight. Reverent silence followed until someone led us back into the building
for the reception. Someone who arrived at that point might have asked, ‘Why are you standing here looking down
the road?’ We were speechless until someone or something broke the silence.
I think that the Ascension was like that. Two angels break the disciples’ silence and shift their focus. The
Gospel account differs from Acts. They do Jesus homage and return with great joy. Deep experiences elicit
different responses. Awe. Silence. Wonderment. Sadness. Joy. Each response reflects a human reaction to the
departure of a person. It is the presence of God and the power of the Holy Spirit that often help us to integrate the
experience into our lives and give witness to the impact a persons had on us, for good or ill. The presence of God
and the power of the Holy Spirit can help us ascend out of an experience. We look up or out from it. We get a new
perspective. We can discover where Christ offers us hope and new ways of being. Sometimes we must first
descend into the depths of an experience before we are willing to look up, look out, and see God with us, clothing
us with power from on hight Those ascensions empower us to witness life in the midst of death, hope in the midst
of despair, or freedom in the midst of paralysis. So look up! Look out! Received the power of the Holy Spirit! Then
go into the world bearing the name of Christ.”
So I reflect on:
• Do I believe that my faith would be easier had I seen Jesus in the flesh?
• What is my inward vision of Jesus? How would I describe Him?
• Where have I experienced the power and the majesty of my faith?
• How do I view my ministry as being a witness of Jesus? As a Joy? As a mystery?
Sacred Space 2019 shares:
“Lord, strengthen my faith—faith that will give me eyes that see and ears that hear; faith that will reveal Your
luminous presence at the very heart of myself. Then, I may begin my own long ascent. Grant that one day I may
be where You are and behold the glory the Father gave You before the foundation of the world.
I pray to experience joy in worship and in the work of God’s kingdom