[After the resurrection the disciples are expecting the arrival of the kingdom in glory. They ask: “has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” They are told they will receive power with the arrival of the Holy Spirit and be Jesus’ witnesses to the ends of the earth and not to concern themselves with the limited restoration of one nation. Furthermore, it is not for them to know God’s timing. They will have the power of the Spirit to guide them for whatever length of time God desires.]
In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done
and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to
the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to
heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many
demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and
tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them,
he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the
Father had promised. It is he had said what you have heard me speak
about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be
baptised with the Holy Spirit.
Now having met together, they asked him, Lord, has the time come? Are
you going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He replied, It is not for
you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own
authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you,
and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout
Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth.
As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took
him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky when suddenly
two men in white were standing near them and they said, Why are you men
from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been
taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the
same way as you have seen him go there.
[The Ascension does not mean that Jesus has left us. He sits at the right hand of the Father (in power) and is “the head of the Church; which is his body”. He is with us all days, till the end of the world. This reading, addressed to believers, is a series of intercessions: 1] that believers may know the hope of the calling they have received from God; 2] the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the holy ones; and 3] the surpassing greatness of God’s power to those who believe.]
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers. This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.
[Luke wrote two volumes: the gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, two Complementary books. Our first reading was from the beginning of Acts and the Gospel is from the end of Luke’s gospel. Luke (Gospel) begins in the Temple in Jerusalem, and also ends in the Temple in Jerusalem; Acts is an account of how the gospel spread “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” – Rome for them was the end o the earth! (Acts 1:8)]
Jesus said to his disciples: 'You see how it is written that the Christ
would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his
name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all
the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.
'And now I am sending down to you what the Father has promised. Stay in
the city then, until you are clothed with the power from on high.'
Then he took them out as far as the outskirts of Bethany, and lifting up
his hands he blessed them. Now as he blessed them, he withdrew from them
and was carried up to heaven. They worshipped him and then went back to
Jerusalem full of joy; and they were continually in the Temple praising
God.
A
1. What word or phrase stands out for you? Why?
2. With whom in the readings do you most identify? Why
3. Do you feel attracted to anything in today’s readings? Do you feel
resistant to anything? Do you know why?
4. In what way do these readings affirm you?
5. In what way do these readings challenge you?
6. What can you do to respond to this challenge?
B
1. How do you contribute to the Church’s mission of announcing the good
news to the world
2. How does the Lord continue to work with the Church. What signs
suggest that he is with us?
3. “He had continued to appear to them and tell them about the
kingdom of God.” [Reading 1]How would you describe the Kingdom of
God? Do you think working for the Kingdom is the Church’s main work?
4. Why do you think Luke tells us the story of the Ascension?
5. Any verse you would like to dwell on/
1. The Ascension is one aspect of the broader mystery of the
Resurrection. No longer is Jesus bodily present among his disciples. The
church is now living in a new reality. While the readings for Ordinary
Time, which will soon resume, describe this new reality, today’s
readings focus on Jesus’ exaltation. The Easter stories showed Jesus
trying to assure his followers that they were really experiencing him
and not some illusion. He walked with them and ate with them. The one
who had died was now alive. In the readings for today we behold him in
all his divine glory, taking his place in heaven next to God. What does
this mean in everyday life?
2. In our Sunday profession of faith (Creed) we say: “For our sake he
was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On
the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he
ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He
will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his
kingdom will have no end.” Notice how we go from the past to the present
and then to the future: he ascended into heaven and is seated
at the right hand of the Father. He will come again. The mystery
we are living through at present is the risen Christ’s presence with us
through his Spirit.
3. Jesus Christ as a human being was limited to a certain time, place
and culture. He lived and died in Palestine and his earthly work and
life was limited to that area.
4. The glorified, ascended Christ is no longer limited in time and space
and through his Spirit can build the kingdom through his disciples.
5. It is not for the disciples, or for us, to know when the kingdom,
God’s reign, will come about (see the first reading from Acts). We work,
in trust and faith, for the building of God’s reign knowing that we are
not alone. Jesus is with us through the Spirit: “I am with you all
days.” Christ is the Head, we are the Body; Christ is the Vine, we are
the branches, and the Spirit is the life that keeps us going.
6. The focus of today’s feast is the heavenly reign of Christ, not the
details of the ascension itself. The challenge it sets before us is
spiritual, not scientific (where is heaven – is it “up there”?). Are we
faithful to his teaching in our lives, and do we carry its message into
our world? It is not enough to stand awestruck looking heavenward. We
must now be his witnesses “to the ends of the world.”
7. You might find Oscar Romero’s prayer helpful as you contemplate the
Ascension, Christ’s presence among us ion the Spirit, and our work of
building the reign of God on earth.
It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No programme accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen
• Pray that the church may be attuned to those ways by which the Holy Spirit
may lead us to new ways of living the Gospel.
• In prayer think of those with whom you have serious disagreement, with the
realization that God’s Spirit may be working in them.
• Luke’s Gospel begins and ends on a note of great joy; in prayer rejoice at the
gifts the Gospel has brought to your life.