The Ascension of the Lord Year B - 12 May 2024

 

My dear friends today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. The first reading is the opening passage of the Acts of the Apostles, which is the second part of a two-part work- The gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. To grasp today's text therefore it is essential to read it in tandem with the last part of the Gospel of Luke. In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke aimed to show how the work of Jesus continued in the early church and to help his community understand their role in salvation history. It was especially important for the Gentile Christians to understand that God’s plan was still unfolding in the life of the church. The reading today begins where the Gospel of Luke ends – with Jesus’ death, resurrection and post-resurrection appearances which gave the disciples a completely new understanding of the Scriptures (Luke 24:25-27, 45). The Old Testament had not only predicted the Messiah and his suffering, but it also predicted that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed in his name to all nations” (Lk 24:47). How could the disciples preach to all nations? The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus told the disciples to “stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24:49). Acts reveals that the power is the baptism with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). The disciples’ response, however, was still limited to the idea of a Messiah who would bring glory and power to the Jewish people living in the land of Israel. They were not yet ready for the true Messiah. The theological significance of the ascension emphasizes that Jesus is Lord. Jesus’ ascension is the reason that he can send the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33) and it is because of his ascension that Jesus can give repentance and forgiveness (Acts 5:31).

The time we live in today is a time characterized by speed and a lack of “waiting”. Instant food, one-day deliveries, and 5G internet speeds have created a culture of impatience. The reading reminds us that God has his own time to do things and sometimes we just need to sit and wait. The lives of each of us who have received the Holy Spirit revolve around ‘Waiting’. This waiting is not some kind of passive, ‘it doesn’t matter’ kind of waiting but rather an active waiting. Jesus gives the disciples an important instruction: they are to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit to help them in their ministry. Quite often we try to run ahead of the Holy Spirit, but that’s just like having a mango that is not ripe yet – things would eventually get sour. At the same time, we need to keep in mind that we cannot predict or control what God does or how God’s Spirit works. God’s ways are not our ways, and God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9).

In the second reading taken from St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Paul prays that Jesus will give them “a spirit of wisdom.” Paul asserts that God is the source of all wisdom and prays that God will reveal himself and make it possible for them to know God more intimately. The knowledge and the wisdom to know how to use that knowledge are gifts that come from God. Paul uses the phrase ‘Eyes of the heart’ in praying that God will open the spiritual eyes of the Ephesian Christians so that their very beings might be transformed by the spiritual insights that God alone can provide. In the concluding verse, Paul says that Christ’s place is at the right hand of the Father and gives him all-encompassing power, not just in this age, but also in the age to come. This message of hope points to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Christ—and Christ fills us and makes us full of the presence of God.

In the gospel taken from Mark, we have the narrative of the great commissioning, the parallel to which, we find in Matthews's gospel as well (Mt 28:18-20). The emphasis is on Jesus' disciples having a responsibility to proclaim the good news of the salvation provided by Christ Jesus. The commissioning recalls the 1st reading's emphasis on Universality by highlighting that the Gospel is meant for all people, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or social status and not only the whole human world but the whole of creation, the cosmos. In contrast to the gospel of Matthew where the emphasis is on the requirement to baptize people, the emphasis in Mark is on belief versus unbelief rather than baptism. Baptism follows belief. The short account of the Ascension of Jesus emphasizes the work of the Father. The initiative is that of the Father who receives the risen Christ into heaven and makes it possible for Him to take his seat alongside the Father. The Ascension signals the successful completion of Jesus’ work on earth. The responsibility of continuing that work is now ours. The commissioning received requires that the disciples actively go out into the world and preach the Gospel.  How ready are we to carry out this task? Preaching the Gospel is not only a theoretical task which can be done with Bible studies but instead preaching the gospel also has a spiritual dimension which requires one to have a close experience of God through prayer and silence.

In the text, we also come across signs which will accompany those who believe. These include casting our demons, speaking in new tongues, picking up snakes or consuming dangerous items without harm and healing the sick. These are certainly quite extravagant signs. However, in our day-to-day life, what signs accompany us? In the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola mentions consolation and desolations as spiritual states. A person dwells in a state of consolation when she or he experiences the growth of love, faith, mercy, and hope and is moving closer to God. On the contrary, a person dwells in a state of desolation when she or he is moving away from God and experiences the growth of resentment, ingratitude, selfishness, doubt, fear etc. Which signs am I experiencing in my life on a more regular basis? Growing awareness of these signs helps us take the corrective steps to come closer to God. The commissioning is not limited to only the disciples, each one of us is commissioned as well. We still have a world to go into and proclaim the good news of Jesus. I pray that each one of us will be gifted the grace of patience to wait for God’s time and be able to proclaim the Gospel through our words and actions every day of our lives. May God bless us all.