Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (B); 5-12-2024

Acts 1:1-11.  Ps 47.  Eph 1:17-23.  Mk 16:15-20

Deacon Jim McFadden

       The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord embraces two elements.  On one hand our gaze is directed towards heaven where the glorified Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father (cf. Mk 16:19).  On the other, it reminds us of the mission of the Church.  Why?  The Risen and Glorified Christ is no longer with us physically; so, he sends his disciples—he sends us—to continue to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (v. 15).  Therefore, the Ascension encourages us to lift our gaze towards heaven to be in communion with Jesus, then to return immediately to earth where we continue the Mission of the Lord.  That is the task that Jesus has entrusted to us, the Church.

            This task which Jesus entrusted to a small group of very ordinary, indeed flawed men, who weren’t the intellectual giants of any rabbinic school, seems like a bold stretch to say the least.  One would think that Jesus would have entrusted this Herculean Mission to the spiritual equivalent of the apostolic version of the Avengers.  But, no: he selected this motley crew of  “blue collar” workers, who were mostly fishermen, to bring about his purposes. How could this be?  How could this modestly gifted group of common men pull off such a Mission and bring Jesus’ message of salvation of love and mercy to every corner of the earth?

            Well, left to themselves, they couldn’t.  But they were baptized, which means that their bodies were temples of the Holy Spirit, who is working in and through them to bring about God’s purposes.  Their Mission, our Mission, will be supported, empowered by the Holy Spirit.  We hear in our first reading from the opening lines of the Acts of the Apostles that “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). So, baptism is precisely what qualifies and empowers us to be missionaries, to proclaim the Gospel.

            The Lord’s Ascension into heaven inaugurates a new form of Jesus’ presence among us and calls us to keep our eyes and hearts open to encounter him in our daily lives, to serve him, and to bear witness to others that he is Risen, that he is Alive!  To keep our gaze on the Risen, Glorified, and Ascended Christ means that we call to mind always that the mystery of Jesus “being seated at the right hand of God.”  One could say that as the Second Person of the Trinity, he is always seated at the right hand of the Father.  Yes, that’s true, but in Christ’s ascendency into Heaven, the human being—the Son of Man—has entered into intimacy with God in a new and unheard way: humanity henceforth is now and forever in God.  God and humanity are forever united.  Indeed, the Ascension of the Lord marks the fulfillment of our salvation that started with the Incarnation.

            The implication of this truth is profound and will impact how we live our daily lives.  Since the Risen, Glorified, and Ascended Christ is forever united with our humanity, that means in our journey we encounter Christ himself in our brothers and sisters, in those who suffer in their very flesh in the old and new forms of poverty, oppression, and injustice.  This truth is the context when the Resurrected Jesus asked Peter if he loved him.  When Peter said, “Yes,” then Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”  That’s it: what we do to our brothers and sisters, we do to Jesus because he is forever the Son of Man (cf. Mt 25:31-46).

            Just as the Risen Christ sent his apostles with the power of the Holy Spirit to continue his Mission, so too does he do with us in 2024 with the same power, so as to help build the Kingdom of God with visible signs of hope.  Jesus is Risen! Jesus is Glorified!  Jesus is Ascended!  Amen!  And, he thereby gives us hope.  He has gone to heaven, he has opened  the gates of heaven, and the hope that we have is that will reach it!

            May the Blessed Virgin Mary who, as Mother of the dead and Risen Lord, enlivened the faith of the first community of disciples, help us to “lift up our hearts,” as the Liturgy exhorts us to do.  And, as we gaze upon the Ascended Christ, may we keep our feet on the ground as we strive to sow the seeds of the Gospel in the practical domains of our life.  Amen.

            Reflection Questions:

1. The Ascension and the Mission of the Church go together.  Why?
2. Why did Jesus entrust his Mission to such ordinary people?
3. Do you feel empowered to be an integral part of Jesus’ Mission?

If so, how?