The Ascension is a promise kept, a sign
of power and the heavenly authority to command those who call Jesus Lord. It is
the promise that all of creation would someday come under God's reign. It is a
sign of the power and glory of our Lord Jesus who now sits at the right hand of
God. It is the Lord's rightful authority to command - telling us to go out and
witness in his name, and it is his right to give the Holy Spirit to aid us in
our sharing in the work of salvation.
The psalmist sings of the coming reign
of the Lord who in sovereign majesty is king of all creation.
"Let the Lord be king, let the
earth rejoice, let all the coastlands be glad.
Cloud and darkness are his raiment; his
throne - justice and right.
The skies proclaim his justice, all the peoples
see his glory". This foreshadows the revelation that Jesus of Nazareth,
who after his earthly mission to proclaim his Father's Kingdom come, would be
raised from the dead and taken back into heaven to sit in glory and power, at
his Father's right hand to rule in justice.
But this revelation was still hidden
from the twelve. In the first reading we see that the disciples still do not
understand. We can empathize with them. The crucifixion and the resurrection
had left them reeling. They were desperate to understand and to know what comes
next and what were they to do! They ask "Lord, are you at this time going
to restore the kingdom of Israel?"
Jesus tells them that this is the wrong
question only God knows the time and the place.
The right question is - how are we to
acquire perfect trust in God, and how do we witnesses faithfully to your truth?
To help them understand and believe Jesus promises the Holy Spirit (his
spirit). In the Spirit's knowing and
teaching, the Spirit's power and grace they will come to realize, understand
and testify to Jesus' saving; life, death, and resurrection, and of course, his
glorious ascension into heaven. And
their new Spirit enlivened faith would drive them to boldly proclaim Jesus as
Lord and God. Their success would become the Church that still witnesses Jesus
to the ends of the earth.
And Mark, writing for his community some
years later simply, but speaking volumes, says
"He was taken up into heaven and
took his seat at the right hand of God"
Each says Jesus took up his rightful
place. And remember his rightful place is not a new place created for him, it
was always the son's throne, from before creation until the end of time, it is his. With the ascension Jesus has
claimed his rightful kingdom (the new earth and the new heaven) which is not
up, but out there, a transcendent future, beyond the horizon of this transitory
world.
Now the disciples understood that Jesus
would not be king of Israel, but of the cosmos.
The disciples and the Church that
followed guided by the Holy Spirit continues do as the Lord commanded her to do
that day -
"Go into the whole world and
proclaim the gospel to every creature"
This is a command, it is immediate,
inclusive and universal. But, this
command comes with the means to accomplish it - the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Church would need and would rely on the Spirit to guide her as she continues
to witness. And it would not be with words but with lives that she would
preach. Jesus tells the disciples that there
will be signs done in his name, under his authority. These signs are proof he is still with
us, they are our works of love, done in his name, works of compassion and goodness; raising good strong
families, caring for the poor and the aging, healing the sick and feeding the
hungry, freeing the prisoner and comforting the sorrowful. And know that these signs, the works of
love we do, are never useless or unworthy.
The ascension assures us that in the
works of love we do, in his name, we already participate in God's kingdom,
which is here and now, but not yet fulfilled. It is not for us to know when it
is to be fulfilled. But, we do know -
"Jesus, who has been taken into
heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
The Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, will
come in glory to gather all things into his Father's love and his kingdom will
have finally and definitively come and it will have no end. Our task as
faithful followers, even as we gaze towards the sky, is not to ask the question
when? Our task is to witness, here and
now, to the love of God, by lives made holy by faith that the one who promised
all - keeps his promise.
The ascension Completed Jesus’s earthly
mission. But, now reigning as king, he
still remains engaged in our world and in our lives. With the ascension, we as faithful
servants of the faithful king, should be bold and full of confidence because
Christ already rules and has the power and authority to do all things.
With confidence we give thanks for the
gift of faith and all the good things that come to us.
With confidence we take heart that
Jesus, Lord and God, is not indifferent to our suffering.
With confidence we know our weakness and
failures are forgiven by our merciful King, who hears our prayers and who can
respond with heaven’s authority.
And above all we have a confident hope
in a glorious future.
A future when the ascended Lord will
return in glory as merciful judge and faithful king.
In love he will abolish all injustice
and end all suffering and
turn all darkness to light.
He will make all things new as he sets
up his kingdom of truth, righteousness and love.
We do not know when, but we know why,
and we know how.
We know Jesus is Lord and King and on
that day we will be with our king forever.
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