THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD
1 JUNE 2025
Today
we hear two accounts of the Ascension from Saint Luke. In the second account we heard, Saint Luke
brings his Gospel to its conclusion. He
has given his account of passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He has described the scene at the empty tomb
when the two men dressed in white ask the women, “Why do you seek the living
one among the dead?” He has told us of
the two disciples who encountered the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus and how
they have recognized him in the breaking of bread. He has described the meals eaten by disciples
with the risen Lord after his resurrection.
Now he leads his disciples out to Bethany, as Moses had led his people
out of slavery and into freedom. He is
taken up to heaven away from their midst.
They return to Jerusalem with great joy.
Saint Luke’s Gospel account of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord and Savior,
is now complete.
Saint
Luke’s other account of the Ascension is what we heard as the first reading
today. It is the beginning of his second
volume, the Acts of the Apostles. He
tells us that the risen Christ has been physically present to his apostles for
forty days. This symbolic number
indicates that there has been a sufficient period of time to prepare those who
had witnessed the Easter event for the mission of the Church. He reminds them of the kingdom of God which
he has established and tells them to wait for the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. Prompted by the Holy Spirit, the
work of the Church will begin. Then he
is taken from their sight.
The
Ascension is an integral part of the Paschal Mystery, along with the death of
Jesus Christ, his resurrection, and the sending of the Holy Spirit. This Paschal Mystery is at the heart of
everything we believe as Christians. A
mystery is a reality that we cannot fully understand. That is why artistic representations of
mystery can be helpful. An interesting painting
of the Ascension pictures the twelve apostles looking intently up to
heaven. There, the physical body of
Jesus has disappeared in a cloud, symbolic of God’s mysterious presence. However, the apostles can see the feet of
Jesus, with the wounds of the nails of his crucifixion clearly present. Although Jesus is taken up to heaven to reign
in glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, he is present to us. We are invited to walk with him on our feet
to share his majesty and power and to go eventually to where he has gone. That is why those same two men dressed in
white ask a similar question, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there
looking at the sky?” They are assuring
the apostles that the Lord will be present to them, and that they should walk
with him as they wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to begin the work
of the Church. They are the Body of
Christ, sharing Christ’s power and glory.
But, that power is not like the power of the rulers of this earth. The rulers of this world rely on force and
other intimidating methods to secure their power. It is the power of the crucified and risen Lord,
supporting their efforts to exercise the power of love as humble servants.
The risen
Lord is present to us, who are his Body.
He is truly present to us in the Sacramental life of the Church. He speaks to us in the Word we have just
heard. He feeds us with his Body and
Blood in this Eucharist. He sends us out
of this Church to walk with him and reveal the presence of his kingdom in the
humble ways we share in his power and glory.
Like those first apostles, we wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
next Sunday on the Solemnity of Pentecost.
If we are open to this new outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
then we too can produce good fruits in a world that badly needs them.
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