Ascension Sunday - 20 May 2012

This Feast of the Ascension commemorates the elevation of Christ into Heaven by his own power in the presence of his disciples on the fortieth day after his glorious Resurrection. Jesus after his resurrection spent forty days with his disciples instructing them and encouraging them as they prepared for the mission. The Ascension of Jesus into Heaven completed his earthly work of our redemption. Through his numerous apparitions to hundreds of people between the day of his glorious Resurrection and the day of his Ascension, Jesus proved two things. First of all, he proved that he was the promised Messiah. Secondly, he proved that through him who overcame death, persons who persevere in their living faith in Jesus shall also overcome death and inherit the Kingdom of God.
Through his Resurrection and his Ascension, Jesus showed the disciples his messianic dignity and the assurance that they too having fulfilled the task given to them will also be raised to glory by the Father. He promised them the gift of the Holy Spirit who will be with them and guide them and they will be his witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The Gospel tells us of the great commission that was given to the Apostles by Jesus as he was assumed into heaven. They had a mission to fulfill and he would be with them till the end of times.
The message that Jesus gave was very clear that they are to go into the entire world and proclaim the Good News to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved: but the one who does not believe will be condemned. To those who believe, Jesus promises to bless them with spiritual signs. In his Name, they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover. After Jesus ascending into heaven, the disciples went out and proclaimed the Good News everywhere. Today, we see the fruit of their work because Jesus worked with them and confirmed the messages by the signs that accompanied the Gospel. Jesus’ presence among them is confirmed by the Angels coming to them and assuring them that the Lord will come back to them as they had seen him go up to heaven accompanied by the clouds.
In today's First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles Luke explains how for forty days, Jesus had appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, presenting himself to them and convincing them that he was alive. He taught them and He ate and drank with them. Through his actions, Jesus was opening the eyes of his disciples about his mission. Some of them even at this time did not fully understand him and asked for the day of the political restoration of Israel. With immense patience he told them that this restoration is in the eternal plan of the Father. Jesus then told the disciples that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit would come upon them and they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem and to the ends of the earth. After this Jesus was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. When we say that Jesus was lifted up it simply means that Jesus disappeared from their view. He was raised up and a cloud received Him out of their sight into his Father’s bosom.
In the second reading of today Paul reminds the Ephesians of the marvelous generosity and goodness of God who had made them Christians and sharers to be in the glory of Christ, who was the eternal glory of God. The words the Apostle wrote to the first converts were written for us also and are applicable even today. Paul prayed that God would enlighten their minds to try to understand and appreciate the marvelous things God had done for them through the incarnation, death and resurrection and finally the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul further prayed that God may give his Ephesian converts an ever deeper insight into the mercy and love of God the Father who made them members of Christ in the church and called them to share in the divine heritage.
Today’s Gospel is taken from the concluding verses of Mark where the emphasis is on the universal nature of the mission for which the disciples had been prepared and sent. Those who hear the gospel and believe it are to be baptized and they will be saved. Those who do not believe it and are not baptized will be condemned. An authentic believer will be accompanied by the presence of signs. These include the casting out of demons, speaking in tongues, consuming deadly drinks and so on and will not be harmed. But Jesus does not say that these signs are the test of believers. A true believer is the one who has faith in Jesus and is one with him.
The description of Ascension is as stark and straight forward as rest of the narratives presented by Mark in his Gospel. Theologically this brings the story to a fitting conclusion. Jesus has come on earth to undertake a divine mission and that divine mission is completed with his death and his resurrection. The moment he said it is accomplished and offered his soul to his Father, the mission was fulfilled. The purpose of the Ascension was to return Jesus to the heavenly environment from which he originally came. The disciples are now charged and empowered to continue the mission of Jesus by proclaiming the gospel to every creature. Their work will receive divine approval through signs and miracles that God will bestow upon their ministry of proclamation. and the task of proclaiming the gospel to all continues in and through the work of the disciples.
The day of the Ascension inaugurates a new era: the mission of the church. The gospel tells us that the disciples went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. At the same time Jesus kept in constant contact with the disciples. While ascending onto heaven he did not do so to abandon his chosen ones in the world. He rose up into Heaven in order to open to us its door, allowing to flow from his glorious Heart that abundance of grace and mercy which will be manifested by the coming of the Holy Spirit. It was necessary for Jesus to rejoin his Father in order that the Holy Spirit, who is common to them, might be sent into the whole world to prepare for the day of his return. It is true that Jesus had remained in the presence of the Father throughout his entire life. But now it was necessary that in his resurrected body he goes to the abode of the Father and be in his vision in order that the two of them, the Father and the Son, might jointly send the Spirit of Love who eternally unites them.
The Ascension of our Lord took place a long time ago but his parting words are still vibrant to us and must be carried out courageously to be his witnesses in the world of today like the first Apostles. Hence the feast of the Ascension is not to commemorate a departure but the celebration of the living and lasting presence of Jesus in the church. Jesus tells the disciples of the present situation as he gives the command to "make disciples" of people everywhere. He now introduces them to his mission as he passes on his own authority to his disciples. Pentecost will be the confirmation of this. They are asked to do what he himself did. They now have the power to reconcile the sinful persons with God and with the community and to decide who are not yet ready for reconciliation and full participation in the community's life. Hence there are four aspects to this mission which Jesus gives in today’s Gospel: to evangelize, that is, to communicate the life and vision of Jesus, to continue the healing mission of Jesus both physical and spiritual, to experience the power of the Holy Spirit, and experience the presence of Jesus. He will be with us till the end of times. Then Jesus promises us that like him we all will be raised and ascend to the Father. During the coming week, let us remember that Jesus, who has ascended into Heaven, is here with us, is present in our hearts, in his apostolic Church and in a special way present in the Holy Eucharist. As we live this Ascension of our Lord, let us look forward to experience him in our lives and be his messengers in the world of today.
Word spread across the countryside about the wise Holy Man who lived in a small house atop the mountain. A man from the village decided to make the long and difficult journey to visit him. When he arrived at the house, he saw an old servant inside the house that came forward to greet him at the door. “I would like to see the wise Holy Man,” he said to the servant. The servant smiled and led him inside. As they walked through the house, the man from the village looked eagerly around the house, anticipating his encounter with the Holy Man. Before he knew it, he had been led to the back door and escorted outside. He stopped and turned to the servant, “But I want to see the Holy Man!” “You already have,” said the old man. “Everyone you may meet in life, even if they appear plain and insignificant… see each of them as a wise Holy Man. If you do this, then whatever problem you brought here today will be solved.”