The feast of the Ascension marks Christ’s complete victory over evil and death and celebrates his glorification with God. It also rejoices in the fact that the humanity of Christ becomes united with God and so gives us hope of becoming one with God. Luke describes the Ascension in our first reading today and in his view of things the Ascension marks the end of Christ’s time on earth. From this point on, Christ is present to us in spirit.
Acts 1:1-11 Luke describes a physical ascension of Jesus in the terms understood by his generation, namely, that heaven was above the clouds and one rose up into the sky to get there. Although this is simplistic from a modern point of view with our more advanced knowledge of the universe, the theology of the event is far more important to Luke than scientific considerations. Luke is modelling his account on the tradition of the prophet Elijah who was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11) after he had passed on his spirit to his successor, Elisha. The message here is that Jesus Christ is united with the Father in the Godhead and becomes present to us through the Spirit.
Luke describes Jesus commissioning the disciples to take the good news to the world
This description of Luke is the opening chapter of his second volume, the Acts of the Apostles. In his first volume, the gospel, he told the story of the movement of the good news about the reign of God from Galilee with Jesus to Jerusalem. In the second volume he describes Jesus’ commissioning of the disciples to take the good news from Jerusalem to the wider Roman world. The leading characters of this second volume are Peter and Paul, and Luke gives selected details showing how the gospel message is taken by the apostles to various countries and cities of the Mediterranean world.
In this opening chapter Luke addresses Theophilus in a prologue reminding this unknown Christian how his gospel dealt with the ministry of Jesus from the beginning to the time of the Ascension. It could well have been that Theophilus was a nobleman of Luke’s community who had actually commissioned Luke to write his two-volume work. Luke then goes on to mention how the apostles experienced the presence of Christ after his resurrection for around forty days. Jesus tells his friends that shortly they would be filled with the Holy Spirit who would enable them to go into the wider world with courage to bear witness to Jesus.
In the scene of today’s reading the disciples are still not really sure of what Jesus is about. Thinking in traditional Jewish terms they ask if he is going to restore the kingdom to Israel by getting rid of the Romans and restoring Israel’s former political independence. The popular understanding of the messiah in the time of Jesus was that he would come as a righteous royal warrior to lead an army against Israel’s enemies and win the ultimate victory over the forces of evil. Jesus, of course, does not fit this job description since his mission is primarily a spiritual one. The disciples are still mystified as to where to go from here, so Jesus outlines a missionary program indicating that they will take his message to the ends of the earth. There is a nice little touch at the end of this reading where the messengers from heaven snap the disciples out of their wonder and tell then to get on with the work ahead. They urge the disciples to stop gazing up into the sky and get cracking, and be reassured that the Master is with them as they embark on their missionary enterprise.
Notice how frequently in Scripture God is associated with joy and happiness
Psalm 47 The responsorial psalm, quite appropriately, is a song of praise and rejoicing. Notice how frequently in Scripture God is associated with joy and happiness. It is actually a song that gives praise to God for Israel’s victory in battle over its enemies. A cultic act that often accompanied the clapping of hands and shouts of joy was the raising of the ark of the covenant. As it was lifted the people shouted, ‘God goes up!’ and a blast of the shofar (the Jewish ram’s horn) was heard to add to the noise of rejoicing.
Liturgy in biblical times was not a solemn or grim affair, neither was it lacking in reverence or a sense of occasion. Genuine respect and devotion shone through the joy and confidence of worshippers who were aware of the presence of God. While there can be occasions for contemplative prayer in silence and meditation there is also time for shouts of joy, clapping hands and the noise of celebration. This psalm has been chosen for today’s feast largely because of its jubilant and festive expression of the Lord being lifted up with delight and gladness.
Christ has opened the way for us to God
Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:19-23 This is a reflection on the optional reading for Year C. The unknown author of the letter to the Hebrews uses rich metaphorical imagery to describe Christ’s entry into heaven where he will act on behalf of all humanity in the presence of God. The writer contrasts the sacrifice of Jesus Christ with the animal sacrifices of the Jewish priesthood. The animal sacrifice had to be offered every day but the supreme sacrifice that Jesus offered of himself was needed only once. The writer uses the Jewish sacrifice theme to say that Christ bore all our faults and cancelled them out by his suffering and death. He then reassures his community that Christ will come again to reward the faithful with eternal life.
His final point is that Christ has opened the way for us to God. In Matthew’s gospel we read how the curtain in the Temple was torn down when Jesus breathed his last on Calvary. The curtain was symbolic of the hidden God who could be approached only by the high priest. The mention of its tearing down symbolised the reality that now God was accessible to all. There are now no barriers to the divine; Christ has given us direct access to God. The writer of Hebrews alludes to this symbolic curtain and uses the same language to refer to Jesus as our supreme high priest.
Luke 24:46-53 In the gospel reading taken from the end of Luke’s gospel we get another description of the ascension of Christ. To wind up his gospel Luke has clearly compacted Christ’s post- resurrection appearances into one day whereas in Acts he states that the appearances actually extended over forty days. The disciples return to Jerusalem and were regular visitors to the Temple while awaiting the fulfilment of Jesus’ promises. It is easy to forget that Jesus and his friends were Jewish and the centre of their faith and worship was the Temple in Jerusalem. Historically, all these events probably took place around the year 30 A.D.
The Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. and the centre of the Jewish religion shifted from the Temple, with its priesthood and its sacrificial cult, to the synagogue communities that met under the leadership of Pharisaic rabbis. The synagogue service consisted of readings from Scripture, specifically one reading from the Torah, the first five books, and a second reading from the Prophets. This was followed by a homily or reflection and then some discussion. It was only during the period between 70 and 100 A.D. that the Jewish followers of Jesus encountered difficulties in these synagogue communities because of the beliefs they held about Jesus. In time they were branded as heretics by the rabbis and the parting of the ways of Judaism and the Jesus movement was taking shape in the last quarter of the first century.
In the mind of the great St. Paul, Christ’s resurrection and ascension were virtually the same event because, in metaphorical terms, he visualised Christ taking his place at the right hand of the Father immediately at the time of his resurrection. As we celebrate Christ’s going to the Father in today’s feast we could bear in mind the thoughts of Paul who rejoiced in the fact that Christ had raised us up from death and destined the faithful to be seated with him in the life of the world to come. This is a feast of gladness, hope and reassurance.
“True humility makes no pretence of being humble and scarcely ever utters words of humility.”
St Francis de Sales
An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and make her final requests. First, she wanted to be cremated and second, she wanted her ashes scattered over Myer.
‘Myer!’ the lawyer exclaimed. ‘Why Myer?’
‘Then I’ll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week.’
by Laurie Woods