Ascension of Our Lord (C)

 Ascension of Our Lord Year C [Lk 24:46-53]

29.05.2022

The Final Exhortation and Ascension of Jesus

Readings: (1) Acts 1:1-11 (2) Eph 1:17-23

1.  Theme in brief

     Bearing witness to the Ascended Lord

2.  Focus Statement

Empowered by the Holy Spirit we are called to make the Ascended Lord present in the world by proclaiming repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations; and also by our witness to him.

3.  Explanation of the text

Today’s gospel text begins with the last instructions given by the Risen Lord to his disciples before his Ascension, according to Luke’s gospel. At that time, he once again opens (enlightens) their minds to understand (1) the inevitability of the suffering, cross and death of the Messiah (24:46), (2) the reality of his resurrection on the third day, and (3) the urgency to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations (24:46-47). Earlier they were commissioned to heal the sick, cast out demons and preach about the Kingdom of God (Lk 9:1-2). Now, in addition, they are commissioned to proclaim the necessity of repentance or undergoing a change of heart to enter into God’s Kingdom and accepting God’s universal offer of forgiveness. Jesus insists that  the suffering of the Messiah and his rising from the dead through suffering and cross were a part of God’s plan – a plan he made to save sinners out of his boundless love (24:46).  Therefore, instead of remaining glued to locked rooms out of fear, they must joyfully proclaim the good news of salvation to all nations.

They are given the responsibility of bearing witness to all that Jesus has said and done (24:48). A witness is somebody who sincerely tells what he has seen and heard. They are to give witness to what they have experienced in Christ and proclaim that personal and social transformation is possible through the practice of gospel-values and the forgiving love of God is now made available to anyone who repents for one’s sins. In order to carry out this responsibility he promises them to send what the Father had promised – a “clothing with power from on high” (24:49). In Acts 1:8, Luke makes it clear that this power from on high is the Holy Spirit. They are asked to wait in Jerusalem until they receive this gift without which they will not be able to do their mission effectively.

At the end, Jesus leads his disciples out as far as Bethany and blesses them with his uplifted hands (24:50) just as Jacob had blessed his sons before his death. As he blesses them they worship him (24:52) and after returning to Jerusalem continue to praise God in the temple with great joy (24:53). Probably Luke wants to tell his readers that the ascended Lord who has entered the realm of heaven continues to bless his disciples and bless their mission. His uplifted arms of blessing could also be an indication of handing over his mission to his disciples and the assurance of his guidance in carrying it out. Or it is probable that Luke wants to tell his readers that blessings of God are closely related to worship. When one experiences God’s manifold blessings, one’s response is to worship God because of them; and when one worships God, one becomes worthy of further blessings. Anyway, Luke’s gospel begins with worship by a priest named Zechariah (1:8ff) and concludes with worship of his disciples – both in the temple of Jerusalem, the centre of Jewish religion. Their joy comes from the fact that the heavenly blessings of the ascended Lord are with them and they are going to be empowered with the Holy Spirit.

Finally a day comes when Jesus’ physical appearances after his resurrection cease and he “withdraws from them” as he is “carried up into heaven” (24:51). Jesus of Nazareth who became the Risen Christ now finally becomes the Ascended Lord of heaven. With the end of physical appearances begins a worldwide mission of joyfully proclaiming the message of salvation to “all nations beginning from Jerusalem” (24:47), but extending to the “ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Since the Risen Lord has now ascended into heaven and is physically absent (withdrawn from them, 24:51), the disciples now need to make him present in the world in two ways: (1) by proclaiming repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations (24:47), and (2) by bearing witness to him until his return in glory (24:48).

4.  Application to life

The feast of Ascension invites us to fix our gaze both on heaven and on earth. Heaven is the symbol of our hope (of reaching where Jesus is) and earth is the sphere of our witness to the Risen Lord. Ascension of the Lord was a moment in the life of the apostles when the Risen Lord’s appearances to them ceased. It was both an end and a beginning for his disciples. It was the end of his physical presence and the beginning of another type of presence with them through their witnessing. Thus, this feast tells us not about the end but about the beginning of a worldwide mission and joyful proclamation of the good news of salvation. Before taking leave of them, Jesus commissioned them to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Today’s feast invites us to focus our attention to the mission entrusted to us and to be faithful to it. It is also a reminder to see whether we allow the values of the gospel to reach the ends of the earth through our witnes or keep them confined to our own ‘Jerusalem’ – church, home, community, kinship and friendship circle.

Since the Risen Lord has withdrawn his physical presence in the world now, we are called to make him present by calling all people to conversion and by giving witness to his gospel-values. But before beginning our universal mission, just as he asked the disciples to wait for power from on high, that is, for empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we too are called to seek the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfil our mission. Hence, before witnessing to Christ we are to seek the power of the Holy Spirit, through prayer and worship we get the needed spiritual energy to do our mission. We are called to tell people that a change of heart is essential and is possible by the power of the Risen Lord and his all-pervading Spirit.  We should be convinced that the gospel has the power to liberate and transform people from the fetters of sin, oppression, injustice and unrest and the power to heal and restore.

The greatest proof of the resurrection and the reality of the work of the Holy Spirit is the transformation that took place in the apostles. If anybody is promised a huge mansion, plenty of wealth or property and a lot of money, anybody would not mind taking the risk for preaching the gospel as the apostles did. But imagine what they got! They, who were locked up for fear of the Jewish authorities, were willing to be flogged, jailed and killed. It is because of this missionary zeal that emerged out of a total transformation of their life we are here today. The most difficult thing is anybody’s life is to change one’s attitudes, ways and deeply rooted habits, or be converted from sinful life to a new life.

It is true that the gospel of Christ has the seeds of change in it; not only to change persons but also a society’s social patterns that dehumanize us. Like a leaven it can influence the human society and accept what is good and worthy in local cultures and purify what is bad, unjust, unhealthy and unworthy in them. We need to examine ourselves and see what needs to be changed in us and whether we strongly desire a change. Secondly, we need to contemplate how we can use the power of the gospel to transform / purify our society from sin / evil / unjust structures / dehumanizing system.

Our next mission is to bear joyful witness to forgiveness of sins, peace, reconciliation of divisions, brotherhood/ sisterhood among us until Christ returns in glory. We are called to build up human societies where peace and reconciliation rule. Though our world is a mixture of both good and evil, as humans, we experience the bite of evil much more than good. In a world which is so much divided or fragmented we are called to be messengers of God’s merciful and forgiving love. Instead of witnessing to this forgiving love and God’s desire to reconcile the world to himself, if our Church projects the image of a divided community, we become a counter-witness and fail in the mission handed over by the Lord before his Ascension. This may make the world think that Jesus is gone forever and is not present among us, and ‘‘what these Christians believe and practise is a set of mere superstitions.’’

The Ascension of Jesus is understood in theology as a sort of reward given to him by the Father for his faithfulness to his mission. It gives us the hope that we too will receive the same reward if we remain faithful to the mission entrusted to us. The question is whether we are faithful. Jesus’ ascension is a proof that he has conquered every enemy and that he reigns supremely “far above all rule and authority” (Eph 1:21). He has gone before us to prepare a dwelling place for us (Jn 14:2) and will come again to take us to himself so that we may be where he is, that is, in heaven (Jn 14:3). Now we should be convinced that nothing – neither death nor life – can separate us from the love of Christ (Rom 8:38-39). Today, the Church reminds us that we are like pilgrims marching to our heavenly home after completing our earthly mission. As it is written in the Scriptures, after going through suffering on earth, we are going to reach where Christ is (i.e. in the glory of God the Father). This hope supports us when we find it difficult to face our sufferings and hardships. Just as Christ opened the minds of his disciples to understand the inevitability of the cross and suffering to experience glory, today he once again motivates us not to bypass crosses in our life or believe in short-cut methods to attain glory. We should be convinced that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory to come (Rom 8:18). 

The feast of Ascension is a feast of great hope to which we have been called, as St. Paul says (Eph 1:18). We are destined to be with God where Jesus is, to live in an everlasting union with God. Now we should be convinced that our real country or homeland is heaven (Heb 11:16; Phil 3:20) and learn to look beyond the present passing world. Christian hope is the virtue by which we desire heavenly kingdom and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on God’s grace. This kind of hope is the anchor which helps us cope with life’s trials, sufferings, disappointments, frustrations and tensions. This is the hope which gives us the energy to cope with life under trying and frustrating situations. This hope also helps us to consider the impermanence of everything on this earth. It makes us realize the foolishness of attaching excessive importance to worldly possessions or worldly affairs, and of putting our full trust in them. Instead, we need to put our trust in God who alone is our security. This feast makes us realize that this life is a preparation for our final destiny to reach where Christ is. Hence, we have to wage a continuous war against evil and ungodly ways, and always be prepared to meet the Lord whenever he calls us.

There are enough life-denying forces in our world today to poison hope such as abortion (especially selective abortion of the female foetus), euthanasia, irresponsible propagation of violence, crime and sex through the mass media, communal riots, terrorist activities, violation of human rights and injustice done to God’s creation by greedy overexploitation of the nature. We radiate rays of hope by standing against all these life-threatening forces until at last we find fulfillment of our hope in Christ who has triumphed over all the anti-life forces by his Ascension. Our modern society promotes self-centredness so much and teaches us to place complete confidence in one’s own wealth, power, status, success and achievement to gain happiness in life, instead of trusting in God. This kind of attitude generates a lot of hopelessness when many people are not able to attain these ‘promises’ advocated by the modern world, and when there is nothing else to hold on beyond these things.

5.  Response to God's Word

Do we often project a sense of hopelessness all around us? Is our talk often centred around only negative and pessimistic aspects of life? Do we cooperate with life-denying forces that poison hope? Do we attach excessive importance to worldly possession as if they are everything for us? Do we bear witness to the power of the gospel to transform individuals as well as human society? Do we promote reconciliation among people, or become counter-witnesses by promoting divisions?  Like the apostles, does our encounter with the Risen Lord in liturgical worship and prayer, renew and revive our missionary spirit?

6.  A Prayer

O Risen and Glorified Lord, you alone are our hope. We firmly believe that our ultimate security is in you alone. We also believe when we face difficulties in our witnessing mission, your blessing and the supporting power of the Holy Spirit will accompany us. Grant that our unwavering hope in you may support us when we find it difficult to face our sufferings and hardships. May our hope in you help us to cope with life’s struggles and pains. Grant that we may bear joyful witness to forgiveness of sins, peace among us, reconciliation of divisions and service to the needy until you return in glory one day. For the Kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.