Skip to main content

The Ascension of the Lord

By
This week the Church in the US celebrates the Ascension of the Lord... the moment Jesus, after the resurrection, left us to join his Father in Heaven.  Traditionally this day is celebrated today... the Thursday before the 7th Sunday of Easter, 40 days after the resurrection, and 10 days before Pentecost.  The US bishops, however, have opted to celebrate this important Solemnity on Sunday, because it's message and meaning are important aspects of our faith tradition, and should not be missed.

The Word for the Ascension of the Lord
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
Ephesians 1:17-23, or 4:1-13, or 4:1-7, 11-13
Mark 16:15-20

We open with the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles.  This book, the sequel to Luke's Gospel, begins like all great sequels, with a recapping of the story thus far.  Like any good writer, Luke takes this time to give us some additional details that were not included in his gospel.  This is the story we hear today in our first reading, and this is the story that gives the Church it's traditional history of these events (like the 40 days between the Resurrection and the Ascension, the 10 days to Pentecost...).  The point of the story isn't so much that of Jesus leaving us, but what happens after that moment... when the two men in white garments say to the Apostles, "Why are you standing here looking at the sky?"  In other words... stop standing there and get to work.  Our Psalm echoes this call to action by going out and singing praises to the Lord.

Our second reading is from St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  We have some options on which reading may be used, but they all reinforce the fact that through the Holy Spirit we come to believe Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and ascension.  That Jesus is the head of our Church, and all grace and blessings come through him in this position.

Our Gospel then gives us Mark's story of the Ascension.  Typical of Mark, this is much shorter and the Luke account, but not discordant with that account.  Jesus gives his Apostles their final instructions... that is to go out and spread the Gospel.  He then is taken up to Heaven, and the Apostles then take action... going out to do what Jesus instructed.

Final Thoughts:
For me the focus of this Sunday's readings is not so much the departure of Jesus, but rather the Apostles being called to action.  This is the moment Jesus puts his church into our frail human hands and asks these 11 remaining Apostles to go forth in his name, preaching the Good News and working wonders.  It is a pivotal moment for everyone... for Jesus, for the Apostles, for us, the Church.  We must now take up the service Jesus left in our hands... the service to love one another.  But the Apostles aren’t expected to do this alone… Jesus has promised to send us an “advocate”… the Holy Spirit, which we celebrate next week at Pentecost.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle C

By
“In the beginning there was the Word…”  These are the dramatic opening lines from the Gospel according to John, and though we will not be reading from John’s Gospel this Sunday, these words ring true for our readings for this 3rd Sunday of Ordinary time.  The people are in the midst of something new, a new beginning that, as our readings will show, begin with The Word… The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 (or 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27) Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 Our first reading is from the book of the Prophet Nehemiah.  Nehemiah, along with the priest/prophet Ezra, are the architects of the Restoration of Israel.  Their great Exile in Babylon is over and through the grace of the Persian King, Cyrus the Great, Israel is free to return to their land, to rebuild the Temple and to rebuild their lives as the people of God.  In an effort to guild them in this new beginning, Nehemiah and Ezra g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

By
February 2nd is the date chosen by the Church to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  When a significant feast day falls on a Sunday, the Church sets aside the readings for that normal week to celebrate the feast with these special readings: The Word for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Malachi 3:1-43 Psalm 24: 7, 8, 9, 10 Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22-32 While the Catholic Church today refers to this day as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, traditionally it has also been called the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, and the Meeting of the Lord .  Prior to the Second Vatican Council, Candlemas was a time where beeswax candles were blessed for use throughout the year, a tradition still followed in some parish communities.  Today the celebration focuses more on the prophecy of Simeon, and Pope John Paul II chose it as a time for renewal of religious vows (not to be confused...
Post a Comment
Read more

8th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle C

By
As with last week’s readings, our readings for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time are usually passed over for other feast days, but since Easter is somewhat late this year, we get to finish out this stretch of Ordinary Time with some readings we rarely get to hear during Sunday Mass: The Word for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time Sirach 27:4-7 Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 Luke 6:39-45 Our first reading comes from the book of Sirach, also known as the Wisdom of Ben Sira, a great sage from Jerusalem who embraced the Wisdom tradition.  The work was originally finished around 175 BCE and was later translated into Greek by the author’s grandson sometime after 117 BCE during the Jewish diaspora that flourished in the later Ancient Greek Empire.  Since our earliest manuscripts for this book were found in Greek, it does not hold the same canonical status for Jews and Protestants, but more recent archeological finds have verified its Hebrew origins.  Like all Wisdo...
Post a Comment
Read more