This Thursday is the traditional date for celebrating Ascension of the Lord, marking 40 days since the Resurrection. Tradition tells us that 10 days after Jesus’ Ascension the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles – Pentecost – which we celebrate next Sunday. In the vast majority of the diocese in the United States, however, and in many other parts of the world, the bishops councils have moved the celebration of the Ascension from Thursday to this coming Sunday, traditionally the 7th Sunday of Easter. Why was this Solemnity moved to Sunday? Because the reason for the celebration far outweighs the timing of the celebration. The Ascension of the Lord is a pivotal moment for the Apostles. Jesus, resurrected, is now leaving them, but he instructs them to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The Word for the Ascension of the Lord
Acts 1-1-11
Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
Ephesians 1:17-23
Matthew 28:16-20
Our first reading comes from the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles where the opening scene is the Ascension story. But this version is a far more dramatic (and detailed) than where Luke leaves us at the end his Gospel (Chapter 24). Like many great sequels (that is, the Acts of the Apostles being Luke’s sequel to his Gospel), the opening moments recap the story thus far (as a reminder of where we left off) in order to set the stage for the narrative moving forward. It is interesting to note that the event of the Ascension is noted only briefly at the end of Luke and Mark, while Matthew and John don’t even mention it. It is also interesting to note that the traditional 40 days Jesus spent on Earth after the resurrection only occurs in Acts with that Biblical 40 days, which means “when the time was fulfilled”. This is a momentous occasion, the joy of which is echoed by our Psalm as we sing, “God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.”
For our second reading we leave behind our study of 1st Peter to hear from the opening verses of St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Since this is just the opening of the letter, we haven’t yet gotten to the meat of his message to the Church in Ephesus, but he does give us a good visual of the risen and ascended Jesus, which supports our theme of the Ascension. It is also a message of hope, a theme that we've been exploring all through the Easter season.
Our Gospel then takes us back to our current Cycle A and the conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel. As previously noted, Matthew does not conclude his Gospel with the Ascension, but rather, takes this time to give us one last theological lesson – “I am with you always until the end of the age.” While the message is important, for Matthew's followers, the location – the mountain – is also important, giving us one last opportunity to see Jesus as the new Moses.
Final thoughts:
Humor is not something we normally attribute to the Bible, but it is there if you look. While a lot of the jokes tend to get lost through antiquity, there are those that get lost because a certain gravitas has been placed on the “sacredness” of the Scriptures. A sacredness that wasn’t necessarily there when they were written. Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to see the absurdity of the moment not only to enjoy the joke but so we can see the deeper meaning the humor was meant to convey.
I must confess, I have always found this week’s passage from Acts to be one of the more humorous moments in all the New Testament. Here we see the Apostles standing in the middle of nowhere staring up into the clouds. Then these two guys come up and ask why they’re standing there looking up in the sky? This is funny stuff! But sometimes we need the absurdity of the moment to shake us into action.
Sometimes we treat our faith life like this moment with the Apostles. We’re astonished and spiritually moved by the moment (like with the Ascension), but then we find ourselves staring up in at the clouds, as if we’ve been paralyzed by that moment. But here’s the thing, we aren’t meant to be paralyzed by our faith because ours is a faith of action! Just like at the end of Mass – filled with Christ and the wonder of the Real Presence of the Eucharist, we’re not meant to drop to our knees in awe and wonder, we’re told to “GO” and bring the Gospel to the world. Sometimes we need to listen to these wiser angels and realize that we’re not meant to be standing here, but instead, running back to town to give them the good news!
For anyone who is a parent, or anyone who’s had to mediate a dispute among children, you likely have confronted the phrase “But that’s not fair!” How many times in your life have you uttered that phrase? Even as adults we have a tendency to equate “justice” with “fairness.” But here’s the thing – what is “just” may not always be “fair,” and what is “fair” to one person may not always be “fair” to the other. Our readings this week deal with just that problem, the difference between what we think is fair and what God thinks is both fair and just. The Word for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 55:6-9 Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18 Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a Matthew 20-1-16a We open with a reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, in this case from the closing chapter of Deutero or “second” Isaiah. This comes from a point in Israelite history where the people have been released from their Exile in Babylon. The Lord has shown them great mercy and forgiveness by freeing them from th
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