The Ascension of the Lord
Ascension
Lectionary: 58
First Reading: Acts 1:1-11
In the first book, Theophilus,
I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught
until the day he was taken up,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them
by many proofs after he had suffered,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
While meeting with the them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for “the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
When they had gathered together they asked him,
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons
that the Father has established by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”
When he had said this, as they were looking on,
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,
suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
They said, “Men of Galilee,
why are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven
will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:17-23
Brothers and sisters:
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.
May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for us who believe,
in accord with the exercise of his great might,
which he worked in Christ,
raising him from the dead
and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,
far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion,
and every name that is named
not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And he put all things beneath his feet
and gave him as head over all things to the church,
which is his body,
the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
Alleluia: Matthew 28:19a, 20b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Go and teach all nations, says the Lord;
I am with you always, until the end of the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Reflection
First Reading
“In the first book, Theophilus…”, the first book being referred to is the Gospel according to St. Luke, which he wrote before Acts of the Apostles. The name ‘Theophilus’ basically means “love of God” or “loved by God.” The origin of the name is Greek and this indicates that Theophilus might be an educated man with high standing in society and a convert to the faith.
Incidentally, St. Luke presents what he wrote to someone whose name means “loved by God” because he wants him to delve deep into the narration of events about Jesus who was sent by God from heaven, in the hope that his faith may flourish and love God more.
I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught
until the day he was taken up,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them
by many proofs after he had suffered,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
While meeting with the them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for “the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
“Do not depart from Jerusalem…in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5).
The Descent of the Holy Spirit not only follows the 50-day tradition of the Jewish Shavuot or Festival of Weeks, it also established the Christian Pentecost of celebrating the arrival of the Holy Spirit 50 days after the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Hence, the title ‘Shavuot’ or the giving of the law on top of Mount Sinai, 50 days after the Passover and Exodus. It is plotted as such: 7 days, 7 weeks; 7 x 7 is 49 which is rounded off to 50 days after Easter or in the case of the Jewish Shavuot, it is 50 days after Passover and Exodus.
In a world filled with loud and subtle noises, with misdirection and slants, we often times are pulled away from reflecting deeper into the mysteries of our faith, central among them would be the significance and impact of Holy Week, which includes the Last Supper, and our Lord’s death on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday. If we fall short in considering these events, we won’t be able to grasp what our Lord’s Ascension into heaven and Pentecost meant and did for mankind and the world. The graces that have been poured out for mankind by virtue of these events are unquantifiable, unfathomable and most of all—life changing.
At the Last Supper, our Lord already announced the arrival the co-Counselor when He said: “…I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever” (John 14:16).
Necessity of Ascension
Jesus’ Ascension into heaven is His homecoming to where He rightfully lives and where He always was from eternity. He is now seated at right hand of God’s power where He was before time and creation. He is now crowned King of kings and Lord of lords, and the Kingdom of God is populated by those who have been elevated as sons and daughters when they entered the Church and have been abiding by Jesus until the end, including all those countless people, Hebrew, Israelite, Jew or gentile, whom God had justified in the past.
At the place of the Ascension, Saint Matthew records this very curious detail in his gospel: “The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted” (Matt 28:16-17).
What does this mean, that the disciples “saw him (Jesus), they worshiped, but they doubted.” What was the doubt all about? We would not know exactly what Saint Matthew was referring to but this is a good episode for teaching about trusting God.
At the Last Supper, Jesus already hinted about leaving them for a short while but also made the promise that He will come back and live with them forever. He said: “I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father and you in me, and I in you.” (John 14: 18-20).
From an apostle’s point of view or any person for that matter, Jesus is the greatest in the world. Therefore, it would really be hard to accept that Jesus is leaving and won’t be seen by them anymore. Jesus was not some person whom they knew or befriended. He significantly impacted their lives forever because He is God in the flesh. Nothing could be better. However, despite our Lord’s promises, they still had doubts probably because their Master was going away and they were about to face a future filled with uncertainties. Remember, these doubts and uncertainties will be erased with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost because Jesus said at the Ascension: “…you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Ascension had to happen first so that Pentecost can follow. A simplistic way of looking at the Lord’s Ascension would be: Jesus ascends so that He and the Father can send the power of God—the Holy Spirit. Why is the Holy Spirit the power of God? It is because He is the love between the Father and Son, and because God is love, everything that God wills and does is out of unselfish and unconditional love, which includes the existence of every human being on the face of the earth.
What we profess in the Nicene Creed is true: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Give of Life. Who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.”
Also, Jesus’ ascension will allow him to prepare a place in heaven for His Apostles and those listed in the Book of Life (the elect): “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be” (John 14: 2-3).
There are other reasons why our Lord’s Ascension was inevitable but as parting thoughts, allow us to share these points:
First, Jesus’ declaration must come true when He told St. Thomas the Apostle: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Our faith works best if we have faith (no pun intended here) because “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). At the Last Supper, our Lord gave us the Eucharist, which works best if Jesus is unseen with the reminder that He is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.
Second, the entire Book of Revelation, particularly Chapter 21, verses 1 to 4, when the Groom (a.k.a. Lamb of God, Lord of lords) presents His Bride to the Father in heaven, which signifies God’s oneness with man by making man His tabernacle, have to be fulfilled:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”
Lastly, when Jesus was no longer visible to the Apostles, two Angels appear in their midst saying: “This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
Jesus’ ascension started the “divine timer” that leads to the Second Coming of the Lord. Also, the Ascension leads us to the Coming of the Holy Spirit because it is Pentecost that gives us the power to journey through life until the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of time.
Additional Notes About the Doubt of the Disciples
For three years, the disciples lived, slept and ate with the Lord of the Universe. Yet, some of them still had doubts. Imagine that!
As to why St. Matthew was able to record this fact can come either from two possibilities: [1] He was one of those who doubted, or [2] they, the Apostles, had a caucus after the Resurrection but before the writing of the Gospel and some confessed about their guilt for not believing that Jesus is Lord and Messiah.
If this select and privileged group of servants of the Lord had their doubts during moments where there were clear divine revelations to them, how much easier it is for us to fall into temptation and sins of this world, a world which is working overtime to take God out of the equation of human existence? Trusting God totally is the key to everlasting life.
Mind you, the Great Commissioning comes directly from Jesus who said: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19-20). Go…make disciples…baptize…teach them to obey.
If St. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus, proving that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah from Heaven, it ends by telling us that He is indeed the Savior who is with us and will be with us until the end of time. Jesus is Immanuel: “God with us.” Even if Jesus is no longer visible with our naked eyes, He is still very much with us if we only believe.
A blessed Ascension Sunday to everyone.
– Gospel reflection by Kuya Rommel Cecilio of SLRP Bible Apostolate Ministry