Walking with Jesus: Ascension of the Lord

For Sunday, May 29, 2022

Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Luke 24:46-53

I remember when I was a youngster and it was time to go to bed ... one of my parents joined me as we knelt down together and I said my nightly prayers. As usual, I wanted to stay up longer but it never worked. The message always was, “Peter, time to go to bed.” So I would drag my time out by praying for everyone I could remember. It worked a very few times, but then it was bedtime.

Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus. One might imagine that its importance is in Jesus’ returning to heaven and assuming the authority He won in His death and resurrection. He descended to be with us … to teach us God’s love … to show us God’s care, love and mercy … to tell us that heaven is our home too. He rose to give us a glimpse of that eternal glory here and now, even as we continue our journey though our designated earthly life. Jesus’ Ascension doesn’t celebrate Jesus’ descent into our dreariness, but the ascent back out of it.  The Spirit is coming to fill in all the blanks … to be with us always, at every moment, leading us to our true forever Home. This is not just a pretty scene; it shows us our role in God’s salvation plan. We have work to do. Our Christian journey through life gives us the foretaste of our eternal home. Jesus has entrusted to us, His Church, the work of His Gospel …including all its risks and struggles. Our Baptism has set the stage in our acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior; we are witnesses to all that Jesus did and taught. We do this in big ways by acknowledging His teaching on love, but more especially in the quiet, simple but less-powerful living of compassion and love that echo the compassion and love of Jesus. We will never really know how effective our efforts have been, but we get glimpses that we are on the right track. We are not silent bystanders. We are on a mission, each of us: We have been called individually; we have been chosen by God Himself. What an honor! The readings help us understand the depth of our witnessing.

After finishing his Gospel, Luke continues with his second work, the Acts of the Apostles, covering the growth of the Gospel in the new Church of God. Imagine you are one of the twelve, living with, listening to, witnessing all that Jesus has said and done. You have already said, “I’m with you through thick and thin.” You have given up everything to follow Him. You can imagine that, by now, you have grasped the central point of His teaching on the Kingdom of God. Now Jesus after the Resurrection has been in a 40-day seminar about His life, love, teachings. It is a one-question final: What is the Kingdom of God? The apostles put the question this way: “Lord, are you now going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” [Acts 1:6] In other words, “Are you going to kick out the awful Roman empire and make Yourself king of Israel? Your kingdom is going to be a political kingdom, right?” Is their response all that absurd? Many Christian believers today take their politics more seriously, more religiously, than their religion. To quote one author: “They have a religious attitude toward politics and a political attitude toward religion.” That’s why Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem … the Spirit is coming. He ascends … the Spirit descends and is still here. Am I listening? Am I aware the Spirit is constantly leading me, loving me? Paul prays for all who believe, asking God to grant them the wisdom to remain faithful to the call and know that this is their way to God’s kingdom. Listen to the words: May the Spirit give you wisdom … knowledge of God … enlightening our hearts … giving hope … to realize the riches of God’s gifts and glory … the surpassing greatness of His power for us … all this for you and me!

Luke’s Gospel closes with the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, and Acts begins repeating the same event. Note that Luke emphasizes the continuity between the earthy Jesus and the risen Lord. And Jesus’ final teaching: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” [Luke 24:46-49]  The Ascension is about the reign of God and Jesus as Lord. Just as God breathed life into Adam in Genesis 2:7, Jesus begins a NEW CREATION … that’s us when we are BAPTIZED into new life in Christ at our Baptism … because Christ lives in each of us. We are to look forward, not backward. We are now the eyes, hands, mouth, ears, feet ... the love of Christ ... to all. Do I see Christ in me? He’s with us all the days of our lives.

So I reflect on:

• Am I living in worry … trying to trust … in a fog … realizing joy in my life? So where is the glory of God in my earthly travels today?
• Song of Songs 5:2 reads: “I was sleeping, but my heart kept vigil …” How have I learned to be always present to God’s love, presence and call for me to be Him today … even at the moments I am weary, out of it, occupied with me?
  

Sacred Space 2022 states:

“Even as He leaves the disciples and sends them as witnesses, Jesus reminds them that He had to suffer, die and rise. As I face the world into which Jesus sends me, I acknowledge that the marks of His suffering will identify me as His disciple.

“I stay before Jesus who lifts His hands in blessing over me. I accept His trust in me as He sends me in His name.

“Jesus promises that His disciples will be clothed with power from on high. I think of those gifts of the Spirit that are necessary for me in my life. I pray for them and prepare to receive them.”