Today, we commemorate Jesus' ascension
into heaven as a part of our celebration of the Easter season. The Ascension occurs 40 days after Easter
Sunday, so it falls on a Thursday. The
Ascension is a Holy Day of Obligation, and because of the pastoral reason of
knowing that most of the faithful could not come to the mass on Thursday, most
of the dioceses in the United State transfer this celebration to the following
Sunday, and we celebrate it today instead of the seventh Sunday of Easter. An interesting trivia fact: The Archdioceses
of Hartford, Philadelphia, Newark, New York, Boston, and the state of Nebraska
are places in the US where the Ascension is still celebrated on Thursday.
I think often times the Ascension gets
lost in the midst of the Easter season, especially since it is so close to
Pentecost. We know that Jesus ascended
into heaven in the Ascension. What more
can we really say about it?
We know that the readings we've had
since Easter morning have shed light on the reality of Jesus in our lives, of
what the paschal mystery and resurrection mean to us. And the Ascension is no different. As followers of Jesus, we can interpret our
Lord's ascension into heaven in several different ways. We can see it as an end to Jesus' earthly
ministry, in a sense his final act here on earth. Or we can see the Ascension as a type of
intermission to be concluded upon Christ's return in the end times. But, rather than an end or an intermission, I
think it is better for us to see the Ascension as a new beginning - a new way
of being for us as Jesus' followers. St.
Augustine echoes this message of the Ascension as a new reality, telling us
that “today, our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven: let our hearts ascend
with him.” St Augustine tells us that the reality of the
Ascension is directly related to how we experience the kingdom of God in our
lives, “for just as Christ remained with us even after his ascension, so we too
are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us hasn't yet been
fulfilled in our bodies.”
In many ways, the Ascension re-focused
the faith of the early Church after Jesus' resurrection. The faithful of the Early Church could not
forget that as a community of believers, that community now comprises the body
of Christ present on earth. Of course,
we have the body of Christ in the Eucharist we share together as we gather
around the Lord's Table, just as we have Christ's presence in our Church's
other Sacraments. In this joyful Easter
season, we’ve had other special reminders of Christ’s presence with us as
well. We’ve had a sprinkling with holy
water at the beginning of our Sunday masses
to remind us of our new life in Christ through the waters of baptism. We’ve
also had the light of Christ present with us in the Paschal Candle during the
Easter season.
I love the image that we have of the
Ascension from the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. Jesus is lifted up into the heavens, where a
cloud takes him from the sight of the Apostles.
Apostles are fixated on Jesus – their gaze is fixed on the heavens. Out of nowhere, two men appear in white. Perhaps they are angels? The men ask them: Why are you looking up at the sky? They are implying that the Apostles should be
more focus on their lives in the here and now, in proclaiming Christ’s Gospel
to the world and living out their faith.
The Ascension is about building up the
Body of Christ on earth, about our own ascension to that reality. It’s about attaining a unity of faith,
gaining a deeper understanding of Jesus, and being completely alive in
Christ. The ascension is about maturing
in our relationship with Christ, but also about recapturing the enthusiasm and
joy of our faith that we see in the children and youth of our parish. The ascension isn’t simply a story of the
past that points to the coming of the Holy Spirit; it is the reality of
Christ's divine presence for all who do not yet believe, as well as his
forgiveness and redemption for all who do believe & who are called to an on-going
process of conversion and renewal.
The first year I was a priest, one of
the youth from my parish in Jackson gave me a prayer he thought I could share
with the prisoners I visited on a regular basis. This prayer captures the spirit of the
Ascension, about how we're called to be the body of Christ here on earth and to
bring Jesus' presence to others. I will
close my homily with this prayer:
Lord
Jesus, I give you my hands to do your work,
I
give you my feet, to follow your path,
I
give you my eyes to see as you do.
I
give you my tongue to speak your words,
I
give you my mind so that you can think in me,
I
give you my spirit so that you can pray in me.
Above
all, I give you my heart, so in me you can love your father & all people.
I
give you my whole self so you can grow in me, until it is you, Lord, who lives,
works, & prays in me. AMEN
No comments:
Post a Comment