"Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky . . . "
Acts 1:
1-11
Eph 1:
17-23
Mt 28:
16-20
So, is it
“Ascension Thursday” or now “Ascension Sunday?”
What day of the week Jesus’ actually ascended into heaven is not clear to
us. In the same way, did the risen Christ ascend on the evening of that first
Sunday when he appeared to the Apostles three days after his death as Luke seems to imply in
his Gospel or was there a period of time between the resurrection and the
ascension, as the other Gospel writers imply?
If so, how much time? Traditionally,
40 days and so 40 days from Easter Sunday falls roughly on a Thursday, and
there is the background for the traditional Ascension Thursday. Pentecost, next Sunday, is taken from the
very word, - as in the Pentagon in Washington which has 5 sides to its form - which translates to mean 50 – 50 days after Easter the Holy Spirit
descended on the Apostles as they waited, according to Jesus’ own instructions,
for the Spirit. Also, Pentecost was a Jewish feast so the connection is obvious.
However,
for years now, the Ascension was transferred to the Sunday before Pentecost for
pastoral reasons: the attendance at Holy Thursday Mass, though a Holy Day of
Obligation, was ordinarily very low. So, in order to allow for the larger
parish community to celebrate this important Feast back in about 1998 it was
officially transferred to Sunday according to the local Bishop’s judgement and
the best pastoral need of the people. Meaning for nearly 20 years now we have
celebrated Ascension Sunday. So, the decision had nothing to do with being
liberal or traditional but rather a sensitive response to the practical
realities of the lives of parishioners, especially those who live in western
states, great distances from their parish churches.
All that
aside, we celebrate an event not a day and so let’s reflect more on this
significant event in our salvation:
The famed
English playwright and poet, William Shakespeare, is likely the most quoted
author we’ve ever had. His plays, poems,
and sonnets remain timeless. One famous line is taken from his play Romeo and
Juliet. As these two lovers leave each
other one night, Juliet speaks fondly to Romeo: “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” In their context, those famous words
of Juliet imply that leaving Romeo is both a moment of sadness and a time of
sweetness. She is sad to leave him but
also filled with a certain sweetness knowing they will see each other again.
Strangely,
that line came to me as I was preparing these readings and I wondered for a
moment what this Shakespeare play might have to do with the Feast we celebrate
today, that of the Lord’s Ascension into heaven. Yet, in the earthly life of
Jesus, this transitional moment after his resurrection we might say was bitter
sweet for the Apostles. He had been with
them for a number of years; they shared intimately in his teaching and his
moments of divine revelation. They were his trusted disciples, his friends.
There was great disillusionment at his tragic death but greater joy at his
resurrection. Now, as he left this earth, how could they carry on without him?
Although
there was still much for them to learn and comprehend, these disciples knew Jesus,
now revealed as Savior and Son of God, invited all to a new kind of love, a
charity or agape encounter with the living God that is based in communion with
one another and with God. The new
covenant shed and sealed by his blood on the cross, forever realigns us in a
new way. It invites all humanity to see
God not as distant and uncaring but as up close and merciful.
That being
said, for the Apostles who at the Last Supper were told by Jesus: “I no longer call you slaves but friends”
the leaving of our Lord from their physical sight and presence must have been a
moment of sadness. They stood for a time
at the sight of the Ascension, as our readings from Acts today tell us,momentarily stuck: “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.” We stand for a moment in the
sadness of that parting and wonder if life will ever be the same again.
Yet, we
know the lives of the Apostles never would be the same again. They were told by Jesus: “. . . to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you
have heard me speak; . . . 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.” (Acts 1: 1-11). In Acts, the “ends of the earth” is a
reference to the ancient center of the world – Rome – where Paul and Peter were
martyred and this book of scripture ends.
So, the
sadness of losing sight of our Lord would be replaced by the sweetness, the joy
of a new presence; a new way in which Christ would be present and active among
them and in the Church about to be born on Pentecost. Jesus parting from this
earth was a moment of sadness tempered with the hope of something more – the
coming of the Holy Spirit.
So, this
Feast of the Ascension, while it may not grab us in the same way that Christmas
or Easter or even next Sunday with the remembrance of the Spirit’s coming may
hold us, it remains an important event of both joy and anticipation.
We share
in the joy of Christ himself. The joy of
gratitude the Apostles felt by the privilege they had to be witnesses of all
that Jesus did and said and the joy of knowing that Christ will never abandon
us. We are not orphaned or separated from the love Christ has for us, now
hidden behind the signs of the sacraments where the Spirit gives life and
breath.
Just as they,
we also cannot stand idly looking up into the sky as the Apostles did at that
moment. Our faith is not static and
fixed; it is a living person, Christ Jesus himself, alive in every age and we
know that once the Spirit came upon them, these Apostles would begin the
mission Jesus entrusted to them.
We too can
wait for our Lord in prayer and the work we do to share in the mission of
witnessing to the Gospel of Christ. While we may certainly feel at times
unprepared, because we know that many have not heard much about the good news
Christ has brought, we hear that God is inviting us into a new kind of love relationship
based in love and peace. For many of those who have heard the good news, there
is still an ignorance that can be addressed.
Alternatively,
many have rejected or at best grown indifferent to that message. At times when
a diverse crowd gathers for a wedding or a funeral of a loved one, aren’t those
moments to evangelize? When a couple
brings a child to be baptized, shouldn’t we see that encounter as a opportunity
to witness to this good news of Christ in the Church and invite the parents to
renew their own faith? When we gather
each weekend those are priceless moments to present the faith of the Church in a
positive and welcome way. These are all
prime times that provide for us opportunities to truly be who we profess to be
– the body of Christ in this world.
With Jesus
himself as head of his Church and we his members, let’s use this coming week to
prepare – to “go to the city and wait” as Jesus requested of his men. We should pray that the Spirit received in
Baptism, Confirmation, and Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist offer us the
courage and strength we all need to be authentic witnesses. The Spirit may need
to wake us up a bit!
Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God,
and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving,
for the Ascension of Christ your Son
is our exaltation,
and, where the Head has gone before in glory,
the Body is called to follow in hope.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
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