Monk’s

Corner

Ascension

Of the Lord

Audio

Ascension of the Lord Mt 28:16-20

Think of it, my friends, Jesus has no other plans than to leave these twelve simple men, inspired by the Holy Spirit to begin building his world wide Church. When he left them on the top of mount Olivet, they were on their own. Consider their thoughts at that point, what are our thoughts knowing that we are here in this generation to continue to work for that same Church.

In our first reading Saint Luke, a gentile physician, gives us, what I consider, the best account of the Ascension of the Lord. It is not so much a change of location but a change of the state of Jesus. From being on the earth with human beings he now is with his Father in heaven. The prologue refers to St. Luke’s gospel as a ‘first book’. It speaks to the last events of our Lord’s life on earth — the appearances of the risen Christ and then his ascension into heaven as he links with this story which he now begins.

Jesus assures his disciples that they will be “baptized with the Holy Spirit” and become his “witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and to the ends of the earth.” The Baptist’s baptism with water was an external sign of internal change of heart, the descent of the Holy Spirit will bring about a complete change of mind and heart of the Apostles.

After hearing this, the Apostles ask him if he will now restore the rule of Israel. They are still expecting a messianic kingdom for Israel, or perhaps a theocratic kingdom here on earth, to be established when Christ would return in glory. All you can say is the Apostles were slow learners, but they eventually caught up with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The ascension, the return of Christ to heaven in his glorified human body is the culmination and seal of his salvific mission on earth. He, the Son of God, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, became man, lived and died on this earth so that men and women could live with God forever in heaven. By his death on the cross, he reconciled sinful humanity with their divine Creator. And that is why he now sits with honor at the right hand of the almighty Father. He is there as our representative and intercessor. He told the Apostles, and through them to us, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places … I am going to prepare a place for you and then I will come back and to take you with me, so that where I am you also will be” (Jn 14:2-3). What a great joy this feast is for a true believer!

It is a natural desire for humans, to whom God put in us at our creation, to continue living. Death then becomes our birth into eternal life gained for us by Jesus. Earthly death awaits all of us for human nature is mortal. How fearful it must be for those who do not believe in God, if the grave were the final end for us. We Christians know it is not the end and today this feast of the Ascension reminds us of that fact. For Jesus said he is preparing a place for us and he wants us to be where he is.

As we dwell in this valley of tears and see the violence and immorality creeping through the Church and across the world, we must lift ourselves above all this Satanic evil by remaining close to God, his Son, their Spirit and our Blessed Mother Mary. All the saints and angels are here to aid us to proclaim our faith to whomever will listen. This is not always easy but our great solemnities like the Resurrection, which we just celebrated, and this solemnity of Jesus returning to his Father forever, These celebrations remind us of what we believe and what Jesus taught to keep us on track as we travel down the rails, on our journey to heaven.

These beliefs, my friends, are not just pious thoughts, they are spiritual realities given to the human race by the Son of God who came upon this earth to save us from our sins and give us the gift of eternal life with him. Like his disciples we are with him now as he is truly present to us body and blood, soul and divinity, in his risen body which resides on the altar and the tabernacle of this church.