“For God is king over all the earth; sing hymns of praise.” (Psalm 47:8)
Reflections on the readings for the Ascension of the Lord (May 26, 2022): ACTS 1:1-11; PS 47:2-3,6-7,8-9; EPH 1:17-23; LK 24:46-53
MISSIO offers “Preaching Mission,” as a homily help, providing connections to mission from the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
As we hear in the second reading today, Christ was the Head and all who believed in Him were His Body. Yet only through the Spirit could all things come to fruition...
In the Gospel for this Ascension Thursday, we hear that “Jesus said to His disciples: ‘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. … As He blessed them He parted from them and was taken up to heaven” (Luke 24:46-48,51). In reminding his beloved followers that He had suffered, died and risen again, our Lord wants them to see the whole picture of His sacrifice and His victory over death and evil. He immediately tells them the part they must play in the future. Jesus Himself had preached that God would forgive the sins of all who come to Him in contrition. Now He wants the Apostles and other disciples to hear, one last time, that they are called to go to all nations. All those chosen to spread His message were not simply expected to repeat His words, but also to share His love, His life, His person.
Christ also told them to stay together and wait for a time. The promise of My Father -- the Holy Spirit -- would come upon them. As ready as they may have believed they were, Jesus knew they could only fulfill their task with the guidance and grace of the Spirit. We hear about their joy and the time they spent in the temple praying. Yet it is likely that they still did not completely grasp what had just happened or what was to come -- to them as individuals or to the Church as a whole. As we hear in the second reading today, Christ was the Head and all who believed in Him were His Body. Yet only through the Spirit could all things come to fruition: “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” (Ephesians 1:17). The Ascension of our Lord is part of the whole divine plan for salvation, as is the Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Pentecost. Our merciful God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- has planned all things for the eternal well-being of His precious children.
