ASCENSION OF THE LORD
21st May 2023 (Sunday) Readings and Reflection
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Acts 1:1-11
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
R/. God goes up with shouts of Joy. The Lord goes up with trumpet blast. Or: Alleluia.
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:17-23
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Gospel : Matthew 28:16-20
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: ASCENSION OF THE LORD
Indicative: We celebrate today Jesus’ ascension to heaven. Ascension is not just the end of Jesus’ earthly presence. It is not just getting back his glory in heaven. The purpose is not to demonstrate to the disciples about his greatness. It is also not to prove to all that he is glorious. Rather ascension is the point of completion and fulfillment of Jesus’ mission on earth as a human person. {alertSuccess}
1. Ascension marks the end of the post- resurrection preparation of the disciples for their life and mission. It is a special time to prepare to live and do without Jesus' physical presence. Yes, the duration between his resurrection and ascension is not a period of suspension. Rather it is a time of intense preparation of the disciples.
2. The risen Lord appears to them, continues to teach them, illumine them, guide them, strengthen, and confirm them in their faith and mission. It was a preparation to meet the future in his physical absence. How the future will be without Jesus? How they have to live and do their mission? These are crucial and disturbing questions.
3. Here we highlight three essential aspects of ascension. They are namely, confirmation, assurance and assignment. Primarily ascension is a confirmation. Ascension confirms our faith that our Lord is Lord of heaven. He is seated at the right hand of the Father He is able to sympathize with us. He intercedes for us, and sustains us from heaven.
4. It Confirms that heaven is the original abode of Jesus. It gives the Confirmation that Jesus is in eternal communion with the Father and the Spirit. Confirmation that Jesus resumes his original abode, his original glory, his original identity, his original communion. He is not gaining anything new, anything that is not his. He is regaining what is his own.
5. In fact ascension is truly restoration. Jesus attests: “As I came from the Father and have come into the world, so I am leaving the world and going to the Father” (Jn 16. 28). God the Father restores to Jesus his original glory. Jesus accomplishes Father’s will and the mission entrusted to him. The Father is pleased with his fidelity, and so as sign of this holy pleasure and as an evidence of this victory over evil, God raises Jesus, and that is resurrection.
6. Thus resurrection is the authentic testimony that Jesus’ incarnation, life, passion and death are not futile, but are purposive and infinitely efficacious and meritorious. Thereafter ascension is a complete confirmation of this victory and glory. Jesus goes back to where he comes from. A vital chapter of his redemptive mission is over.
7. Then ascension is Assurance: assurance that we will not be left alone as he goes away from the earth. Assurance that he will never abandon us but will accompany us through the Holy Spirit. Assurance that our help will not be less with Jesus’ going away, but in fact will be much more. In heaven and from heaven, he is totally powerful, and he is not restricted and constrained by any human limitations and vicissitudes.
8. Therefore we should rejoice that Jesus ascended to heaven, rather than lament that he has left us, going away from earth. This is what Jesus makes clear to the disciples also: “it is better for you that I go away, because as long as I do not leave, the Helper will not come to you” (Jn 16. 7). So an assurance that Jesus’ presence, guidance and power will never cease. The Holy Spirit will continue the same presence, guidance and power of Jesus.
9. It is also an Assurance that our destiny and destination is also heaven, as Jesus assures the disciples in his farewell discourse, “you shall be with me where I am” (Jn 14. 3). Assurance that they and we will share the same glory, as Jesus prays in his farewell prayer: “Father, since you have given them to me, I want them to be with me where I am and see the Glory you gave me” (Jn 17. 24).
10. Further, there is also a summon, an assignment: It is a call to trust in a new kind of presence and power of God, and to live the spiritual presence and power, beyond the physical. We should go beyond our too much clinging to what is physical, direct, external and visible. We must learn to walk in a higher spiritual realm.
11. Thereby Ascension carries along an assignment to commit ourselves to attain the same destiny of ascension, i.e. residing in the same Glory. It is a commitment to a daily ascension. This consists in an incessant restoration, regaining our original identity and dignity. Obtaining the heavenly glory is not acquiring something new which is not there. It is not a novel creation or a grand invention or acquisition. Rather it is a discovery, a recapturing, a regain of what is already there.
Imperative: Ascension is a commitment to become what we already are: to daily “ascend” to our real higher self, our true identity of being God’s own images, the children of God, disciples and friends of Christ, abodes of the Holy Spirit and the heirs of heaven.{alertSuccess}