FEAST OF THE ASCENSION
May 4, 2008Reflections on Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47:2-3,6-7, 8-9
Ephesians 1:17-23
Matthew 28:16-20
by Mary Benet McKinney, O.S.B.
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“Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” The answer seems pretty obvious. “That’s where he went…up and away from us!” It’s an awkward moment. Jesus had promised not to leave them orphans, to be with them always. And then - he was gone. What was happening? They had just adjusted to his showing up in unexpected times and unexpected places, in unexpected ways. Now what?
This story from the Acts of the Apostles weaves together the mystery of the resurrection and the ascension. The stories that elucidate the resurrection point out what life is like when Jesus is with us. The ascension story is meant to teach us what life is like when Jesus is with God.
Or we may say it this way: This feast challenged the apostles, and now challenges us, to become aware of the spiritual presence of Jesus without any physical manifestation of that presence.
It’s been fifty days since Easter. During this post Easter season, as we have been putting ourselves into the Gospel stories, we have consistently been provided with experiences of Jesus…we have seen him, touched him, heard him, asked him questions, shared meals with him, walked with him. And by the assurance of that physical presence, come to believe that Jesus has, indeed, risen from the grave. But now a new chapter has begun. The reality of that physical presence has gone away in a cloud. And we, like the apostles, stand with open mouths and unbelieving eyes! But we, like them, are also left with a promise: “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth.”
Paul says it so beautifully in his letter to the Ephesians: “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened that you may know what is the hope that belongs to God’s call.”
The Gospel adds light to the story given in the Acts. The apostles “went up to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.” That’s the call. As we spend this week preparing for the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost we would do well to reflect on what “mountains” Jesus has ordered us. They may be mountains of joy or of sorrow, of accomplishment or of failure, of excitement or boredom. They may be mountains that bring us to people or take us away from them. Whatever, we will find Jesus there waiting for us. Then, like the apostles, we will be able to worship him even as our hearts are filed with doubt. We will come to recognize that Jesus has passed beyond our sight, not to abandon us, but to be our hope that where he has gone we may one day follow.
As this feast, then, sets us up for Pentecost we are given three considerations to ponder.
1 To what mountains is Jesus calling me?
2 To what is he asking me to witness?
3 How does death, which separates us from a loved one, in another and more intimate sense deepen our spiritual union with that person?This latter point is especially significant as we remember Paul during this liturgy and all that he was to so many, especially to Terri and Sarah and Emma. Paul, like Jesus, is no longer with us physically. But he has not abandoned us. His spirit, his love, his concern, even his humor remains with us always.