THE WORD
FIRST READING Acts 1: 1–11
In the fi rst book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.”
When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But 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.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. 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.”
SECOND READING: Eph 1: 17–23
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
GOSPEL: Lk 24,46-53
And he said to his disciples, “Thus it is written that the Messiah 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. And (behold) I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Then he led them (out) as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.
IN OTHER WORDS
Jesus stood before his disciples and talked about himself in the scriptures, in the Law of Moses, in the Psalms and the Prophets, what we now call the Old Testament. He opened their minds so they could understand. These men had been with him, had heard his teachings, witnessed his miracles, his passion and death. They now stood with him after his resurrection. They understood that they would be taking the message of repentance and forgiveness of sins out into the world. And as they understood, He blessed them, and ascended until a cloud took him from their sight.
The Ascension is an ending and a beginning. Goodbyes are always very painful. So too is it with today’s gospel of the ascension. But one of the first things that strikes you about this particular goodbye is that it isn’t an unhappy one.
What did the disciples do once Jesus said his goodbyes and was gone? They went back to the temple joyous in their praise of God. For them this was a happy time – a time to be glad.
The ascended Jesus defines a new beginning for our relationship with God – just as it did the disciples.
These were the same disciples who, only a short time before, had been hiding in their upstairs room, had seen their master and friend put to death in front of them, and they ran away afraid of reprisals. Even when they had heard the news of Jesus’ resurrection they probably would still have felt afraid and uncomfortably worried about what Jesus would say to them now – knowing how much they’d let him down, how they denied him and doubted him.
Our failures are no barrier to God’s love. As Jesus assured his disciples that their failures didn’t change his love for them, we are assured of this as well. “Nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ”, as St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans.
There are times when we may feel unable to pray, anxious over the things we have done and left undone. We need to leave the locked room of our anxiety and come out into the world. So until that day, how are we going to add to the story? We are the church, we are Christ’s body, we continue his work as He has commanded us to do so.
- Fr. Cyril Ortega, SVD | DWC-Vigan, Ilocos Sur
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
