Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension. The danger of a feast like the feast of the Ascension is precisely this – that with Christ’s ascension into heaven we may think of God being up there, unconnected to the world here below. After all, didn’t the disciples stand there looking into the sky? (Act 1:11) So I began writing this homily by asking myself the question. ‘What significance does the ascension of Jesus hold for me’? ‘What relevance can Ascension have for us today’?
And here is my answer. I would like to discuss this in three points.
1. First, the ascension of Jesus reveals our ORIGIN & DESTINY. Just the other day, I met with someone who has just crossed fifty. He has his own business, is wealthy, and has a family. That did not stop him from asking the same existential questions that most people at some point ask: “Is this it?” “What do I make of my life for the next fifty years?” Even as a priest, I am not immune from the question: “What is the deeper meaning of my life?” Then there are the basic existential questions: “Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going’? The ascension of Jesus answers these questions for us. The ascension of Jesus completes the story of our redemption. It is the final link in the chain of redemption. It tells us that Jesus not only came from God but also returned back to God. For us, this means that, like Jesus, we not only know where we have come from but also where we are going. In other words, we know our origin and destiny. Life is not a mere sojourn. Life for a Christian is a deliberate, purposeful and meaningful living precisely because of our origin and our destiny. I will elaborate more on the meaning of life in my third point.
2. Second, ascension gives us HOPE. Let me read for you the prayer that St. Paul makes for the Ephesians in today’s second reading. “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. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call….” (Eph 5:17-18). St. Paul is praying for two things for the Ephesians: the knowledge of God and the HOPE that comes from the knowledge of God. On Thursday afternoon, I visited a young person dying of brain tumor. He had been a Catholic in his younger days. The last he went to church was in elementary school. I met both his mother and father, who I guessed, were no longer married to each other. The father was clearly not Catholic but the mother was. I am not sure what the father felt, but the mother simply expressed gratitude that I had come to visit and pray for her son. All she wanted to hear was that he son would be fine. I prayed with her son. I offered him absolution and the assurance of eternal peace. By the time I left, I could literally touch the peace that she had so deeply longed. The feast of the ascension tells us that the hope of redemption that Jesus came to give us, is real. Not one of us has to live without hope. If we understand the ascension of Jesus, then we know that hope is the banner we fly.
3. Third, ascension gives us a NEW DIGNITY. The scene at the end of today’s gospel reading is rather amusing. Jesus has slowly disappeared into the sky. The disciples are standing there… gaping. The angels come and tell them, “Why are you standing there looking at the sky? (Acts 1:11) The disciples are not meant to be stupid people, gaping into the sky any more. Thus far the disciples were learners – weak, groping, uncertain. That changed with the ascension. Jesus gave them a new dignity and purpose, “You are witnesses to these things,” he said to them. Now they must be to others what he was to them. They have now been made partners in the redeeming work of Christ. Human beings have a new dignity. We have a new dignity. From the time we enter this earth to the time we leave it, the meaning of our life comes from trying to think, to talk and to act like Jesus. The meaning and purpose of our life comes from making God shine forth through us. The meaning and purpose of life comes from facing life the way Jesus did. No matter who are professionally, our life must imitate Christ’s life. We are witnesses of Christ - and that is the ultimate meaning of a disciple’s life.
The gospel reading ends with the words, “They did him homage.” (Lk 24:53) That is exactly where ascension of Jesus should lead us… to worship. At this Eucharist, let us not stand gaping. Rather, let us move into the most profound and true worship human beings can offer God. Through this Eucharist let us “do him homage.”
- Fr. Satish Joseph