FROM THE PULPIT SCRIPTURES: Acts 1: 1-11;Ephesians 1: 17-23; Luke 24: 46-53. REFLECTION: ASCENSION Fr. Benoit Mukamba, CSSp. The Ascension of the Lord celebrates the elevation of Jesus from his lowly earthly life into the heavenly glory which he enjoyed before entering our human condition and nature. The Son of God became a man entering our world through the mystery of the Incarnation. He concluded his human life through the Paschal mystery that is his passion, death, resurrection and return to the Eternal Father. The Apostles’ Creed declares that Jesus “was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father almighty.” Hence, Ascension memorizes here on earth what takes place in heaven as the Lord Jesus enters and takes possession of his glorious throne. It is impossible for us to pin down chronologically what happens in heaven, because heaven is governed by eternity while our earthly life runs on time that is limited. The scripture passages of today’s Mass describe what happened in the life of the Apostles simultaneously with what was occurring with the Risen Lord for a period of time, let’s say, forty days after Easter. During this period, the Apostles experienced the appearances of the Risen Lord. They received instructions and clarification on the Scriptures during their encounters with the Risen Jesus. Finally, Jesus assigned to the disciples the task of witnesses and entrusted them with the Holy Spirit to work with them in continuing the mission of salvation. The ascension or the return of Jesus Christ to heaven with our humanity in his glorified body is the culmination and accomplishment of his mission of salvation. By his death on the cross, Christ reconciled sinful human beings to their Creator. Christ’s death as a man earned for us a share in the divine life. His resurrection is God’s guarantee that we too shall rise again to eternal life. Death is no longer an end but a passage point. Jesus’ ascension to the Father is a foreshadow to our own entrance into God’s own eternal kingdom. Jesus himself promised to the Apostles and disciples, “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14: 3) What an assurance and a joy for us to celebrate this feast of Ascension as it invites us to visualize what lies beyond death and grave, and indeed all that we experience in our present form and matter. Death cannot scare us anymore; we are witnesses of the resurrection and have been given the Holy Spirit to accomplish the work of God. |