The Ascension of the Lord (A)

"Ascension of Christ"
by Guariento d'Arpo, c. 1344

Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Readings for The Ascension of the Lord[1][2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary: [3]

 Reading 1: Acts 1:1-11

In the first 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.”
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Commentary on Acts 1:1-11

We have today the introductory comments of St. Luke as he begins the Acts of the Apostles.  Like any well written story, he connects the events that have just taken place in his first volume- The Gospel of Luke, with what will follow.

Using the interval of days, Luke links the resurrection, Christ’s glorification, and his ascension with the appearance of the Holy Spirit – the Pascal Mystery.  Christ’s departure marks the end of his direct involvement with the Apostles, except for his appearance to Paul on the road to Damascus.  The passage concludes with a unique description of the actual event or Jesus being taken into heaven. 

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

or:
R. Alleluia.

All you peoples, clap your hands,

shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the Lord, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

or:
R. Alleluia.

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;

the Lord, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

For king of all the earth is God;

sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

We hear once more the praise of the 47^th Psalm (the same verses used at Mass yesterday – Saturday of the sixth week of Easter) but with a different Antiphon.  Since we celebrate Christ’s Ascension, the refrain uses the sixth verse to announce His entry to heaven.

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Reading II: Ephesians 1:17-23

Brothers and sisters:

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,
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.
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Commentary on Eph 1:17-23

The selection provided is part of St. Paul’s introductory comments to the Ephesians.  His focus in this passage underlines the enlightenment flowing from the Holy Spirit.  The final sentences provide an understanding of the power assumed by the Lord as he ascends to the Father.

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Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,

to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
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,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
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Commentary on Mt 28:16-20

This passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew presents “The Commissioning” monologue that concludes this Gospel.  The doubting disciples are reassured that all the Lord had predicted, all the prophets had foretold had come to pass and the Lord now assumed his place with the Father.  He then sends them out to continue His earthly mission.  His command to them is an important one. “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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”  In this statement we receive the proper “form” and institution of the Sacrament of Baptism and the command to bring all nations to follow the Lord.  He finally reassures them that he will be with them always.

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Reflection:

We ask the question on this solemn day; “Why was more not made of the Lord’s ascension to the Father?”  While it is referred to in scripture in some places, it is not even mentioned in the Gospel of St. Matthew or St. John’s for that matter.  In St. Mark’s Gospel it is given only one verse (and some scholars say this may have been a later addition, not even intended by the author when it was first published.).  In the scripture St. Luke (Lk 24:46-53) speaks of the event.  But unlike the resurrection and even the birth of Jesus, this event, the final event in the Lord’s presence among us, we are only given a few verses.  Even the St. Paul’s support speaks of the Lord’s ascension as the necessary conclusion to Christ’s ministry on earth rather than a tremendous event.  Why is that we wonder?

We look to our next most important source, the Patristic Fathers, the earliest theologians; those mighty minds that first considered the very nature of Christ and His Church.  We find little written about the importance of the Ascension of Christ from that source.  St. Thomas Aquinas did treat the subject in the Suma Theologica  in the Third Part (Tertia Pars) considering the life of Christ he devotes a question to the topic (Question 57). While asking about the rationale and effect of Christ’s ascension, he does not question the reason for its lack of prominence.

Having found little to answer the question from pre-existing sources, we must use our own understanding of Christ and of human nature to infer the reasons.  First we look at the situation in real-time, and set in its historical perspective.  We know that the Lord ascended on the fourth day following his resurrection from the dead (“The elevation of Christ into heaven by His own power in presence of His disciples the fortieth day after His Resurrection. It is narrated in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.”[4]).  The disciples have just gone from anguish at the Lord’s death to joy at his promised resurrection.  The event that fulfilled God’s promise and was proof of salvation.  What is the last thing they would want?  They would not want to loose him again.

In a really enjoyable story, the ending is “…and they all lived happily ever after.”  The fact that Christ died and rose from the dead is the happy ending.  The Ascension of the Lord, even though it was foretold as well, was not something either the disciples or the early Church wanted to dwell upon.  It meant that Jesus, the man, the living proof of God’s inestimable love, was no longer with them in body.

The Ascension of the Lord is a happy day for us.  It is truly the happy ending that had to be.  Jesus returned as he said he would.  He left his final instructions with his friends before departing “to take his seat at the right hand of the Father.”  We rejoice today in that knowledge because it was necessary that he go on before us to prepare that place were we and all who walk in faith hope one day to follow.  Even though it does not consume volumes of scripture, we rejoice as the Lord returns to the Father for us.

Pax

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[1] ALTRE

[2] The picture used today is “Ascension of Christ” by Guariento d'Arpo, c. 1344

[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I. Published 1907. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York, Ascension, Written by John J. Wynne. Transcribed by Joseph P. Thomas.

 

EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Catechism Links [1]

CCC 2563: The heart is the home of truth

CCC 1755-1756: Good acts and evil acts

CCC 1783-1794: Forming conscience and decision-making

CCC 2690: Spiritual direction

CCC 1009-1013: Christian view of death

“The Blind Leading the Blind” by Pieter van der Heyden,c. 1561

Readingsfor the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time[2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 

FIRST READING [4]

Sirach 27:4-7

When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear;

  so do one's faults when one speaks.

As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace,

  so in tribulation is the test of the just.

The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had;

  so too does one's speech disclose the bent of one's mind.

Praise no one before he speaks,

  for it is then that people are tested.

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Commentary on Sir 27:4-7

In this passage the author addresses dangers to human integrity and friendship with three analogies.  The analogy of the shaken sieve refers to the process of separating good grain from husks (or refuses from the Greek kopria). The grain is passed through the sieve but the refuse is thrown away or burned.  The analogy is mindful of the St. John the Baptist’s references to the threshing floor (Matthew 3:12) where the wheat remains but the chaff is burned.  The second analogy, the potter's test, is consistent with the theme of the just being tested through tribulations (see also Sirach 2:5; Wisdom 3:5-6; 1 Peter 1:7).

The passage clarifies what will be considered by God and others to be the fruits of integrity, the words uttered by a person define the person’s heart to others.  Similarly Jesus will also take up this topic as he states “It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” (Matthew 15:11)

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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

R. (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

  to sing praise to your name. Most High,

to proclaim your kindness at dawn

  and your faithfulness throughout the night.

R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,

  like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.

They that are planted in the house of the LORD

  shall flourish in the courts of our God.

R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

 They shall bear fruit even in old age;

  vigorous and sturdy shall they be,

declaring how just is the Lord,

  my rock, in whom there is no wrong.

R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

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Commentary on Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

Psalm 92 is a song of thanksgiving. The psalmist sees God’s gifts pouring onto the faithful and in consequence, those who dwell with the Lord will flourish and bear fruit. In their faith there is great strength and endurance in God’s great wholesomeness.

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SECOND READING

1 Corinthians 15:54-58

Brothers and sisters:

When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility

  and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality,

  then the word that is written shall come about:

     Death is swallowed up in victory.

     Where, O death, is your victory?

     Where, O death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin,

  and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory

  through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters,

   be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord,

   knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

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Commentary on 1 Cor 15:54-58

This passage is St. Paul’s hymn of victory over death. It concludes his discourse on the resurrection. When the bodies of the elect, by resurrection or change become incorrupt, death is defeated, prophecy is fulfilled (Isaiah 25:8), and the final victory is won. He loosely quotes Hosea 13:14 in which the “sting” of death is vanquished; a reference to the venomous sting of a serpent’s bit, the allegory to sin. The serpent without its sting can no longer harm those clothed in Christ.

St. Paul sees this as a perversion of the Law by which sin was defined and applied but without giving mankind the strength to avoid the sins so defined (see also Romans 7:7-25). The hard work of the faithful Christian is not in vain as Christ’s victory is granted and salvation assured.

CCC: 1 Cor 15:56 602

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GOSPEL

Luke 6:39-45

Jesus told his disciples a parable,

   "Can a blind person guide a blind person?

Will not both fall into a pit?

No disciple is superior to the teacher;

  but when fully trained,

   every disciple will be like his teacher.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,

   but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?

How can you say to your brother,

   'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,'

   when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own

       eye?

You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;

   then you will see clearly

   to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.

 "A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,

   nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.

 For every tree is known by its own fruit.

 For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,

   nor do they gather grapes from brambles.

 A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart

     produces good,

   but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;

   for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks."

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Commentary on Lk 6:39-45

St. Luke continues Jesus’ dialogue from the “Sermon on the Plain” concerning the judgment of others. Taking his disciples aside he tells them that in time they will assume his role in proclaiming the Gospel (“but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher”). The exhortation that follows is not intended to say that they should not notice the failings of others; that would be inconsistent with Matthew 7:5,6. Rather “against passing judgment in a spirit of arrogance, forgetful of one's own faults.”[5]

The passage concludes Jesus’ discourse on judgment of others using the analogy of the fruits born by a tree – good and bad. The intent of this allegory was to expose false prophets – hypocrites who say one thing but do another. "What matters is not whether or not we wear a religious habit; it is whether we try to practice the virtues and surrender our will to God and order our lives as His Majesty ordains, and not want to do our will but his" (St Teresa of Avila, "Interior Castle", II, 6).[6]

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Reflection:

I recently met a man while on a trip to the North Country.  He was standing outside my hotel room as I checked out and he seemed ordinary enough.  He had a really pretty black Labrador Retriever on a leash laying at his feet.  I had come and gone to the room a couple times, bringing out bags when he struck up a conversation.  I commented on hid dog and he told me it was the first time he had been off-leash which surprised me because he was clearly on a leash.  It was then that the man told me he was blind and the dog was in fact a leader dog.   I did not realize the man was blind until he told me.

It begs the question, in light of today’s Gospel from St. Luke, how do we know if those we meet are blind?  Or perhaps even a better question; how do we know when we are blind?  The Lord speaks to us  about being judgmental; of making determinations about others before we understand completely their situations.  Like the blind man who didn’t seem blind, how often do we assume others are blind without trying to understand where their apparent blindness comes from?

As disciples of Christ we are called to treat every person we meet with the dignity that should be afforded to a son or daughter of God.  We are told, in no uncertain terms, that we must not be deceived by appearances or, as the Lord himself showed us as he was tempted in the desert, not to be fooled by smooth speech and overly generous offers.  We are called to examine our own motives and standards. 

Taking the Gospel from Luke with the analogies from Sirach we must draw one piece of wisdom from what we have heard today; embrace God’s wisdom for ourselves, praying for God’s grace and peace and do not set a bar for the behavior of others we ourselves cannot achieve.

Pax

 

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “The Blind Leading the Blind” by Pieter van der Heyden,c. 1561
[3] S.S. Commemoratio

[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.

[5] See NAB footnote on Matthew 7:1
[6] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp. 396