Ascension of the Lord (s) (B)
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Texts taken from the Missal “On Your Word” May-June 2021
This Sunday we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. Jesus withdraws from our sight in order to be present in an even deeper way, because he is now present within us through his Spirit and is visible to the eyes of faith. Jesus, although taken up into heaven to intercede for us at the right hand of the Father, lives in us and is with us wherever two or three are united in his name (Mt 18:20).
FIRST READING
From the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:1-11)
In the first account, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up into heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his passion by many proofs, 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 fulfillment of the Father's promise, «the promise, he said, that you heard from me: John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit». So when they had come together, they asked him, «Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?». But he replied, «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 watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, behold, two men in white garments stood beside them and said, «Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking at the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have seen him go into heaven». – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the first reading
«Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking at the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have seen him go into heaven». In this case, staring aimlessly into the sky is like losing hope. Believing that Jesus has abandoned us. It would be a second edition of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, when almost everyone scatters, believing that they had merely deceived themselves by thinking of Jesus as the Messiah. The heaven referred to here is not a physical place for interstellar shuttles or the psychological fantasy of naïve and gullible people. Rather, it is a theological place, a reference of faith to the communion between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Ascension is not an abandonment or a farewell, but a promise that will undoubtedly be fulfilled: it concerns the divine person of Jesus, who now shows his divinity in an absolute way. A divinity that, however, has been united forever with our humanity. Therefore, as we will hear in the second reading, the Ascension of Jesus is also communion of divine life with humanity. Feet on earth and heart in heaven.
SECOND READING
From the letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians (Eph 4:1-13)
Brothers and sisters, I, a prisoner for the Lord, exhort you: live in a manner worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another in love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. One body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says: «When he ascended on high, he took captives captive; he gave gifts to men». What does «he ascended» mean except that he had first descended into the lower regions of the earth? The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature adulthood, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the second reading
«When he ascended on high, he took captives captive; he gave gifts to men». We are the captives, all humanity, from the first person to the last. Without Christ, we are slaves to sin and darkness. With Christ, we become free, joyful people capable of loving. Thus we receive Christ's gifts, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul himself declares that he is a prisoner, but in chains for the glory of Christ and the apostolate. We are all called to a fullness of life, but this is the fullness of Christ, God incarnate, who died and rose again for us. Each person is offered a calling, a grace, a ministry: it is up to us whether or not to accept this new life. Contemporary humanity risks placing everything on the same level, failing to distinguish between objective good and evil: there are certain realities that, upon closer examination, carry within themselves a root of evil and sin. We cannot continue to call evil good and good evil. If we learn to make this discernment, we set ourselves on the path that leads us to the Father.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Mark (Mk 16:15-20)
At that time, [Jesus appeared to the Eleven] and said to them: «Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages, they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover». The Lord Jesus, after speaking with them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. Then they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the Word through the signs that accompanied it. The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel of the day
«Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned». The view of human history without Christ risks appearing like a pendulum swinging from one extreme to another. From the centuries when Baptism was imposed by force to today, when sacramental belonging to Christ is belittled, if not eliminated altogether. The contemporary thesis would be that we were all born good, yet for some there was the gift of Baptism. In reality, the Word of God and sound Christian Tradition express exactly the opposite. For humanity, receiving the sacraments is an indispensable requirement: they are God's effective signs in us. Without Christ, it is impossible for us to save ourselves. The third chapter of the Book of Genesis narrates, in a spirit of faith and using images appropriate to the time in which it was written, a very concrete truth: «Without me you can do nothing» (Jn 15:5), Jesus says. Humanity without God is not true humanity. A future without Christ leads us back into the errors of the past: from those who want to obtain power through violence to those who crush you with insidious blackmail.
