Ascension Thursday

Readings:

• Acts 1:1-11
• Eph. 1:17-23
• Mark 16:15-20

Thoughts for your consideration:

Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God and Man. His life demonstrates to us the great mystery of what it means to be a human who serves the will of God the Father. True, Jesus is the Son of God and as such we can see the closeness of this mystical relationship throughout the Gospels and culminating in the Resurrection and Ascension. But in the Gospels Jesus reminds us that while he is the Son of God we are called to participate in this intimate relationship with God our Father as adopted sons and daughters.

Today we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus into heaven and taking his place at the right hand of the Father. The account this year comes to us from the Gospel of Mark, in other years we read the account from Matthew and Luke. What is important to know is that the evangelists where not concerned about the historicity of what took place at this time. The details regarding time and place are a bit fuzzy. What is important is not so much what happened to Jesus (the apostles themselves may not have understood what took place here;) instead what is being emphasized is this transition from the incarnational experience of Jesus as the authentic expression of God and man to our own mandate to live as the adopted children of God. We are now are called to be a witness not only to who Jesus was but also to the incarnation of God in our own lives.

The second reading offers us an image of this incarnational living. In accepting this call we are asking God for a “spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.” We request to be enlightened in the ultimate message of God which is “hope.” We live our lives focused on the ultimate meaning “of the one who fills all things in every way.” These are the gifts that we receive as the adopted children of God. The purpose of our lives as followers of Christ and as children of God is to serve humanity as Christ served us while he was with us on Earth. In the Ascension story provided by Mark we are given some examples of what is expected of us:

• Preach the message of God’s great love (proclaim the Gospel)
• Address and remove the presence of evil in our world (drive out demons)
• Teach this message to all people and all nations (speak new languages)
• Walk in confidence with God and have no fear (pick up serpents)
• Heal the suffering members of the human community (lay hands on the sick and they will recover)

Questions for Reflection with your faith sharing group:

• Put yourself in the place of the Apostles as they witness this momentous occasion. How would you comprehend what is taking place at the moment that Jesus ascends into heaven. How does it make you feel?
• The incarnation of Jesus came at a specific time and place in human history. How do you witness to this incarnational living at this time and place? Where do we find the greatest needs for the message and mission of being witnesses to the incarnation?