• Acts 1: 1-11. Between Easter and Ascension Jesus instructed the apostles and advised them to “wait… [for] you will be baptized
  with the Holy Spirit.” Eventually Jesus will return gloriously, the same way by which he ascended from their midst.
• Ephesians 1: 17-23. Christ’s “fullness fills the universe” and so the Lord distributes “the wealth of his glorious heritage” and
  “the immeasurable scope of his power in us who believe.”
• Matthew 28: 16-20. Stresses the Lord’s universal authority and the commission of the apostles to “make disciples of all nations.” It was spoken by Jesus in Galilee.

Thoughts for Your Consideration: By John Gonzalez

As I consider the lectionary readings for this weekend I cannot help but place the interaction between Jesus and his disciples within the context of the rapture which was suppose to take place a couple of weeks ago and which is now being slated for October. The disciples, like so many of us, were also looking for quick and definitive answers. As Jesus prepared to ascend into heaven they eagerly asked him if now was the moment for final culmination of God’s Kingdom here on earth. Jesus offers the sobering response “It is not for you to know the times or seasons.” Instead of passively dwelling with the “end of the world” phenomenon Jesus offers his disciples a call to action to be agents of God’s great love for the entire world. Comically, as Jesus ascends, the disciples simply stand there naively waiting for God to yet intervene so that even angels are commissioned to shoo them away and get them moving on to their appointed task.

The fact is that it is easier for us to sit back and let God do all the work than for us to take responsibility and be an active part of God’s plan for the redemption of the world. The disciples in the first reading and St. Paul in the second reading confront the divine kingship that belongs to Christ but they are reminded that this divine citizenship does not allow them to sit back and judge the world under the false pretense that they are the chosen ones. Instead they are instructed to be actively involved in transforming the world in the vision of justice and peace.

The Gospel passage is very instructive with regards to the challenge of our faith. As with the first reading Jesus again is commissioning the apostles to “make disciples of all nations” and even though he is ascending Jesus assures them of the Holy Spirit and reminds them that he will be with them always. What impresses me is just how human the apostles are in this one passage “When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.” The promise of eternal life and the belief that God’s vision of justice and peace will prevail are articles of faith. Jesus promises to be with us always, this too is an article of faith. We are asked to believe in the promises of our revealed religion even though there is no tangible proof that these promises will come to pass. There are moments where we struggle to believe in the midst of our doubts and disillusions. If the apostles who witnessed the resurrection and the ascension doubted in the presence of Christ how much more difficult is it for us who struggle to believe 2000 years after the fact?

Many times we strive to do what is right on a personal level or to promote what is just and fair on a social level and many times we wonder “what’s the point?” This past week I have been undergoing my own spiritual dryness and I went out to the ocean where I was able to witness God in the power of His own creation. I was able to witness God but I could not feel His presence. And then, as I began to contemplate the universe beyond the sea, the words of the psalmist came to me:

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” (Ps. 8:3-4)

At that moment I was reminded that in many ways I am nothing more than a cosmic germ. Just like a bacteria evolves within my body so too am I like a bacteria in the cosmos, physically insignificant yet empowered to shape the evolution of creation in ways I cannot imagine. We are part of something grand, on the surface it may not seem so, but in the depths of our soul we know that there is purpose and meaning in what we do and in all that happens. So it is that the psalmist could continue with the following verse:

“Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor” (Ps. 8:5)

• Acts 1:1-11. Between Easter and Ascension Jesus instructs the apostles and advised them to “wait… [for] you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Eventually Jesus will return gloriously, the same way by which he ascended from their midst.
• Ephesians 1:17-23. Christ’s “fullness fills the universe” and so the Lord distributes “the wealth of his glorious heritage” and “the immeasurable scope of his power in us who believe.”
• Luke 24:46-53. This passage highlights the necessity of Jesus to suffer and the praise of God by the apostles in the Jerusalem temple.

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzalez

In the Christian tradition the labyrinth is a meditative prayer ritual that was used since the middle ages. It was and continues to be used as a form of personal pilgrimage that symbolized our own spiritual journey in this world. As you walked the labyrinth towards the center you slowly detach yourself from the social and personal baggage of this world. You approach God (the center) free from your secular and material attachments and allow God to penetrate you with His own enlightened wisdom. Once you have attained this enlightenment you slowly journey back into this world in order to now share this pearl of wisdom within society.

As I reflect over the Gospel readings for the feast of the Ascension I am at the Passionist Retreat House in West Hartford, CT where they have constructed an amazing Labyrinth within the property. Jesus’ Ascension is a journey towards enlightenment for the disciples with a promise from Jesus that they will be baptized by the Holy Spirit with great wisdom and spiritual clarity. In the letter to the Ephesians Paul calls them to awareness of this great wisdom “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call.” The enlightenment from the Holy Spirit will clarify for them all that has happened and they will be able to be witnesses to the divine revelation that they experienced and the social message of good news to the poor, sick and oppressed.

In Acts 1:10 the apostles stare in bewilderment into the sky. They are moving towards the center of the labyrinth and there they want to stay. They may not have received the Holy Spirit yet but they know something amazing has taken place. Yet the men dressed in white remind them that they cannot stay at the center of the labyrinth forever. The purpose of enlightenment is not to hoard the wisdom for oneself. Enlightened wisdom is a gift that must be shared “in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The labyrinth and the Ascension narrative share with us the mystical formula of prayer and action. The wisdom of God is beyond our common secular patterns. The social issues that we face cannot be solved by playing the political game of having self-interest groups’ fight amongst each other to control the political agenda. Social issues will only be correctly addressed by offering the issue up to God within a community of prayer and action. True justice will transcend common politics. Instead of fighting each other in endless smear campaigns we will be prompted to adopt a methodology of love, collaboration and genuine respect. For this to happen we must place our social concerns before God in an atmosphere of prayer and contemplation.

The Pastoral Circle is a methodology of prayer and action. It calls us to begin by identifying the issue in the real lived experience of the people who suffer. Once we have inserted ourselves into an experience of social injustice we then move into a phase of social analysis and theological reflection whereby we identify the social root causes behind the issue and reflect on these causes from our own theological framework. Prayer and reflection will give us guidance towards how to respond to social injustice in a way that builds up the suffering human community.

As I reflect on this methodology it kind of reminds me of the labyrinth, a labyrinth of social justice.

• 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?