ASCENSION OF THE LORD – YEAR C
HE IS BESIDE EVERY PERSON FOREVER
Has anything changed on earth since Jesus entered into the glory of the Father? Externally, nothing has changed. People’s lives continued as before: sowing and reaping, trading, building houses, traveling, weeping, and celebrating, just as they always had. Even the apostles faced no less drama and anguish than others. However, something new occurred: a new light was cast on people's existence.
On a foggy day, the sun suddenly appears. The mountains, the sea, the fields, the trees in the forest, the scents of flowers, and the songs of birds remain unchanged, but how wesee and perceive them becomes different. This transformation also occurs in those enlightened by faith in Jesus, who ascended to heaven: they view the world with renewed eyes. Everything gains meaning; nothing saddens, and nothing frightens anymore.
Beyond misfortunes, fatalities, miseries, and human errors, one can always glimpse the Lord who builds His kingdom. An example of this entirely new perspective is how weconsider the years of our lives. We all know and perhaps smile at, eighty-year-olds who envy those younger than themselves and who feel ashamed of their age... in short, they look to the past rather than the future. The certainty of ascension alters this perspective. As the years pass, Christians find satisfaction in seeing the day of the definitive encounter with Christ approaching; they are joyful in being alive, do not envy the younger ones, and regardthem with tenderness.
“The sufferings of this present time are not worth
compared to the future glory that will be revealed in us.”
First Reading: Acts 1:1-11
On the Mount of Olives, the Crusaders constructed a small octagonal sanctuary. The Muslims converted it into a mosque in 1200. I explained to the pilgrims with whom I was traveling that this little structure now has a roof, but it was initially open to commemorate the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. A light-hearted group member remarked, ‘It had no roof because otherwise, as Jesus ascended, he would have hit his head.’ Another pilgrim objected to this irreverent joke, but others viewed it as an opportunity for an in-depth study of the meaning of this passage in Acts.
At first glance, the story of the Ascension flows smoothly; however, when all the details are considered, one begins to feel uneasy. After all, it seems rather unlikely that Jesus left us like an astronaut who detaches himself from the ground, rises to the sky, and disappears beyond the clouds. We encounter difficulties in trying to explain some aspects of the different accounts of the Ascension.
At the end of his Gospel, Luke—the author of Acts—states that the Risen Lord led his disciples to Bethany: “And as he blessed them, he withdrew and was taken to heaven. They worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem full of joy” (Lk 24:50-53). Set aside the odd remark about their being ‘full of joy’ (who among us is happy when a friend departs?) and the apparent disagreements on the location (Bethany is somewhat off the beaten pathconcerning the Mount of Olives). Yet, perhaps what surprises us most are the discrepancies about the date: according to Luke 24, the Ascension occurs on the same day as Easter, while in Acts, it was forty days later (Acts 1:3). Interestingly, the same author provides two conflicting accounts of the same event.
If we consider the second version (the one of the forty days) accurate, the question immediately arises: What did Jesus do during those forty days? On Calvary, did he not promise the thief: Today you will be with me in paradise? Why didn’t he go there at once?
These difficulties serve as a warning: perhaps Luke’s intention was not to inform us about where, how, and when Jesus ascended into heaven. Rather (indeed, indeed), his focuslies elsewhere: he aims to address problems and resolve doubts in his community. He seeks to enlighten the Christians of his time on the ineffable mystery of Easter. For this reason, as an artist with a pen, he crafts a theological narrative through a literary genre and imageryfamiliar to his contemporaries. This demands that we grasp the language he employs.
Even during Jesus' lifetime, the anticipation of the arrival of the Kingdom of God was very vivid. Apocalyptic writers proclaimed it as imminent. They expected a flood of purifying fire from heaven, the resurrection of the righteous, and the beginning of a new world. An atmosphere of excitement was evident among some disciples, fueled by certain expressions of Jesus that were easily misunderstood: “You will not have passed through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes” (Mt 10:23).
However, with the Master's death, all hopes were dashed. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus summed it up: “We had hoped that he would redeem Israel” (Lk 24:21). But the resurrection rekindles expectations as the conviction of Christ's imminent return spreads among the disciples. Some zealots based their beliefs on alleged revelations and even announced a specific date. The invocation “Maranatha” (Rev 22:20) – “Come, Lord Jesus” – is echoed throughout all the communities.
However, as the years pass, the Lord has not returned. Many start to doubt: “What has happened to his promised coming? Since our ancestors in faith died, everything continues as it has since the beginning of the world” (2 Pet 3:4).
Luke writes during this crisis of faltering faith. He realizes that misunderstanding is the source of the bitter disappointment among Christians: the resurrection of Jesus marked merely the beginning of the Kingdom of God; it was not the end of the story. The construction of this new world has just started. It will require a long time and much effort from the disciples. How was Luke to correct these false expectations? He introduces a dialogue between Jesus and the apostles on the first page of the book of Acts.
Consider their proposed question: When will the Kingdom of God come? (v. 6). This is the same question all Christians wanted to ask the Master at the end of the first century. The response of the Risen One is directed more toward the members of Luke’s community than to the Twelve: “It is not for you to know the time and the steps the Father has fixed by his 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, even to the ends of the earth” (v. 7-8).
The scene of the Ascension follows this dialogue (vv. 9-11). Jesus and the disciples were seated in the house at the table (Acts 1:4). Why didn’t they say goodbye to each other at supper? Why did they need to go to the Mount of Olives? Additionally, there are further details: the cloud, the eyes turned skyward, and the two men in white robes. Are these facts in the story or literary devices?
In the Old Testament, there is a remarkably similar story: the ‘snatching’ of Elijah (2 Kgs 2:9-15). One day, this great prophet finds himself near the Jordan River with his disciple Elisha. Upon learning that his teacher will leave him, Elisha dares to request two-thirds of his spirit as an inheritance. Elijah promises him this, but only on one condition: if you see me when I am taken from you. Suddenly, as Elisha looks heavenward, a chariot with horses of fire snatches Elijah up in a whirlwind. From that moment, Elisha receives the spirit of hismaster and can continue his mission. The Book of Kings recounts the works of Elisha, whichfollow the tradition of Elijah.
Identifying the prophetic elements shared with the narrative in Acts is easy. This leads directly to the conclusion that Luke employed the grand and solemn scenario of Elijah’s snatching to convey a reality that cannot be verified by the senses or adequately described in words: the Passover of Jesus, his resurrection, and his entry into the glory of the Father.
In the Old Testament, the cloud symbolizes the presence of God in a specific location (Ex 13:22). Luke uses this imagery to affirm that Jesus, the defeated One, the stone the builders rejected, and the One whom the enemies would have preferred to remain forever a prisoner of death, was instead embraced by God and proclaimed as ‘Lord.’ The two men dressed in white are the same individuals who appear at the tomb on Easter Day (Lk 24:4). According to biblical symbolism, white represents the realm of God. The words spoken by the two men provide an explanation from God regarding Easter: Jesus, the faithful servant executed by men, is glorified. Their testimony is credible; as two witnesses, they are reliable.
Finally, the gaze turned skyward. Like Elisha, the apostles and the Christians of Luke’s time also contemplate the Master who has distanced himself. Their gaze reflects the hope of his imminent return, the desire that, after a brief interval, he will resume the work that was interrupted. However, the voice from the sky clarifies: he will not bring it to completion; you will. You will do it; you will be equipped to do so because you have spent forty days with him(in the language of Judaism, this was the time required for preparing a disciple), and you have received the Spirit. For the apostles, as for Elisha, the image of the ‘rapture of the master’ signifies the handover between them.
In Luke’s lifetime, there were Christians who ‘looked to the sky,’ meaning those who sawreligion as an escape rather than a motivation to take action to improve people's lives. God says to them: Stop looking at the sky; you need to demonstrate the authenticity of your faith on earth. Jesus will return, yes, but that hope should not be a reason to alienate yourselves from the problems of this world. “Happy are those servants whom the master finds wide-awake when he comes” (Lk 12:37).
Did Jesus then ascend into heaven? Of course, he did. To say that he ascended to heaven is equivalent to saying he is risen, glorified, and has entered God's glory. His body, it is true, was placed in the tomb, but God did not need the atoms of his body to grant him the‘resurrected body’ that Paul refers to as his ‘spiritual body’ (1 Cor 15:35-50).
Forty days after Easter, there was neither displacement in space nor a ‘rapture’ from the Mount of Olives toward heaven. The Ascension occurred at the moment of death, even though the disciples only began to understand and believe from the ‘third day.’
The story of Luke is a theological narrative, not a columnist's report. In this narrative, he conveys that Jesus was the first to pass through the ‘veil of the temple’ that separated the world of humanity from that of God. He illustrates how everything on earth- successes, mishaps, injustice, suffering, and even the most absurd events, such as a shameful death- iswithin God’s plan.
The Ascension of Jesus embodies all of that. Therefore, we should not be surprised that the apostles met it joyfully (Lk 24:52).
Second Reading: Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23
Today, we continue to use the term priests to refer to presbyters and the ministers of the Eucharist and Reconciliation. However, the Second Vatican Council carefully avoided this,reserving the term priest—as does the entire New Testament—for Christ and the people of God united with Christ in offering spiritual sacrifices pleasing to the Father.
The passage from the Letter to the Hebrews presented today highlights two reasons why Jesus is the only proper priest. First, the ancient priests offered sacrifices in a stone temple, while Jesus conducted his ministry in heaven, in a sanctuary not constructed by human hands (Heb 9:24).
Next, the priesthood of the Old Covenant aimed to purify the people of their sins. To atone for these sins, the high priest would enter - alone and in fear - into the most sacred part of the temple, the Holy of Holies, and pour the blood of the sacrificed animals onto the stone believed to have been placed by God as the foundation of the world. This stone was also said to act as a stopper that prevented the waters of the abyss from spilling out. If, on Yom Kippur, the people's sins had not been expiated, the infernal waters would once againbe unleashed upon the world through the precise and careful execution of all the purifying rites.
The high priest repeated these liturgical gestures yearly, yet he obtained no remission of sin. People continued to be wicked and in need of atonement. Jesus' priesthood is entirelydifferent: He offered a unique and perfect sacrifice and did not shed animal blood; instead, He gave His blood and, through His act of love, removed sin forever (Heb 9:25-27). He will return, not to repeat the sacrifices, but to take the men whom His unique and perfect sacrifice has redeemed from all guilt (Heb 9:28).
In the second part of the reading (Heb 10:19-23), the author emphasizes the significanceof the sacrifice made by Christ and articulates, in theological terms, the ascension to heaven that we celebrate today. He addresses the recipients of his letter as brothers and announces to them that the old worship has ended; Christ has established the new one.
In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke presents this truth using a spatial image; he invites us to contemplate Jesus ascending to heaven. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews introduces the same event in theological language, referring to the liturgy of the Temple of Jerusalem: Jesus is the faithful and unique High Priest who, having crossed the veil that separated the world of people from that of God, enters the eternal sanctuary of heaven. He enters and presents to the Father his sacrifice: not the offering of animals that God was never interested in, but his own life given for all out of love. In this way, he opened the entrance to the Father's house wide for everyone. The final exhortation to the disciple, who now has his heart purified by his blood and his body washed by the water of Baptism, is to be faithful andnot to waver in the profession of this hope (vv. 21-23).
Gospel: Luke 24:46-53
We can study and understand the material realities; it is sufficient to apply intelligence and insight. However, the secrets of God elude us; they are inscrutable, and He alone can reveal them. If we approach Jesus and retrace the steps of His life guided only by human wisdom, we face a dense mystery; we are groping in the dark. From beginning to end, what happens to Him remains an enigma. Mary, His mother, is surprised and amazed when God's plan unfolds in her Son (Lk 2:33,50). In faith, she too must ‘put together,’ like puzzle pieces, the various events (Lk 2:19) to uncover the Lord's mystery. How can we grasp its meaning?
The Risen Lord answers this question in the first verses of today's Gospel (vv. 46-47). According to Luke, He opened the disciples' minds to understand the Scriptures: "Thus it is written...." The light that illuminates the events of Easter can only come from the word of God announced by the prophets. Jesus says the Bible foretold that the Messiah would suffer, die, and rise again.
It is challenging to find such explicit statements in the Old Testament. However, there is no doubt that the texts of the prophet Isaiah, which describe the Servant of the Lord as “despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and familiar with grief … he will live long and see his descendants ... For the anguish he suffered, he will see the light" (Is 53:3,10-11), changed the minds of the disciples and made them understand that God's Messiah was very different from their expectations.
Another event—says the Risen One—is announced in the Scriptures: "In his name shall conversion and forgiveness of sins be preached to all nations" (v. 47). the reference to the biblical text is apparent. It alludes to the mission of the Servant of the Lord: "I have set you as a light for the nations, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth" (Is 49:6).According to the prophet, it is the task of the Messiah to bring salvation to all nations. How would this prophecy be fulfilled if Jesus limited his activity to his people and offered salvation only to the Israelites (Mt 15:24)?
The second part of today's Gospel (vv. 48-49) addresses this question: Jesus will become the ‘light of the Gentiles’ through the witness of his disciples. This task is far beyond human capacity. Goodwill and admirable qualities alone are insufficient; it is essential to rely on his strength. This is the basis for the promise: "Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high" (v. 49). It heralds the sending of the Spirit, the One who will emerge as the protagonist during the Church's time. In the Acts of the Apostles, his presence is frequentlyhighlighted during key moments, showcasing his support in the critical decisions made by the disciples.
Luke's Gospel concludes with the account of the Ascension (vv. 50-53). Before entering the Father's glory, Jesus blesses the disciples (v. 51). After the liturgical celebrations in the temple, the priest emerges from the holy place and pronounces a solemn blessing on the faithful gathered for prayer (Sir 50:20). Following the blessing, they return to their occupations, confident that the Lord will complete all their efforts and labors. Jesus' blessing accompanies his disciples and serves as a promise and assurance of the complete success of the work they are about to begin.
The final call could only be one of joy: the disciples "returned to Jerusalem with great joy" (v. 52). Luke is the joy evangelist. Already on the first page of his Gospel, we meet the angel of the Lord who tells Zechariah: "You will have joy and exultation, and many will rejoice at his birth" (Lk 1:14). Shortly thereafter, in the account of Jesus' birth, the angel appears again and tells the shepherds, "Do not be afraid; behold, I announce to you great joy, which will be for all the people" (Lk 2:10).
The first reason the disciples rejoice, even though the Master is no longer visibly present among them, is that they have understood he has not remained, as his enemies thought, a prisoner of death.
They have experienced his resurrection and are sure he was the first to cross the ‘veil of the temple’ that separates the world of people from that of God. In doing so, he demonstrated that everything that occurs on earth- successes and misfortunes, injustice, suffering, and even the most absurd events, like those that happened to him- do not escape God's plan. If this is the fate of every person, then death is no longer frightening; Jesus has transformed it into a birth to life with God. This is the first reason to approach even the most dramatic and complicated situations with hope.
The light of the Scriptures helped them understand that Jesus did not go to another place; he did not leave but remained with them. His way of being present is no longer the same, but it is just as accurate. Before Easter, he was limited by all the constraints we are subject to. Now he is no longer and can be with everyone, forever. With the Ascension, his presence has not diminished; it has multiplied! This is the second reason for the joy of thedisciples and ours.
