The Feast of the Ascension A
behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Acts 1:1-11. Psalm 46: 2-3, 6-9. Rv. 6 Ephesians 1:17-23. Matthew 28: 16-20
Gospel
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.”
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.”
Fact or Fiction in your life?
Jesus has come to the end of his earthly life. It must have been a sad day for the disciples. His death shattered them and they felt lost as they sat huddled together in the upper room. Then they were overjoyed when Jesus stood in their midst and showed them his hands and his feet. ‘Yes, it was him. He has risen’. He spent forty days making sure they realized he had truly risen. They were days of great joy for the disciples but now the forty days are over. Jesus now reveals to them the meaning of his life. He is returning to God his Father but he is not returning alone- he is ‘taking captivity captive’. Those who surrender to him will be lead by him into the same glory that he won by his life and death.
He is going away but will not leave us orphans. We will not be helpless in the face of a hostile world. He promises another Helper who will never leave us. He is the Holy Spirit and he will come down on us with power.
This life is a life of ‘absence’ but it is also a life of hope. We believe in Jesus. We love him and keep his commandments. St. Paul’s desire is that we will receive the spirit of wisdom so that we may know Jesus. So many believe in Jesus but how many know him personally? If we are the friends of Jesus then there is a great inheritance waiting for us. It is beyond anything we can imagine here but those who have gone before us, our relatives and friends, have entered into this glory. If Christ takes us ‘captive’ we receive the liberty of God. Paul desires that we be filled with the enthusiasm of hope.
Meanwhile we are to be witnesses to Jesus and we are to make not just converts but disciples of all nations. Men and women are to come to know Jesus personally and commit their lives to him. “If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Either in life or in death, we belong to the Lord”. Rom 14:7. This is possible because Jesus has promised to be with us always;’ yes to the end of time’.
Evangelization springs from our great joy and hope in Jesus. Having come to know Jesus and the hope he holds out to us, we wish to share him with as many as possible. The more love we have for Jesus, the more we want to share him
Have you experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit with power? Have you a great desire to know Jesus? How can you share him with others?
Father as we look forward to Pentecost may Jesus win for us a greater outpouring of the Spirit and power.
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