June 1, 2014: ASCENSION SUNDAY
Acts 1:1-11: while they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
Psalm 47: God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
Ephesians 1:17:23: May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance … he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
Matthew 28:16-20: [Jesus said] And behold, I am with your always, until the end of the age.”
June is the month of the Sacred Heart
Scripture Notes from the Sourcebook:
ABOUT THIS SOLEMNITY: The distinct celebration of the Ascension of the Lord was unknown in the first three and a half centuries. The chronology of dating the Ascension to Forty Days after Lent exist only in the Acts of the Apostles. In the Gospel according to Luke, the Ascension appears to have taken place much earlier, even on Easter Day. The original ending to Mark’s account of the Gospel did not include the Ascension at all, and it can only be inferred from Matthew’s conclusion. When fourth-century Egeria mentions a celebration Forty Days after Easter in Bethlehem, it may have been for the Holy Innocents. But by the fifth century the observance seems to be universally accepted.
THE FIRST READING: In his introduction to the second volume of his work, Luke begins first of all, as he did in his account of the Gospel, by addressing the man who sponsored his work. Then he proceeds to pick up where the Gospel left off, only with a slightly different chronology concerning Jesus’ return to the heavenly realm. In Acts of the Apostles, this takes place after “forty days,” that biblically significant number. His point: The Apostles experienced the presence of th Risen Jesus with them over an extended period of time. His parting words to them: Wait for the promised Holy Spirit; later described as “power” (the Greek word is dynamis). The Holy Spirit is the “power” they will need to be his witnesses, not only to the Jews but to the Gentiles as well.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM 47: Returning to heaven, Jesus is enthroned at the right hand of his heavenly Father. Today’s psalm invites all people to break forth in a joyful hymn of praise to our heavenly King.
SECOND READING: Paul’s beautiful prayer for the Ephesians makes reference to a startling reality: the same power of God that raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in heaven, that same power is at work in the lives of each one of us. Do we recognize the surpassing greatness of this power? Do we draw upon it? May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened, may God give us the wisdom to see – and to allow it to work within us.
THE GOSPEL: Fittingly, in this year of Matthew, we hear his account of Jesus’ final words to his disciples (some of whom are still doubting that it is he!). Interestingly, Matthew makes no reference to Jesus’ departure or Ascension. His emphasis is, rather, on the presence of Jesus with us always until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20), the last words of the Gospel. The Gospel concludes with an open ending, the sending out of the Eleven to make disciples of all nations.
PASTORAL REFLECTION: In letting go of a loved one, the pain is intense. Jesus empowered his friends and left them with a mission. What is your personal mission given by God specifically to you? Pray this week for an answer. Work on writing your personal mission (related to God) that only you can accomplish. In listening and praying, discover new ways to praise God today, be it through music, art, dance, nature, or silent adoration! --2014 Sourcebook for Sundays, Seasons & Weekends
THE ASCENSION: The feast of Ascension is part of what we call the Paschal Mystery. There are four inter-related parts: suffering and death; resurrection; ascension; and the sending of the Spirit. They are closely interlinked as one reality. If the resurrection says that the crucified Jesus is alive, the Ascension says that the living Jesus has entered into glory, sharing on an equal level the glory of his Father. At the same time the feast affirms that Jesus is the Messiah. Luke emphasized that the proclaiming of repentance and the forgiveness of sins was to be proclaimed in His Name, which is the messianic task. This emphasis, in “His Name,” shifts the faith of the believers from Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament, to the Person of Jesus. Therefore St Paul tells us that in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell bodily. At the same time the Ascension opened the door for the beginning of the Divine ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel tells us that Jesus raised His hands and blessed his disciples. The blessing of Jesus was not just an ordinary blessing but the blessing of the True High Priest, who is returning to his Father. This same Jesus who has gone to his Father will come again to gather together and save those eagerly waiting for him.
The Ascension of our Lord took place a long time ago but his parting words are still vibrant to us and must be carried out courageously to be his witnesses in the world of today like the first Apostles. Hence the feast of the Ascension is not to commemorate a departure but the celebration of the living and lasting presence of Jesus in the church. He the Lord, the living head of his Body, the Church, remains always with us as he promised, but now in a new way. He is spiritually present. In fact by this celebration we proclaim that the risen Jesus enters into the fullness of the glory given him by his Father. For the followers of Jesus, his presence with them can make this earth, the daily life, a real heaven. In order to continue to be present with his disciples, and make them truly experience him, Jesus had to leave them. His “old” presence in one human body, in one small corner of the world, was able to reach only a small number of people, in one tiny period of history. But now this gives way to a new presence that will reach the whole world in every age. From now on wherever there is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, wherever there is truth, love, compassion, justice, freedom, beauty the Spirit of Jesus is there. Further he gives the Church his own Spirit to guide it into his mission. As we live this Ascension of our Lord, let us look forward to experience him in our lives and be his messengers in the world of today.
Years ago, a fishing fleet went out from a small harbour on the east coast of Newfoundland. In the afternoon there came a great storm. When night settled down, not a single vessel of all the fleet had found its way into the port. All night long, wives, mothers, children and sweethearts paced up and down the beach, wringing their hands and calling on God to save their loved ones. To add to the horror of the situation, one of the cottages caught fire. Since the men were all away, it was impossible to save the home. When the morning broke, to the joy of all, the entire fleet found safe harbour in the bay. But there was none face with a picture of despair – the wife of the man whose home had been destroyed. Meeting her husband as he landed, she cried, oh, husband, we are ruined. Our home and all it contained was destroyed by fire.” But the man exclaimed, “Thank God for the fire. It was the light of our burning cottage that guided the whole fleet into port.”
---Fr. Eugene Lobo S.J. Mangalore, India, Mount St. Joseph, Jesuit House of Formation, Bangalore
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The Ascension
How can you leave your flock,
O holy shepherd,
in this valley deep and dark,
while you break the pure
air, departing to regions immortal and secure?
Those once blessed,
now sad, afflicted,
those nourished at your breast
and now by you dispossessed,
where will they turn their faces?
Can their eyes,
having seen the beauty of your face,
see anything now that does not fret them?
And to ears that heard your sweetness,
is not all else clamor and dullness?
And that swollen sea,
who now shall calm it?
Who tame the burning wind?
With you in eclipse,
what star shall guide the ship to port?
O envious cloud,
do you grudge even our brief delight?
Where do you fly in such haste?
Your departure, so splendid and bright!
But how poor and blind you leave us!
-- Fray Luis de Leon, Spain, 1527(?0-1591
THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD: The celebration of Easter is the oldest yearly festival of the church. We know this because we still have a few of the writings of second-century Christians, such as Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna (February 23). When he was young he was taught by some of Jesus’ disciples.
On the night of the Jewish Passover, Polycarp celebrated in memory of the death of resurrection of Christ. Other groups of Christians celebrated on the Saturday night and Sunday that followed the Passover. In those earliest years of the church, once a year at Passover time Christians celebrated the fullness of Jesus – his birth and baptism, his life and teachings, his death and burial and resurrection. They celebrated the glory of Christ and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
Especially in the fourth and fifth centuries, new holy days were kept in celebration f gospel events. That’s when most Christians started to celebrate Christmas, Epiphany, the Presentation, the Annunciation, the Birth of John the Baptist and many other festivals. This didn’t happen everywhere at the same time. There were different ways of celebrating and different ways o calculating the seasons.
In the late fourth century, many Christians began to celebrate a feast day in memory of the Ascension of the Lord. In most places this was kept on the 40th day of the 50 days of Easter rejoicing.
St. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus: “The fullness of Christ fills all in all.” This day is not about the absence of Christ. It is about Christ’s presence. At the conclusion of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says, “I am with you always.” -- Mary Ellen Hynes, from Companion to the Calendar ____________________________________________________________________________________ DON’T BE A LITERALIST: Ascension day is a perfect day to draw attention to the fact that literalism is not only problematic, but impossible. Even if someone insists on maintaining the literal truth of the claim in Acts that Jesus literally went up into heaven, they cannot maintain the worldview of the first century Christians which provided the context for the affirmation. They knew nothing of light-years, distant galaxies or interstellar space without oxygen. And it is not possible, through some act of either will or faith, to forget absolutely everything that has been learned since then and believe as they did. Even those who willingly choose to disbelieve modern science are making a choice that the first Christians did not have, and thus accept dogmatically what early Christians naively assumed because they knew no better.
There are plenty who continue to claim they are Biblical literalists. But there are no actual Biblical literalists. Because even the precise words of the Bible, taken literally, mean something different today than they did almost 2,000 years ago.
James D. G. Dunn’s article on “Myth” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (Downers Grove: IVP, 1992) p.568), says: “To demythologize the ascension is not to deny that Jesus “went to heaven”; it is simply to find a way of expressing this in language which takes it out of the realm of current or future space research.”
Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2011/06/quotes-for-ascension-day.html#ixzz333iZHx7S
Sometimes in the late afternoon,
when the day has been very clear, an hour comes when the air is utterly pure and everything seems transparent; a gentle and powerful beauty reigns over all. …
But such earthly beauty is a mere promise of things to come.
One day the light of God’s heart will break forth from all things, and they will be radiant,
and the meaning of God’s love for creation will be revealed to us.
- Romano Guardini
Reflection for June 1, 2014: The Eyes of the Heart
On the Ascension, which we celebrate today, there’s an especially glorious second reading. This is what Paul writes to the Ephesians: May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call. And he describes the miracle God worked in Jesus: raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. He put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
Paul can be challenging sometimes – if you’re a lector, you learn the hard way that you have to practice before you try to read his words out loud. His sentences can be so convoluted that if you just dive in without a mental snorkel handy, you’re likely to end up dizzy and gasping for breath by the time you come up for air. But when Paul is on a roll – when the Holy Spirit is beside him holding the microphone – nobody does it better. And this reading seems to me to ring with the sound of trumpets and glory. All those grand Miltonic syllables – “principality, authority, power and dominion” – not to mention the rock-solid faith they express: the certainty that the Risen Christ sits at the Father’s right hand, far above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
I’m especially struck by the way Paul talks about the church – the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way. His body – meaning Christ’s body -- the One who fills all things in every way. I think those words bring out the mystic inside one: My own mind be-comes ablaze with a vision of the Cosmos: Galaxies spinning through time like Frisbees, and nebulae swirling in colors that no human being has names for – stars and planets and comets all doing their dance through the great halls of eternity. The fullness of the one who fills all things in every way! And the vision is just as awesome if you exchange your telescope for a microscope: God is also present in the tiniest things, filling quarks and photons, pebbles and porcupines -- all creatures both great and small. That’s not to say that the creatures themselves are actual, individual gods to be worshiped as such, but that God is authentically present everywhere – filling all things in every way – present in every turtle, in every star, in the flower-scented breath of the cool morning late-spring breeze. God fills everything in every way, and yet lets each thing remain its distinctive self, setting it free to move through time and creation according to a purpose we mere humans may never know. We use the phrase “the Body of Christ” a lot, usually speaking of the Eucharist. And at times, we acknowledge that we ourselves are also the Body of Christ. But how often do we think about what it means? The knowledge that we are the Body of Christ is the basis for the whole shebang, as it were – especially for our church’s teachings on respecting life. If we are the Body of Christ, then what we do to each other, we do to Christ. It’s like a law of physics, written into the way God set up the world. Jesus does his best to hammer this home – think about Matthew’s story about the sheep and the goats -- but too often we try to water it down, to smooth down the ragged edges, because this kind of thinking complicates everything. But there it is: We are the Body of Christ. All of us. And “life” is not something that begins at conception and ends at birth, freeing us from responsibility for each other once the umbilical cord is cut. No, I’m afraid we have to keep caring about one another, as long as we last. Even if we get on each other’s nerves. Even if we really don’t like each other. Oscar Romero wrote: “There is no dichotomy between a man and God’s image. Who-ever tortures a human being, whoever abuses a human being, whoever outrages a human being, abuses God’s image.”
We are all filled with God, alive with God, and yet given God’s own freedom to do what we will in our brief lives – even to shutting the door on God, refusing to let God’s light illuminate our hearts. It’s an unnerving business, this kind of freedom – especially when you realize how large and scary the universe can be. The 14th century English mystic, Julian of Norwich, understood how small, and yet precious, we are. She wrote: “[Christ] showed me a little thing, the size of a hazelnut, and it was round as a ball. I looked at it with the eye of my understanding and thought, ‘What may this be?’” He answered: “It is all that is made.” And Julian marveled at how very fragile it was; it seemed, she wrote, that “it might suddenly sink into nothing because of its littleness.” What keeps everything – this whole universe – together? she managed to ask. And Jesus answered: “It lasts and ever shall, because God loves it.”
“Why are you looking up to Heaven?” the angels ask the apostles today. I think they mean: Quit looking away from the world, from the creatures, from each other; it’s time to start paying attention to what’s in front of you. Do you want to see the face of Christ? Look into the eyes of the person beside you. Do you want to touch the body of Christ? You are already a part of it. What we do to ourselves and the rest of the planet matters deeply. When we turn our backs on love – when we injure the Body of Christ -- it’s the bitterest kind of amputation. But how can we learn to love as we are loved? Only by learning to see with the eyes of our hearts. Let that be our prayer, now and forever: In Jesus’ name. – Diane Sylvain