Ascension of the Lord,
Year B: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima
Theme: Christ’s ascension: the hope of our spiritual striving
Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Eph. 4:1-13; Mk. 16:15-20
Every Sunday, we proclaim, in the creed, that Jesus
ascended into heaven, and seated at the right hand of God the Father. How did
this happen? Today, the Church celebrates the feast of this great article of
our faith – the ascension of the Lord – and she tells us how it happened and
gives us some lessons from it.
The first reading gives an
account of the event of the Ascension as recorded in the first chapter of the
Acts of the Apostles. It told us that it happened forty days after the
resurrection of Jesus. On that day, Jesus instructed his apostles to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the baptism by the Holy Spirit so that they
might become his “witnesses to the ends
of the earth” by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then, as they were looking
on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took Him
from their sight, and two Heavenly messengers in white garments gave them
the assurance of Jesus’ “second coming” or return in glory.”
Christ’s Ascension was the
culmination of God’s Divine plan for Christ Jesus, his return to his Father
with “Mission Accomplished." Jesus’
Ascension is the grand finale of all his words and works done for us and for
our salvation. It is a culmination, but
not the conclusion, because,
though Jesus is now with God in glory, he continues to remain with us, dwelling
within us together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He gave us the
assurance when he said "Lo, I am
with you always till the end of time." The Feast of the Ascension
celebrates one aspect of the Resurrection, namely Jesus’ exaltation.
This feast is also a celebration
of the hope of glory for all Christians, the hope of entering into glory for
all of us, after our life here on earth. The ascension of Jesus is the hope of
our spiritual striving. This is the lesson can be seen in the letter to the
Ephesians 1:18 where St. Paul explained the theological meaning of Jesus’
exaltation. He said: "May God
enlighten the eyes of our hearts so that we may know the great hope to which we
have been called". Our
great hope is that one day we too will ascend to Heavenly glory, provided we
complete our part of the mission entrusted to us by our ascending Lord.
This mission is seen in the
gospel of today. It said Jesus commanded us to preach the Good News of
salvation to the whole world by word and deed. He asked us to go to the whole
world and make disciples for Him by preaching the good news and by witnessing
to it with our lives. By doing this, we would be completing the mission of
Jesus. Completing Jesus’ mission should be our goal in life, and the prospect
of sharing the ascended Jesus’ Heavenly glory should be the driving force of
our lives. Our message will only be
validated as coming from God if it can be seen in the way we live with one
another in peace and harmony.
In the second reading, St. Paul
showed us practical ways of preaching this good news to the ends of the earth.
He said we are to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been
called (that means we are to live our lives according to the teachings of
Jesus), with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another
in love, eager to maintain the unity of the holy spirit. Dear friends, when we
live in love, harmony and peace, we are proclaiming the good news of Jesus to
the world. We will continue to receive the Divine assistance and spiritual
gifts necessary for our Christian call to bear witness through the Gift and
presence of Jesus and the Father to us and by the power of the Holy Spirit
living within us.
Fr Isaac Chima
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