THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD

It’s time to play a quick game of Jeopardy with the category being the New Testament.   Remember to put your answer in the form of a question. 

• Answer:  This book of the Bible begins with the account of the Ascension of Christ into heaven and tells the story of the beginning of the Church.
  • Question: What is the Acts of the Apostles?
• Answer:  He is the author of the Acts of the Apostles and also wrote one of the four Gospels.
  • Question: Who is Luke?
• Answer:  The Greek name for “Beloved of God.”
  • Question: Who is Theophilus?

Luke clearly states the purpose of his Gospel, “I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day He was taken up …”  In his second book, the Acts of the Apostles, Luke shows us how the apostles, disciples and first followers acted on what they had learned from Jesus.

Remember, Jesus handpicked His apostles.  He taught and coached them for three years without any semester breaks, summer vacations or ski days. They were on an intensive course, a fast track.

With their own eyes, the apostles saw Jesus heal the sick, cure the blind, feed the multitudes and walk on water.  With their own ears, they heard Jesus engage the crowds with His parables: the Prodigal Son, the Sower and the Seeds, the Ten Virgins, and the Good Samaritan.

Jesus told them that He would die but He would rise in three days, and that He would never leave them orphans.  And it happened just as Jesus said it would.  He did die. He did rise from the dead.  And He would never abandon them, or us, ever.

In today’s first reading, from the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles were asked, “Why are you standing there looking at the sky?” 

I can think of two reasons why they were standing there:

First, they were still trying to comprehend Christ rising from the dead and appearing to them in His glorified body. And now, they were in awe of what they had just experienced:  Christ ascending into heaven.  

Second, they were overwhelmed by what Christ had called them to do: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” 

God is counting on us to listen and to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

What baffles me about the Ascension is not so much how it happened or that it seems to go against reason and logic, but what it reveals about God’s faith in us. 

The Ascension is not primarily about our faith in God. 

The Ascension is about God’s faith in us. 

Christ had more confidence in these first men and women than they had in themselves.  Jesus has so much trust and faith in you and me that He physically removed Himself and commissioned us, just as He did the first disciples, to “GO therefore and MAKE disciples of all nations, BAPTIZING them and TEACHING them…”

This passage of Sacred Scripture, which we hear in today’s Gospel from Matthew, is famously known as The Great Commission.

The four responsibilities in Christ’s Great Commission are what makes us intentional disciples:

To go

To make

To baptize

To teach

How well are we doing that?

Jesus left us with clear direction.  How well are we doing following them?

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be both a follower and a learner. We are called to follow in the footsteps of Christ in every sense of the word.  And this can be summed up in three statements that Jesus repeated over and over in His teachings:

Love God with all your heart, soul and mind.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

And love your enemies.

The Great Commission is the biggest handoff ever known in the history of humankind.  The baton has been turned over to you and me. Think how critical the handoff is in a relay race or a football game.  It pales in comparison to what Christ hands off to us. 

It is our turn.  Jesus has faith in us.

To GO and MAKE disciples means you and I must first be disciples ourselves. Jesus trusts us with His mission. He has no other plan. So don’t just stand there staring at the sky.

Instead, have a personal relationship with Jesus and see Him in everyone you meet.  Be welcoming of all, regardless of a person’s background or circumstances.  Pray daily.  Study your faith by reading and discussing it with others.  Give generously of your time and resources. 

And, most of all, share your faith in words and deeds to relieve suffering, remove ignorance, heal wounds and eliminate divisions. Be an advocate for peace and justice by spreading the message of how we are loved by Jesus and how we are called to love one another.

Go, make disciples, baptize, teach and love Jesus. 

Perhaps you come to church once a week.  That is a start, but it is not discipleship.  We hope that you don’t just sit in the pew, go home and do nothing else, because that is not enough. 

Ask yourself: 

“Do I have a personal relationship with Jesus in my heart, like the Apostles?” 

Or am I just staring, standing here staring up at the sky?