Ascension of the Lord Homily Year B

Ascension of the Lord Homily – Year B

Reading: Acts 1:1-11, Eph 1:17-23, Mk 16:15-20

1st Reading – ACTS 1:1-11

¹ In the first book I made, O Theophilus, of all things which Jesus began to do and to teach,

² Until the day on which, giving commandments by the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, he was taken up.

³ To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them, and speaking of the kingdom of God.

⁴ And eating together with them, he commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard me by my mouth.

⁵ For John indeed baptized with water, but you shall, in a few days, be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

⁶ When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or moments, which the Father has put in his own power.

⁸ But you shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the world.”

⁹ And when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight.

¹⁰ And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments.

¹¹ Who also said: You men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven.

Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

² All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
³ For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

⁶ God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
⁷ Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

⁸ For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
⁹ God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

2nd Reading – Ephesians 1:17-23

Brothers and sisters:
¹⁷ May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give unto you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation, in the knowledge of him:

¹⁸ The eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what the hope is of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.

¹⁹ And what is the exceeding greatness of his power towards us, who believe according to the operation of the might of his power,

²⁰ Which he worked in Christ, raising him up from the dead, and setting him on his right hand in the heavenly places.

²¹ Above all principality, and power, and virtue, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.

²² And he has subjected all things under his feet, and has made him head over all the church,
²³ Which is his body, and the fulness of him who is filled all in all

OR Ephesians 4:1-13

¹  Brothers and sisters, I, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called,

³ Be Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

⁴  One body and one Spirit; as you are called in one hope of your calling.

⁵  One Lord, one faith, one baptism.

⁶  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.

⁷  But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

⁸  Therefore, it says: He ascended on high and took prisoners captive; he gave gifts to men.

⁹  What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended into the lower regions of the earth?

¹⁰  The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

¹¹  And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,

¹²  to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

¹³  until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature to manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

OR Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13

¹  Brothers and sisters, I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the calling you have received,

²  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love,

³  striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace:

⁴  one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your calling;

⁵  one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

⁶  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷  But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

¹¹  And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,

¹²  to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

¹³  until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature to manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

Alleluia – Matthew 28:19A, 20B

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
^19A Go and teach all nations, says the Lord;
^20B I am with you always, until the end of the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel – Mark 16:15-20 – (Gospel for Year B)

¹⁵  Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature.

¹⁶  He that believes and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believes not shall be condemned.

¹⁷  And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall cast out devils: they shall speak with new tongues.

¹⁸  They shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover.

¹⁹  And the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God.

²⁰  But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirming the word with signs that followed.

Gospel – Luke 24:46-53 – (Gospel for Year C)

⁴⁶ Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead, the third day

⁴⁷ and that penance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, unto all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

⁴⁸ And you are witnesses of these things.

⁴⁹ And I send the promise of my Father upon you: but stay you in the city till you be endued with power from on high.

⁵⁰ Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them.

⁵¹ As he blessed them, he departed from them and was carried up to heaven.

⁵² And they adoring went back into Jerusalem with great joy.

⁵³ And they were always in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Gospel – Matthew 28:16-20 – (Gospel for Year A)

¹⁶  And the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had ordered them.

¹⁷  And seeing them they adored: but some doubted.

¹⁸  And Jesus coming to them, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and on earth.

¹⁹  Go, therefore, and teach all the nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

²⁰  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

Homily

An Ascension Inviting Descent

“This Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will return”(Acts)

Some botanists roaming the mountains to collect rare plants spied an exotic flower cradled on a ledge below the peak on which they stood. Afraid of climbing down, they requested a small tribal boy passing by, “Why don’t you help us? We’ll tie a rope ‘round your waist and lower you onto that ledge. And, when you come up with that flower, we’ll reward you.” The boy thought awhile and replied, “Okay, I’ll be back soon!” Soon he returned with a poor man and said, “This is my daddy. Let him lower me down!” The botanists agreed. Then, the poor man tied the rope around his child’s waist, lowered him onto the ledge, and after he plucked the flower, drew him up safely; The image of son descending and ascending is apt for the feast of the Ascension.

Jesus’ life literally has ups and downs. lts first ‘down’ is the Incarnation when, although he is God’s Son, Jesus is born among us as a human being (Phil 2:5-8; Jn l:l4). God’s ‘self-emptying’ finds its climax in Jesus’ passion and death. But, this is followed by the ‘up’ of the resurrection, which is the supreme guarantee of God’s power over Life. God is a God of Life, not death.

The Ascension cannot be divorced from Jesus’ resurrection. The apostles persistently proclaimed that, “Jesus is risen and ascended into heaven.” This is clear in the gospels of Mark and Matthew. However, today’s first reading – that prefaces the ‘Acts of the Apostles’ (authored by evangelist Luke) – is the only place in Scripture where we have the Ascension dated 40 days after the resurrection. Here too, the number forty is not to be taken literally but symbolically as a holy period of revelation. Be that as it may, what’s important is that Jesus “was taken up” and enthroned “at the right hand of God’.

The Ascension is a work of God, the Father: Jesus’ Abba. The phrase “was taken up” is what is termed a ‘theological passive’ – used in a similar sense, for instance, in the assumption of prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 2:1 I). This means that God, the Father raises Jesus, takes him up into the divine glory that was eternally his, and reinstates him as ‘Lord’. The title ‘Lord’ and “right hand of God” imagery (see Ps l. 10:1) is reminiscent of Jesus’ sovereignty and kingship. His ascension reminds us that he is the mediator between God and human beings and Judge of all peoples.

The ascension of our Lord and King, Jesus, makes us look heavenward and move forward with hope. Jesus has preceded us to our heavenly home so that where He – the head and firstborn – is, we, his sisters and brothers, shall also be. But, the Ascension also reminds us of the reproach of two angels to the disciples: “Why are you standing here looking into the sky?” This ‘looking up stance of the disciples suggests their eager expectation of Christ’s imminent ‘second coming’. But, this was not to be, since the ascending Jesus instructs them to go ‘down’ and outwards to witness “to the ends of the earth.”

Like the boy linked to his father by the rope, Jesus, ‘The Way’, links us to Abba. Thus, while the Ascension reminds us of our divine connections, it also invests us with the responsibility of moving ‘down’ and outwards within our own ‘end of the world’. In India, for instance, where barer 2% of the population is Christian, we can ask ourselves: How can we be witnesses of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension?

Let’s remember the angels’ words, “This same Jesus who has been taken up will come back!” Let’s also remember that, when he will return, seated on his glorious throne, he will not ask us how much ‘upward’ we have progressed, but how far outward and ‘downward’ we have bent to serve the ‘least’ of his sisters and brothers (see Mt 25:3 l ff). Will we be judged worthy to move upward with Him?