May 25, 2020
Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached this homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (celebrated in Texas on May 24, 2020) at St. Austin Parish in Austin, TX. The homily is based on the day’s readings: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:17-23; and Matthew 28:16-20.
Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, an event important enough to be mentioned in the Creed. In some parts of the world – including parts of the United States – the Ascension is a holy day of obligation, celebrated three days ago, on the 40th day of Easter.
But why is the Ascension important? To use a joke from the internet, this is not just the day that Jesus started working from his home office. Our psalm and second reading emphasize that Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father, which is proof of his divinity, his relationship with the Father, his unique role in salvation. But if the Ascension is just a proof of a reality that already existed, it seems kind of silly for all those Yankee Catholics (and Catholics in Nebraska) to have to go to Mass on a Thursday to celebrate that.
There’s much more to the Ascension. Our first reading and our gospel reading hint at the impact on our daily lives. But first, let’s take a moment to celebrate that God continues to shower us with love and mercy.
Lord Jesus, you have shown us the way to life in abundance. Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are seated at the right hand of the Father. Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are with us until the end of the age. Lord, have mercy.
If you read the entire final chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, you may feel as if you missed something. It has four short scenes:
- Two women named Mary go to the tomb on Easter Sunday and are greeted by an angel, who tells them that Jesus has been raised and has gone to Galilee.
- The two Marys encounter Jesus, and he asks them to tell the apostles to meet him in Galilee.
- The chief priests and elders bribe the guards to say that Jesus’ disciples stole the body.The apostles meet Jesus in Galilee, and he gives them the commission we just heard. [Read vv. 18-20 again.]
That’s it. The end. Matthew, the most influential gospel in the history of Christianity, the teaching gospel, has nothing more to say. For almost two thousand years, the Church has operated from this three-sentence mission statement.
When we talk about the Ascension, we often concentrate on that first sentence: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Jesus now sits at the right hand of God. But those other two sentences are extremely important, although they lead to two questions:
- First, isn’t this the same Jesus – portrayed by the very Jewish Matthew – who commanded the twelve apostles in chapter 10 not to enter pagan territory and to go only to the lost sheep of Israel? It sure doesn’t sound like he sent them in chapter 10 to make disciples of all nations!
- Second, what’s “the age,” and when does it – or when did it – end?
The answers are related. Matthew has shown that the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ ushered in a new age that will continue until the end of time. The beginning of this age was indicated by the events that happened the last two times we heard from Matthew – on Palm Sunday and on Easter Sunday – the two earthquakes. Matthew tells us that three other things happened as the age of Christianity began:
- The veil in the temple sanctuary was torn in two. Now, there’s some debate which veil this was, but I’d like to believe that this was the veil that prevented the ark of the covenant – often called “the Holy of Holies” – from being directly viewed by the people.
- The bodies of many saints were raised. After Jesus’ resurrection, they entered the holy city of Jerusalem and appeared to many people.
- And Jesus received all authority in heaven and on earth.
What Jesus does do in this new age, now that he has received all authority? He gathers with the eleven apostles, back where it all began in Galilee – from where he went out to all the lost sheep of Israel – and now tells them to go out to all nations. That’s it.
How do you think this would have worked out if Jesus had not ascended to the right hand of the Father? What if Jesus were still in the flesh among us a human being, living in, say, Fort Wayne, Indiana? I imagine our faith would be much less mature – we’d just encourage anyone who didn’t believe to visit Fort Wayne, and we’d leave it to Jesus himself to convince these nonbelievers. And if we ever had doubts on what we should do in a particular situation, we could schedule a videoconference with him.
But Jesus Christ has ascended to heaven. He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, but he, in turn, has given that authority on earth to us! We are to baptize people of all nations into his Body, to share the authority he has given us. The Ascension is sort of like a graduation ceremony. It acknowledges that it’s time for us to take responsibility for our words and actions, even if this pandemic has us grasping for a different set of hopes and dreams than we had three months ago. The Ascension forces us to recognize that the building up of the kingdom of God is in our hands!
Throughout the Sundays of this Easter season, we’ve heard exhortations from the First Letter of Peter, explaining how we are to use the authority that Jesus has bestowed on us. In the seminary, I designed entire worship services around our passage from last week: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you a reason for your hope.” Together, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we have to discern the answers – we can’t just place a long-distance call to Fort Wayne.
At the Ascension, finally, the disciples remained steadfast, faithful, and confident as Jesus disappeared from their sight. Why didn’t Peter panic as when he attempted to walk on water? Why didn’t the apostles scatter as on Good Friday? Through Jesus’ Resurrection, they now knew the reason for their hope. No veil separated the disciples from God. The holy ones had already risen from their graves and entered the holy city. The apostles now had sufficient faith to trust in Jesus’ promises, and moreover, they had sufficient faith in themselves to spread the gospel as Jesus had always known they would. Because the disciples trusted in Jesus, they also trusted that he would soon send them the Holy Spirit. In this age of apostolic faith, we can remain steadfast, faithful, and confident, too, as we baptize and preach!
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and renew the face of the earth!