Triumph and Kingdom Christianity

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the Feast of the Ascension use persuasive language to open our imagination to our mission as disciples of Jesus.

A Kingdom of the past

The prologue to the Acts of the Apostles sets the stage for change and leaves us with questions about acting in response to Jesus Ascension.

* [1:6] The question of the disciples implies that in believing Jesus to be the Christ (see note on Lk 2:11) they had expected him to be a political leader who would restore self-rule to Israel during his historical ministry. When this had not taken place, they ask if it is to take place at this time, the period of the church.

The Letter to the Ephesians identifies Jesus as the head of a mystical body of believers.

* [1:15–23] See note on Rom 1:8 for the thanksgiving form in a letter. Much of the content parallels thoughts in Col 1:3–20. The prayer moves from God and Christ (Eph 1:17, 20–21) to the Ephesians (Eph 1:17–19) and the church (Eph 1:22–23). Paul asks that the blessing imparted by God the Father (Eph 1:3) to the Ephesians will be strengthened in them through the message of the gospel (Eph 1:13, 17–19). Those blessings are seen in the context of God’s might in establishing the sovereignty of Christ over all other creatures (Eph 1:19–21) and in appointing him head of the church (Eph 1:22–23). For the allusion to angelic spirits in Eph 1:21, see Rom 8:38 and Col 1:16. Here, as in 1 Cor 15:24–25 and Col 2:15, every such principality and power is made subject to Christ.

In the Gospel from Mark, an amalgamation of endings from inspired texts gives a context for Jesus Ascension and our commission as His followers.

* [16:9–20] This passage, termed the Longer Ending to the Marcan gospel by comparison with a much briefer conclusion found in some less important manuscripts, has traditionally been accepted as a canonical part of the gospel and was defined as such by the Council of Trent. Early citations of it by the Fathers indicate that it was composed by the second century, although vocabulary and style indicate that it was written by someone other than Mark. It is a general resume of the material concerning the appearances of the risen Jesus, reflecting, in particular, traditions found in Lk 24 and Jn 20.

Andy Alexander, S.J. highlights two things we disciples of Jesus still tend to do and how they outline for us our Mission today.

The point of these moments of self awareness is not to make us feel guilty, ashamed or discouraged. They help us, in the same way the disciples were helped, to head up the road back to Jerusalem and await the coming of the Holy Spirit. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The Greek word Luke uses here is dunamis - which is translated "power." We get our words "dynamic" and "dynamite" from this word. The Spirit gives us something that can give a new dynamism to our lives, a new ability to do more than we could imagine, to be Jesus' witnesses.

Damian Howard SJ ascribes to this feast the utmost significance. He quotes the book Surprised by Hope by Tom Wright and relates it to the shape of the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola.

A Christianity rooted in its original proclamation of the Kingdom of God is not in the first place about life after death, but very much about life in the here and now under the new conditions of God’s reign (which is also not in any way to deny life after death!). If it totally loses its anchor in the Kingdom proclamation, an exclusive concern with resurrection has been known to see this world as a decadent and evil place without hope; salvation begins to look like escape. This is a Gnostic tendency to which Christianity has long been vulnerable. For Wright, the time has come to get back to the original Kingdom-Christianity of the Bible with its confidence in the resurrection of the body, its utter Christ-centredness and its concern for the mission of Christians to help transform the world in accordance with the in-breaking Kingdom.

Don Schwager encourages our faithfulness in quoting Jesus ascends to heaven in his body - divine and human nature, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"You heard what came to our ears just now from the Gospel: 'Lifting up his hands, he blessed them. And it happened, while he was blessing them he withdrew from them, and was carried up to heaven.' Who was carried up to heaven? The Lord Christ was. Who is the Lord Christ? He is the Lord Jesus. What is this? Are you going to separate the human from the divine and make one person of God, another of the man, so that there is no longer a trinity of three but a quaternary of four? Just as you, a human being, are soul and body, so the Lord Christ is Word, soul and body. The Word did not depart from the Father. He both came to us and did not forsake the Father. He both took flesh in the womb and continued to govern the universe. What was lifted up into heaven, if not what had been taken from earth? That is to say, the very flesh, the very body, about which he was speaking when he said to the disciples, 'Feel, and see that a spirit does not have bones and flesh, as you can see that I have' (Luke 24:39).  Let us believe this, brothers and sisters, and if we have difficulty in meeting the arguments of the philosophers, let us hold on to what was demonstrated in the Lord's case without any difficulty of faith. Let them chatter, but let us believe." (excerpt from Sermon 242,6)

The Word Among Us meditation for today teaches that everything must submit to His gospel of mercy and redemption.

First, the ascended Lord took up his throne as King over all of creation. Paul tells us that Jesus is “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” (Ephesians 1:21). Everything must submit to his gospel of mercy and redemption.

Friar Jude Winkler examines the sophisticated texts of the Feast and the audience to whom they are addressed.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, the comments that human longing for creative expression is an inherent part of our being through which we connect to the Divine.

In doing all this, God gave us art, music, sculpture, drama, and literature . . . as footpaths to lead us out of our hiding places and as signposts to lead us along in our search for what was lost. . . .
We must learn to look with more than just our eyes and listen with more than just our ears. . . . We must be aware, at all times and in all places, because windows are everywhere, and at any time we may find one. . . .
What do we see in those windows? What do we see of who we are, or once were, or one day might become? What do we see of our neighbor living down the street or our neighbor living on the street? What do we see about God? [2]

The messages of the Ascension show a way to get back to the original Kingdom-Christianity of the Bible.
References


(n.d.). Acts 1:1-11 Retrieved May 13, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/acts/1:1

(n.d.). Ephesians 1:17-23 Retrieved May 13, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/ephesians/1:17

(n.d.). The Longer Ending. Retrieved May 13, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/mark16.htm

(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved May 13, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

(2012, May 16). Reflections on the Feast of the Ascension | Thinking Faith: The online .... Retrieved May 13, 2018, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20120516_1.htm

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 13, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/