ASCENSION SUNDAY

REFLECTIONS.

1. This passage is rather curious. It tells us that Jesus’ Disciples, after worshipping their Master who had been taken up to Heaven, returned to Jerusalem "full of joy' (Lk 24:52). Strange! We were expecting them to be sad…
2. Did Jesus go up to Heaven? Yes, but his Ascension was not a change of place. At the time of Jesus, people thought of Heaven as a place somewhere up there, that is why Luke describes the passage of Jesus from this world to his Father as ‘an ascension’, a rising up.
3. But in reality the Ascension of Jesus was not ‘a rising up’, but the final entry of Jesus into the glory of the Father. Jesus did not remain, as his enemies wanted, a prisoner of death, in the tomb. Death is no longer a frightening event, because Jesus has transformed it into a ‘birth in the life of God’. This is the first reason to rejoice at the Ascension of Jesus.
4. Jesus had not gone to another place. He has not gone away from us, he is with us. What has changed is his way of being present, but his presence is no less real. Before his Resurrection he was conditioned by the limits that restrict us too: if he was in one place, he could not be simultaneously in another one. If he was with some people, he could not be with others. If he got tired, he had to rest…  Now Jesus is in the glory of the Father: he can be close to each person, always. The limits, that bind our lives in this world, do not exist any longer for him. Ascension has not diminished his presence, but, quite the contrary, it has increased. Another beautiful reason for his Disciples and for us to rejoice…    
5. Those who are enlightened by the faith of ‘Jesus Ascended to Heaven’ can see the world and what is happening in their life with new eyes. Now, all has a meaning for them, nothing saddens or frightens them, since they know that, in spite of all the human miseries, the Lord knows everything and keeps on building up his Kingdom of love and peace. We have seen it happening in the life of Jesus. God did not prevent him from being a victim of hatred and injustice, but, at the end, God used the worst human sin (the killing of the Son of God) to achieve the greatest result: ‘the salvation of all humankind’. To believe this is another reason for us to rejoice.
6. The certainty of Ascension changes also the way of assessing 'human age'. As years go by, Jesus’ Disciples are happy because they get closer to the moment of their final encounter with Him; they are happy of their past lives and do not envy the young. Jesus before entering into the glory of his Father blessed his Disciples. The blessing of Jesus descended on his Disciples assuring them of his presence and assistance. "They were full of joy” because of this.
7. Finally Jesus told them, “Stay in the city, until you are clothed with the power from on high”. The responsibilities entrusted to the Disciples were superior to their forces. If they were to count only on their efforts, they would have had every good reason to be pessimistic. But now they believe that Jesus had sent his Spirit. With the force of God, their success is assured, so they have the right to be 'full of joy'.