Ascension of the Lord (May 13, 2018)

Acts 1:1-11; Ps 47:2-3, 6-9; Eph 4:1-13; Mark 16:15-20

Ascension and our mission

 

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The belief in the resurrected Jesus rising into Heaven is at the core of our Christian beliefs. We affirm this when we recite the Apostle’s Creed – we believe in Jesus Christ . . . who on the third day rose again from the dead;  ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there  he will come to judge the living and the dead.

 

We learn about heaven as a first act of creation in the first verse in the Torah where we are told that in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep.

 

The usual Hebrew word for “heavens” is shamayin, a plural form meaning “heights,” “elevations” (Gen 1:1; 2:1).  From the other books in the Hebrew scriptures, we get metaphorical meanings as used in the phrases “opened the doors of heaven” (Ps 78:23 ); “heaven is shut up” (1 Kg 8:35); and “the heavens were opened” (Ez 1:1).

 

In the Gospels, we learn  heaven to be a place of God and  the  home of our dear dead. It is likened to a “paradise” (Lk 23:43) and a “kingdom” (Matt 25:1).  For the believers, it is not only a state of everlasting blessedness but also the “Father’s house” prepared for them (Jn 14:2).

 

Avenue she-ba-shamayin (Heb. for Our Father in Heaven) is a form of adoration often found at the beginning of Jewish prayers of petition, based on the rabbinic epithet of God as “Father in Heaven” and as found in the Torah like “O Lord, are our father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isa 64:8).

 

Likewise, in the prayer Jesus teaches us to pray to our Father (Matt 6:9), we pray to God who is in heaven, whose name is to be hallowed and whose kingdom is to come.

 

From these we learn that the term heaven has many meanings.  But a common meaning is that of a place for us to go in the end of our days, when we are to go home to our Father.

 

We are reminded, often by the death of a loved one, that our deep longing just like that of many  Jews and Christians  who died before us,  is to go home to our  Father.  We long to have our own ascension into heaven like Jesus did.

 

In today’s readings from Acts and Mark, we are told of ways to achieve this: We are to do our mission and this mission is to do the mission of Christ, in the here and now.

 

The words of the men in white robes or angel — “Men of Galilee, why are you staring at the sky?” (Acts 1:11) contain an implicit reproof: We should not just “stare into the sky” and speculate about the beyond.  We are to do something and Mark tells us what this task is.

 

A quick analysis of Mark’s gospel shows an inclusion where the words on the ascension are framed by the words on the mission of the apostles.  In Mk 16: 15 – 18, we have the commissioning of the apostles. Jesus gives the final instructions to the apostles to proclaim the gospel to “every creature” and assures salvation to those who believe in their preaching.  The story on the ascension (v 19) is followed by the story of the apostles doing their mission – they went forth and preached everywhere (v 20).

 

Thus, we learn that we cannot discuss the mystery of the ascension without the mission of the apostles and the church. As Jesus carried on God’s work, the apostles must carry on Jesus’ work.

 

To be a follower (or believer) of Jesus, one must work for the salvation of mankind (by preaching, baptizing, exorcizing, speaking in tongues, being unharmed, by healing) and help build a better world. With the physical absence of Jesus, Christians while waiting for his second coming should make Jesus present in the world.

 

For Reflection and Discussion:  1. If angels are in front of you today, can they reproach you for something that you have failed to do?  If any, what is this? 2). The challenge for Christians today is to proclaim the gospel “to every creature.” This is a tough task.  Do you know of a way to proclaim the gospel to as many people as you can?

 

Bibliography: Harrington and Donahue, Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Mark (Minnesota, 2002); Almazan, OFM, “Welcome to Our Bible Study: Ascension of Jesus” (unpublished).

 

This week’s teaching commentary was prepared by

Minerva Generalao, Philippines, Bat Kol Alumna July 2014 Email: may_neer@gmail.com

 

PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol.  Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

 

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

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“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.”

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