Word to the Wise
Sunday, May 20, 2007 - The Ascension of the Lord
[Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 11:17-23 or Hebrews 9:24-28; Luke 24:46-53]Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.
Transitions are difficult to describe because they represent change from one thing to another. It is not enough simply to say that "I packed up and left." There are all kinds sof events and persons and feelings surrounding the event. I ought to know because I've moved about twelve times in the last 25 years. Each time I moved, the situation where I was would change, I would change and the situation that I moved to changed. All of this comes into play with St. Luke's description of the Ascension of the Lord. Luke describes it twice. The first description is in the Gospel of Luke as quoted above. The second time is in the Acts of the Apostles which appears in the first scripture for this day. We are simply told in one that Jesus was "taken up to heaven." The other (Acts) says he was "lifted up and a cloud took him from their sight." The whole thing leaves us to our imagination, and for many it's like letting go of their helium balloon. The real point is not HOW this happened, but THAT it happened and what was to happen next. Jesus' time on earth had to come to an end. He had to definitively leave. The apostles are given "the great commission" to preach the good news to the ends of the earth beginning from Jerusalem. They have to live without him. They will change when the promised Holy Spirit comes upon them. And the places where they bring the message would never be the same either. This is really what the Acts of the Apostles is about. It shows how the transition took place. Like all stories of transitions, some things are emphasized and some things are left unsaid. The process of preaching the gospel, however, continues to the ends of the earth, including St. Catharine, KY and wherever the reader of this message is living. Pass it on! AMEN
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