RBWords

[Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23 or Ephesians 4:1-13; Mark 16:15-20]

     So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.  But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. [Mark]

     I'm not sure when the expression became common, but it is not all that long ago:  "Moving forward...." or "Going forward.." - a way of saying "from now on," or "in the future," but in a more dynamic way!  I think this expression captures the meaning of the feast of the Ascension of the Lord.  Another expression that has some of the same effect is "to turn a page" in an ongoing narrative to imply that something has ended and at the same time something is beginning, but there is continuity.

     The Ascension marks the end of Jesus' post-resurrection ministry, just as his death and burial marked the end of his physical ministry.  These are separate stories about the same person but they have different purposes.  For the disciples at the time, this event left them in a "what next?" position.  The response was to return to Jerusalem to await the gift of the Holy Spirit (as Luke tells the story).  In the Gospel of Mark, they go forth to preach the word.  In Matthew, the story ends with the "great commission" to go forth.  In the Gospel of John, there is no mention at all of this, but by the time this gospel was put into writing, the preaching had been going on for quite some time!  

     Here we are, two thousand years later.  The feast of the Ascension appears as one more "historical" event in the liturgical year.  It is not easy to participate in the challenge that the first disciples faced, "moving forward!"  Our lives don't appear to be significantly changed as theirs were.  Nevertheless, the "commission" remains the same.  We received that commission at our baptism and it is effective every day.  If the fundamental significance of the feast of the Ascension is "moving forward..." it seems to me that having received that same commission through baptism, we had better "get moving!"   AMEN