Ascension Sunday - Critical Transion

As there is an occasion to say “hello”, there is also a time to say “farewell”, reflecting on the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.”  No exception for Jesus and his disciples that this rule of impermanence to be applied because Jesus was still under the heavens.

Now the time has come! Though Christ rose from the dead upon spending 3 days in the tomb, it’s time for the risen Lord to go to the Father in heaven!  The Son must return to the Father, who sent him! So, Jesus must say “Good bye” to the disciples and say, “Hello, again” to the Father. 

Though the actual feast was Thursday, May 9, 40^th day from Easter Sunday,  we commemorate the Ascension of the Lord this Sunday (Sunday following the actual feast, which is always Thursday) in many parts of the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) jurisdiction. 

In the last Sunday’s Gospel reading, we have already heard Jesus foretelling his Ascension: “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you….Do not let your hearts be troubled….I am going away and will come back to you. If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I”(John 14:27—28).

The disciples were just getting to understand who Jesus really was and the unfolding meaning of his death and resurrection.  Though he betrayed Jesus out of fear of persecution, Peter’s faith became firm enough to put his own life for the sake of Jesus this time. Even skeptical Thomas came to understand the resurrection.  As the disiciples’ eyes of faith began to open this time, I am sure they wanted to be with the risen Lord for a longer time. Yet,  he had to bid farewell to his beloved disciples.

Why did Jesus has to go? Why couldn’t Jesus just stay a bit longer with his disciples?

It is for us! The risen Christ had to depart this world and return to the Father to continue doing his part of God’s  unfolding salvific plan, which will continue all the way up to what’s revealed in the Book of Revelation.   Jesus also explained to the disciples why, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?”(John 14:1-2). Jesus had to go to prepare the dwelling place for the disciple in Heaven – the Father’s house. It is also for us, the faithful.  The our eschatological heavenly dwelling place that Jesus takes care of upon his ascension is namely the New Eden (New Jerusalem) described in Revelation 21:1-22:5. 

These 40 days between his Resurrection and Ascension, Jesus presented himself alive, as human and divine,  by many proofs of the resurrection and spoke of the Kingdom of God (First Reading for Ascension, Acts 1:3).  In speaking to his disciples right before being lifted up to return to the Father, Jesus foretold them to wait for the promise of the Father, already spoken by Jesus: To be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5, cf. Luke 24:49). Jesus is, indeed, telling that Pentecost will follow the Ascension.  Also, in the last Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus already hinted us at Pentecost, “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name – he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.(John 14:26).

In regard to the timing of Ascension, there is a bit of contradiction within Luke’s writings – Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles.  Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles as a sequence to his Gospel. 

Let’s just compare the texts of Luke on this matter.

Luke 24: 36:-53

“While they (disciples) were still speaking about this, he (Jesus, the risen Lord) stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?  Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Messiah 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. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.”

Everything in this narrative of Luke’s Gospel followed right after the two disciples returned from Emmaus to tell the rest of the disciples about the risen Lord they just saw. It was the evening of the day the Lord rose from the dead.  Therefore, Luke’s Gospel indicates that the ascension took place in Bethany, suburb of Jerusalem, on the evening of the day of the resurrection. 

Bethany is the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, friends of Jesus (Luke 10:38-42). It is also where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (but Lazarus died again) (John 11:1-46). It is also where Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointed Jesus with expensive oil 6 days before Passover (John 12:1-11). That Passover is also when Jesus was crucified, coinciding with Passover preparation of that year. 

So, there is something about Bethany – why Jesus ascended in Bethany, instead of Jerusalem. 

Now, let’s take a look at the relevant text from the Acts of the Apostles also written by Luke.

Acts 1:1-12

In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.”

When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.  But 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.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. 

The narrative is right from the beginning of Acts. 

In this, Luke indicates that Jesus ascended after 40 days from his resurrection in Jerusalem. 

So, there is this theologically curious question: Why did Luke indicate the Ascension on the same day as the Resurrection in his Gospel but 40 days after the Resurrection in Acts? 

I do not have a strait-forward answer to this question. But, one way to understand is that the Ascension is a part of the Resurrection process. In other words, the Resurrection is not complete without the Ascension and its sequence, the Pentecost. That is why we celebrate Easter until Pentecost (50 days).  The Resurrection after 3 days of being dead in the tomb focuses on the risen Lord’s presence with the disciples. The Ascension after 40 days of sharing his physical presence with the disciples emphasizes the risen Lord’s union with the Father. 

In Luke’s Gospel, it seems that the literal emphasis is on the fact that the Ascension is a part of the Resurrection process because the Ascension is placed in the Resurrection narrative. On the other hand, in Acts, Luke stresses upon the disciples. Thus, he must have wanted to indicate that Jesus did not just ascended shortly after coming out of his tomb but rather spent some time (40 days) with the disciples to prepare them to receive the Holy Spirit to be empowered so that they become strong enough to withstand persecution and carry out their apostolic mission, which is what the Acts of the Apostle is about.  And, it is the Holy Spirit that not only made the disciples’ faith firm but also guided them in their mission.

 The Holy Spirit - This is why Jesus repeatedly told the disciples not to feel sad – not to let their hearts troubled – upon his departure to complete this resurrection process.  These words of Jesus to the disciples the night before his death, in anticipating the resurrection and the ascension, also echo Buddha’s last words to his disciples – not to grieve over his death.

In his farewell discourse, Gautama (Shakamuni) Buddha instructed his disciples not to focus on him, not to become attached to him, but rather to follow the Dharma, which he had taught,  to help them not to grieve over his death. On the other hand, Jesus wanted his disciples not to feel sad over his physical departure from this world by reminding them of coming of the Holy Spirit to empower and be with them during his physical absence. 

Given the indication of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5), Ascension Sunday’s readings, following the last Sunday’s Gospel reading on the Holy spirit (John 14:26), makes a smooth connection of Ascension to Pentecost.  Though this is not a part of today’s reading, adding John 14:1-3, also connects Ascension to the New Jerusalem (New Eden) that God will provide for the faithful through Christ’s return (second coming) as prophesized in Revelation.  The New Jerusalem is the new paradise to replace the paradise that Adam and Eve had lost.  This paradise in the Father’s house that Jesus promised is also indicated one of today’s second reading options – Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:19-23.

Hebrews 9:24-28 tells that Jesus ascends to appear to the Father on our behalf and to return to bring salvation to us as we wait for his return. Hebrew 10:19-23 suggests that Jesus’ ascension is like taking the curtain from the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Jerusalem, as what is the curtain to the Holy of Holies is what the flesh of Jesus is to the Sanctuary where the Father is. 

The Sanctuary is Heaven, and the Ascension of the Lord means nothing to keep the Father in Heaven from us on earth, as we love Christ and follow his command. After all, Jesus is the only way to the Father as said in John 14:6. 

So, “Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy” (Hebrew 10:23) as we send the Lord off to the Father and to receive the Holy Spirit!