June 02, 2011
Ascension of the Lord
When did Jesus ascend or return to the Father? St. Luke, the author of Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel, says in Acts -- 40 days after Easter and in the Gospel -- on Easter Sunday. A bit confusing! Where did Jesus ascend to God? Luke tells us in Acts -- at the Mount of Olives and in the Gospel -- at the outskirts of Bethany not far from Jerusalem. St. Matthew in his Gospel locates the place of the ascension as being on a mountain in Galilee. Can we suppose that there were a number of special times and places when the Risen Lord and the disciples said goodbye? We know the acceptance of death of someone we love cannot be isolated to one given moment or place but it is a continuum or process of letting go, remembering and commending. Reflecting on our scripture passages today, we realize that we are not abandoned. Jesus' going to God is also a coming to us. Mysteriously, absence becomes presence. Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew commissions his disciples and promises that he will be with them always even until the end of the age. In Acts, Luke tells us, after the Ascension, the disciples (including women and Mary, the Mother of Jesus) return to Jerusalem and gather together in prayer. Jesus is with us no matter where we are or what we are facing. The Risen One is present to us and he promised to send the Holy Spirit.
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5th Sunday of Easter
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Pentecost
