Feast of the Ascension of the Lord

05-16-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. Arul Doss

Dear People of God,

On this 7th Sunday of Easter, we celebrate Christ’s Ascension into heaven. At the end of His earthly life Jesus ascends triumphantly into heaven. Today’s feast is a culmination of the events of the Paschal mysteries of Christ. It was evident that the death of Christ was never going to be a defeat, but a victory, exaltation and a glorification. Like every good child, having fulfilled his mission, He has returned to render full account of his work to his father. As a body of Christ, we rejoice because today we celebrate the final victory of Jesus over Satan and this world. This is a sign of hope that, as Christ our head defeated Satan and defiled the force of gravity to ascend to the father, we too shall one day overcome all the forces. Ascension also reminds us that we are on a journey and that, rather than this world, heaven is our final destination.

The first reading gives us a brief summary of the life of the historical Jesus up to the point of his dramatic ascension into heaven. There are two messages of hope for us here. The first is the promise of the Advocate: “…But you will receive the Holy Spirit…and you shall be my witness…to the ends of the earth.” This means is that Christ is not leaving us as orphans. Instead, he remains with us through the Holy Spirit “till the end of time.” Therefore, the ascension of Christ does not mean his absence from us. Rather it means his continuous presence through the Holy Spirit. The second is the promise of his return. So, today we also celebrate hope because Christ has gone to prepare a place for us in his kingdom. And the hope that one day he shall return to take us in order to be with him.

However, it is important to note that while we wait and prepare for Christ to return, we are not supposed to remain idle or gaze endlessly like the apostles did at the scene of the ascension before they were awakened to consciousness. Instead, we are expected to live productive lives. This is the why both our second reading and Gospel reminds us of our missionary vocation. So, while we wait for the return of Christ, we have to make effort to fulfill this call and vocation by living appropriately.

Paul tells us the best way to do this: “Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness and in patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the spirit by the peace that binds you together.” We have to strive to carry out this missionary calling given to us by Christ in our gospel: “Go out to the whole world; proclaim the good news to all creation…” As Christ commissioned us, it is now our duty to evangelize others in a way possible especially through words and deeds.

Have a Happy and Blessed Sunday!

Yours in Christ Jesus,
Fr. Doss

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