May 29, 2022

The Ascension of the Lord

• Acts 1: 1-11
• Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:19-23
• Luke 24:46-53

Reflection written by: Janet Ann McDermott, MTS

“In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

These words were among his final as Jesus gave his disciples instruction and consolation.  Then Jesus takes his disciples out to where he is then, “lifted up and a cloud took him from their sight”.   He was gone from view, but not before telling his followers “…you will be witnesses…to the ends of the earth.” 

So now – with the life, death, resurrection – and now, his ascension – the story of Jesus’ life and mission on earth appears to have been revealed.  Once more at the end of this current year’s Easter Season, we might be wise to ponder on what we have just celebrated.  We might put ourselves among the disciples, might stop to look in the direction where we last saw Jesus.  Do we understand what has happened?  The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus: Did it make a difference in our lives?  We, who have been baptized (many of us from our birth) and who can claim confirmation in the Spirit, does it make a difference in how we see ourselves, how we treat other people?  Does my life witness to these gifts that God has so graciously provided?

Sometimes I ask God, just how do you expect me to talk to you, to be in relationship with you, when I can’t see you?  (Perhaps others do as well?)  OK, reader, I have slowly learned that I actually can experience God’s ministering all around me, on good days, with loved ones and friends, or when I read nasty headlines and then walk among the newly blossomed trees, amazed at the complexity and the “obedience” in nature.  I guess, when I think about it, Jesus was – is – so committed to being involved in our lives that the only way that could happen is to leave the countryside of his earthly life and thereby enter into our lives here in Seattle – in the world – in all of time until his promised final Coming.  I can be amazed and thankful for that…as I contemplate his disappearance behind the clouds.

One last thought:  About the Spirit promised to the disciples.  I wonder if I have thought about that enough.  As I mentioned above, most of us can verify that we are “confirmed” yet do we talk to that Spirit? Tend our relationship? Listen to what the Spirit wants to gift to us?  In the readings for this special Ascension, we hear that the disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy”.   The challenges that faced the disciples were great, however in today’s readings they had just watched Jesus leave, yet they felt “joy and they were continually in the temple praising God”.  Today our challenges in society and in the Church are also great. Can I radiate joy in the midst of it all?  Let us ask the Spirit for the kind of joy that only God can give, a joy that will strengthen our faith and increase our expression of love for all people.

Paul, in today’s Letter to the Hebrews, says it well: “Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.”

Thoughts for Reflection

• Are there times when you have felt abandoned by God and asked for better clarity?  How did God answer?  Remember and give thanks.
• Remembering the many gifts promised, talk to the Holy Spirit.  What gift do you most need today?
• Everyone is different. How does joy come into your life?  How do you express it to others?