“SPRINGS OF LIVING WATER”
Daily Spiritual Reflections
16th May 2021
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SUNDAY, SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD
Reading 1: Acts 1: 1-11 The reading describes the ascension of Jesus into heaven, and his promise to send the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, as he sends them out to the whole world to be his witnesses.
Reading 2: Eph 1: 17-23 Paul describes the meaning of the ascension, which is that God has raised Jesus above all earthly powers, and made him, not only head of the Church, but Lord of creation.
Gospel: Mk 16: 15-20 Before ascending to his Father Christ instructs his apostles to preach the Gospel to the whole world.
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WITNESSES OF THE ASCENSION
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, the great event of Jesus returning to the Father as the Lord of heaven and earth. During his ministry on earth, Jesus kept telling his disciples that he would be condemned, put to death, will rise and go back to his Father in glory. The ascension into heaven in his human but the glorified body is the culminating point of his salvific work in redeeming mankind. All this love manifested by Jesus instills in us a strong and sure hope that after our life on earth we too will be with him enjoying the eternal bliss of God. So as we journey on this earth we are called to participate in the life of Jesus Christ in his passion, death and resurrection and walk always keeping our spiritual gaze fixed up to heaven. This feast gives us the bird’s eye view and the purpose of Jesus’ mission who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God but remained obedient to his Father and his reward was great. It also reminds us that our life is a continuous journey upwards until we reach our final and permanent abode, the bosom of God the Father.
The first reading narrates the last moments of risen Jesus with his apostles on earth. After his resurrection, Jesus remained for forty days and ministered to his disciples. He had already opened their minds to understand the Old Testament message about himself, but there were other lessons they needed to learn before they could launch out in their new ministry. It was excellent preparation for the church because the days were soon coming when he would no longer be on earth to instruct them personally.
In the second reading St. Paul explains the power of God in raising Jesus from the dead and making him to sit at his right hand with all rule and authority and power and dominion. The Risen Lord is indeed the Sovereign King of the whole universe. And in the Gospel the Lord with all the authority and power given to him by his Father commissions the apostles to go and make disciples of all nations. He invites them to be witnesses to him. He will be with them always to the end of the age.
“Witness” is a key word in the book of Acts and is used 29 times as either a verb or a noun only in Acts. A witness is one who tells what he has seen and heard (Acts 4:19–20). When you are on the witness stand in court, the judge is not interested in your ideas or opinions; he only wants to hear what you know. The English word martyr comes from the Greek word which means “witness.” Many of God’s people have sealed their witness by laying down their lives. The only way to keep the fact and truth of the Risen Lord is to be his witnesses. Witness entails responsibility.
There are three requirements to fulfil this responsibility:
Knowing the message and the source of the message: We cannot preach a Gospel until we know what it is and where it has come from. The disciples spent three years around Jesus listening to his message.
Commitment: Belief is not simply an intellectual assent to a proposition. If we believe in someone it means we adopt his or her teaching. If you were a disciple of Jesus, then you followed Jesus’ teaching, you applied his teaching to your life.
Faithfulness: The third requirement to preach the Good News is the need to be faithful and so Jesus prays for his disciples to be protected from evil. No wonder the Lord taught his disciples to be aware of evil and pray for protection from it. “Deliver us from evil” (Mt 6:13). Jesus in the Gospel of John says this: My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one (Jn17:15).
After the Ascension, the disciples did not feel abandoned. They became convinced of a new presence of Jesus. He was now present to them in a new and powerful way. He was with them, in the way that only God can be close to us. May we too experience, this closeness and responsibility of the Ascension.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 47: 2-3, 6-9 God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
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