The Ascension

The Ascension of the Lord

Mt 28: 16 – 20

Introduction

Today is the feast of the Lord’s Ascension. As Jesus is taken up to heaven, he commissions us to make disciples of all nations. And even if he is taken physically from us, Jesus assures us of his presence until the end of time.

The Gospel

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Reflection

Today’s reading is taken from the last chapter of Matthew’s gospel. It describes to us how the risen Jesus summoned the eleven disciples on a mountain from where he was to ascend into heaven. (In Matthew’s gospel, the actual ascension of Jesus is not described in detail unlike in Luke’s Gospel where Jesus is carried up into heaven.) 

It is interesting how Matthew describes the meeting of Jesus with his disciples there on the mountain. In verse 17, Matthew writes that the disciples, upon seeing Jesus, “worshiped him.” The use of the word “worshiped” indicates, somehow that the disciples already acknowledged Jesus’ divinity after the resurrection. However, it is also interesting to note how on the same verse or sentence, Matthew uses a different word to describe what some disciples felt at seeing the risen Lord.  Matthew writes: “but some doubted.” This clearly indicated the doubts that continued to linger among the disciples about the risen Jesus. Despite the physical presence of the risen Lord, a number of them still doubted Jesus. 

The central point, however, of this reading, is what follows. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he declared something which only God dare say: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” This all encompassing statement of power is perhaps the very crux of the Ascension. Jesus’ Ascension is first and foremost a statement of power, an event that declares Jesus’ sovereignty over the entire forces and powers of the universe. There is absolutely nothing that is not subjected to him. 

What follows after this declaration of power, are a series of tasks that are given to the disciples. These series of tasks is sometimes called the great commission. This great commission takes the form of a command for the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, to baptize and to teach. 

Lastly, the entire Ascension event, which actually takes away the physical presence of Jesus as he is taken up to heaven, is capped by an assurance of his presence until the end of time. 

The feast of the Ascension should give us greater confidence and assurance in our everyday life, knowing that he whom we believe has absolute power over everything. The Lord’s assertion that all authority in the universe has been given to him should clear all our doubts and our fears, knowing that he whom we believe has everything under his control and command; that everything in the end will be done according to his plans and wishes. This certainty, this unimaginable sovereignty over the universe becomes the basis of the Lord’s commission to us who are told to make disciples of all nations. 

At the beginning of this reading, we see some of the disciples doubting the risen Jesus. Despite the disciples’ apparent weakness of faith, the Lord, nonetheless gave them the commission to make disciples. This just tells us that the power of the work we do in witnessing and making disciples of all nations, doesn’t lie in our ability to convince people or in any of our human capabilities. Underlying the work that we do is the power of the Lord whose authority is simply immeasurable and beyond we can ever imagine. Such power gives us reason to go and move on despite the failures, the difficulties and the frustrations we encounter in making disciples of all nations. 

Today’s feast gives us reason to be ever confident and joyful, knowing that in the end, everything will be fulfilled according to how the Lord wants it to be.  With him assuring us of his presence until the end of time, we can only be so grateful and confident of committing ourselves to the work he has entrusted to us, of witnessing to his name, to the ends of the earth.

Prayer

Jesus, you are Lord of heaven and earth. I can only bow down before you Lord of the universe, knowing that in your own time, everything will be fulfilled as you will it. Bless my feeble efforts in witnessing to your name, knowing that it is by your power that everything I do will bear fruit. Amen.

“Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. “ – 1 Chronicles 29: 11