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May 11, 2024Reflection for the Ascension of the Lord: May 12, 2024
Acts 1:1-11: This passage suggests an interesting point. Let’s ponder on how well Jesus prepared His disciples to continue the Christian mission after Jesus’ Ascension. When Jesus started His public ministry, He picked a seemingly impossibly diverse and unlikely group of men and women as disciples. Each of the Apostles and disciples had strengths and limitations, but Jesus believed in the ability of each to change and “rise to the occasion.” Jesus prepared them carefully through His teachings and message of love, mercy, forgiveness and care for the most vulnerable among us. Jesus thoughtfully and judiciously performed many miracles, in order to progressively and incrementally increase the faith and confidence of His disciples. Finally, Jesus even empowered us, as disciples, to perform ministries of healing and even healing miracles. The work of the Church didn’t stop with Jesus’ Ascension… it was only the beginning!
Psalm 47: “God mounts His throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.” This psalm has a wonderfully hopeful and joyful tone of “ascendancy” and transcendence that perfectly complements our reflection on Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven. In the second verse, Today is a uniquely perfect time to rejoice and to offer our God, now on His Throne, glory and praise and thanks and worship.
Our God is in Heaven. Our God rules from an immovable throne which shall last through all eternity. Reflecting on God’s almighty power and love and kindness and wisdom ought to inspire us to be at peace. Our confidence in God as our Redeemer, Savior and Messiah ought to bring us to a state of serenity. We can enjoy a state of transcendent peace that only believers who have strong faith in God can enjoy. This peace ascends to God and transcends all earthly cares and concerns. Enjoy it!
Ephesians 1:17-23: We’ve reflected that we can resolve earthly concerns and worries when we choose to trust and have faith in God’s power, benevolence and will to save us all. However, as this passage suggests, we must ask God to help us to cultivate within ourselves an openness to learn about God and know God more intimately. We can only learn about God more intimately through prayer… and the most important part of prayer is… listening to God! As St. Paul attests today, we must pray to the Holy Spirit to fill us with grace, so that we may receive “wisdom and revelation” so that “the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened,” enabling us to engage in an intimate relationship with God. Only then can we grow in love, holiness and true happiness.
Mark 16:15-20: Our “transcendent relationship” with God changes us. God puts a natural desire within all of us to be closer to our Creator. We then have a choice to nurture that desire to be close to God or to ignore it. If we choose to engage in a relationship with God, the relationship has to be “reciprocal;” requiring meaningful two-way interaction. We speak with God, making our needs and desires known. We listen for God’s response. When we listen to God, we open ourselves to receive direction, guidance and love from God. Then we, in turn, share the love and wisdom and grace that we’ve received from God with others. It’s a beautiful “paying forward” of the graces and gifts that we’ve received. God can now work miracles through us, as God’s empowered instruments! Glory to God, forever!
Deacon Matt
