Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Solennita' tat-Tlugħ il-Mulej fis-Sema
Messalin B 305
In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with
all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving
instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He
presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing
to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God Jerusalem Israel Jerusalem , throughout Judea and Samaria
L-Ewwel Qari - mill-Atti ta' l-Appostli 1, 1-11
Fl-ewwel
rakkont tiegħi, Teofilu, tkellimt fuq dak kollu li Ġesu' kien għamel u
għallem minn minn Israel sħaba
ħadithulhom minn minn
Responsorial Psalm
PSALM 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
R. Alleluia.
All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth. R/
God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise. R/
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne. R/
Salm Responsorjali Salm 46 (47 )
R/ Hallelujah.
Popli kollha, ċapċpu idejkom,
għajtu b'leħenta' ferħ lil Alla!
Għax il-Mulej, l-Għoli, hu tal-biża',
sultan kbir fuq l-art kollha. R/
Tela' Alla b'agħjat ta' ferħ,
il-Mulej bid-daqq tat-trombi.
Għannu lil Alla, għannu,
għannu lis-sultan tagħna, għannu! R/
Għax Alla s-sultan tal-ark kollha;
Għannulu
bis-sengħa għanja sabiħa.
Isaltan Alla fuq il-ġnus kollha,
joqgħod Alla fuq
it-tron imqaddes tiegħu. R/
Reading 2 - EPHESIANS 4:1-13
Brothers and sisters, I, a prisoner for the
Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with
all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through
love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all
and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the
measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, it
says: He ascended on high and took prisoners captive; he gave gifts to men.
What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended into the
lower regions of the earth? The one who descended is also the one who ascended
far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some as apostles, others as
prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the
holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until
we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature
to manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.
It-Tieni Qari - mill-ittra lill-Efesin 4, 1-13
Ħuti,
inħeġġiġkom jien, il-priġunieri tal-Mulej, biex timxu sewwa skont is-sejħa li
biha kontu msejħin; billi bl-umilta'
kollha, bil-ħlewwa u bis-sabar, taħmlu u tħobbu 'l xulxin. Ħabirkuuu biex iżżommu spirtu wieħed
bir-rabta tas-sliem; ġisem wieħed u ruħ waħda, l-istess kif kont msejħa għal
tama waħda; Mulej wieħed, fidi waħda,
magħmudija waħda; Alla wieħed u Missier
ta' kulħadd, li hu fuq kulħadd, b'kulħadd u f'kulħadd. Lil kull wieħed minna
Alla tana l-grazzja skont il-qjies tad-don ta' Kristu. Hu għallhekk li tgħid l-Iskrittura:
"Tela'": xi jfisser daar għajr li hu niżel ukoll fl-inħawi l-aktar t'isfel tal-art? Dak li niżel huwa dak li tela' fuq
is-smewwiet kollha, biex jimla kollox. U huwa dak li ta lil xi wħud li jkunu
appostli, li xi wħud profeti, lil xi wħud evanġelisti, li xi wħud rgħajja u
mgħallmin: Hekk jitrawmu l-qaddisin għax-xogħol tal-ħidma tagħhom
għall-bini tal- Ġisem ta' Kristu, sakemm aħna lkoll naslu biex insiru ħaġa
waħda fil-fidi u fl-għarfien tal-Iben ta'
Alla; insuru raġel magħmul, fl-aħjar ta' żmienu. U hekk isseħh il-milja
ta' Kristu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel - MARK 16:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the
whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is
baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs
will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they
will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if
they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the
sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they
went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and
confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
L-Evanġelju - Qari skond San Mark 16, 15-20
F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' wera ruħu lill-Ħdax u qalilhom:
"Morru fid-dinja kollha, xandru l-Evanġelju lill-ħolqien kollu.
Min jemmen u jitgħammed, isalva; iżda min ma jemminx, ikun ikkundannat. U dawn huma s-sinjali li jsieħbu lil dawk li jemmnu: f'Ismi jkeċċu x-xjaten, jitkellmu b'ilsna ġodda, jaqbdu s-sriep
b'idejhom, u jekk jixorbu x-xorb li iġib
il-mewt ma jagħmlilhomx ħsara; iqegħdu
idejhom fuq il-morda u dawn ifiqu." U hekk il-Mulej Ġesu', wara li
kellimhom, kien imtella' fis-sema u
qagħad in-naħa tal-lemin ta' Alla. Huma
mbagħad marru jippridkaw kullimkien; il-Mulej kien jaħdem magħhom u jwettaq
il-kelma bil-mirakli li kienu jsiru magħha. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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Fulfilling the
Gospel Dream
A
commentary by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
The angels' words to the "men of Galilee " in the first reading from the Acts of the
Apostles for the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord (1:1-11) are painfully
blunt and leave little room for misinterpretation: "Why do you stand here
looking up at the skies? This Jesus who has been taken from you will return,
just as you saw him go up to the heavens."
Jesus' disciples are given a last bit of
instruction. "Don't keep trying to stare into the future. Don't be overly
concerned about which hour he will come back." We must not stand idly
staring up into the heavens and moaning about the past, about which we can do
nothing, except to bury it deeply in God's hands and heart! The Lord will be
glorified, and it follows that his disciples will also share in his glory.
As Jesus disappeared, he didn’t simply
dissolve into thin air. On the day of his Ascension, one might conclude that
Jesus removed himself into a new form of divine exclusion. The case is exactly
the opposite. In God, Jesus is "here" in a new and very specific way.
Only in his physical separation from the historical scene can his spiritual
union with all the world for all time be complete. Jesus left the world one day
in order to be available to all people throughout all time. He had to dissolve
bonds he had made with his friends, in order to be available for everybody. In
Jesus, the future has already begun!
The
Ascension according to Mark’s account
There are similarities in the reports of
Jesus' Ascension found in the Synoptic Gospels -- Mark, Matthew, and Luke. In
each case, Jesus assigns his disciples the task of proclaiming the gospel
message to the entire world.
In the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, the
disciples are sent by Jesus to baptize and to preach. In Luke's Gospel,
however, the commission to baptize is not found. Instead, Jesus directs the
disciples to return to Jerusalem
The Ascension Gospel text for this year (Mark
16:15-20) is taken from the conclusion of the Gospel of Mark. Mark's concluding
chapter contains several irregularities obvious to many readers. On Easter
Sunday morning in this Year B, we heard proclaimed the story of the discovery
of the empty tomb by the women, and the fright and fear that accompanied these
first Resurrection witnesses. Verse 8 comes to an abrupt conclusion as they
flee in fright and tell no one what had transpired. This may very well be the
original ending of Mark's Gospel, but it is also possible that the more
complete ending has been lost.
Some manuscripts of Mark's Gospel include
what scholars have termed the "Shorter Ending." This ending indicates
that the women told their story to Peter's companions. A significant number of
scholars believe that this ending is not original to Mark. They think that this
ending was added by copyists who sought to resolve the original abrupt ending
at Verse 8.
Other early manuscripts include a
"Longer Ending" that scholars also believe was written by someone
other than the Evangelist. Nonetheless, quotations from this "Longer
Ending" are found in the writings of the early Church Fathers, and it was
accepted at the Council of Trent as part of the canonical Gospel of Mark. Our
Gospel for this year’s celebration of the Feast of the Ascension is taken from
this "Longer Ending."
Even if this ending to Mark's Gospel was
written by someone other than the Evangelist, in the commission that Jesus
gives to his disciples, there are elements that are quite typical of Mark's
Gospel. The signs that will accompany belief in Jesus are as distinct as the
action performed by Jesus during his ministry. Those who believe in Jesus will
be empowered to do what Jesus himself has done.
During his ministry, Jesus sent his disciples
to preach, to heal, and to drive out unclean spirits. Now they are sent again
to do these things and more. From his place with God in heaven, Jesus helped
his disciples, and he continues to help us as we try to live as his followers.
Only the Gospel of Mark notes that Jesus
ascended to sit at the right hand of God. In noting this, Mark teaches that
Jesus' ascension affirms the glory Jesus received from God after his death and
resurrection.
The
desire for heavenly realities …
Just as the Risen Lord entrusted himself into
the hands of such pathetic, broken people who were with him, he does the same
to us. Our own brokenness and sinfulness are so overpowering at times that we
forget that this incredible commissioning is possible, even for poor, weak,
folks like us! How often do we marvel at the fact that Christ could truly
inhabit us and act through our bodies, minds and hearts, and yes, even through
the Church!
We know that we move toward heaven to the
extent that we approach Jesus. We are assured that he hasn't ever stopped being
present with us throughout all time. The mysterious feast of the Ascension
reminds us that Christ accepts our lack of confidence in ourselves. He accepts
the shadowy and dark areas of our humanity. He accepts our capacity for deceit,
betrayal, greed and power. And having accepted us, he calls us, gives us the
eternal commission to be his people, and sends us to serve him and love him, in
spite of ourselves and because of ourselves. John Henry Cardinal Newman said it
well long ago:
"He calls us again and again, in order
to justify us again and again -
and again and again, and more and more,
to sanctify and glorify us.
It were well if we understood this;
but we are slow to master the great truth,
that Christ is, as it were,
walking among us, and by his hand, or eye, or
voice,
bidding us follow him."
Let's get going and carry a piece of heaven
into the world. This is the meaning of the Resurrection and the Ascension of
our Lord, not one of divine abandonment of the human cause, but divine
empowerment of the Gospel dream! May Christ's dying and rising move us to make
God's glory dwell on earth. May our hope for the future inspire us in a respect
for the present moment. May the desire for the heavenly realities not make us
neglect our work on earth.
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