Fulfilling the Gospel dream

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Solennita' tat-Tlugħ il-Mulej fis-Sema

Messalin  B  305

Reading 1                             Acts 1:1-11

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. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

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 mindu beda sal-jum li  fih kien meħud fis-sema, wara li, permezz tal-Ispirtu s-Santu, ta l-ordnijiet  tiegħu lill-appostli li hu kien għażel. Wara l-passjoni tiegħu dehrilhom u tahom ħafna provi li hu  ħaj;  erbgħin jum rawh kemm-il darba u kellimhom fuq il-ħwejjeġ  tas-Saltna ta' Alla.   Meta  kien għadu magħhom, ordnalhom biex  ma jitilqux minn Ġerusalemm, imma joqogħdu jistennew  sa ma sseħħ il-wegħda tal-Missier,"li fuqha – qalilhom  -  smajtu x'kont għedtilkom:  Ġwanni għammed bl-ilma. imma intom, fi ftit jiem oħra  titgħammdu bl-Ispirtu s-Santu." Kif  kienu flimkien, staqsewh:  "Mulej, hu dan iż-żmien li fih int se  terġa' twaqqaf  is-saltana ta' Israel?"    Hu weġibhom:  "Mhijiex  biċċa tagħkom li tkunu tafu l-waqt u ż-żmien li l-Missier għażel bis-setgħa tiegħu.  Imma meta jiġi fuqkom l-Ispirtu s-Santu, intom  tirċievu l-qawwa, u tkunu xiehda tiegħi f'Ġerusalemm, fil-Lhudija kollha u s-Samarija,u sa truf l-art". Wara li qal dan, huma u jħarsu lejh, kien meħud  'il fuq, u sħaba ħadithulhom minn quddiem għajnejhom.  Waqt li kienu b'għajnejhom  fis-sema jħarsu lejh sejjer, f'daqqa waħda  dehrulhom ħdejhom żewġt irġiel libssin l-abjad,  u qalulhom:   "Irġiel tal-Galilija, x'intom tħarsu lejn is-sema?  Dan Ġesu', li kien meħud minn magħkom lejn is-sema,  għad jerġa' jiġi kif rajtuħ sejjer." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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 to await the fulfillment of his promise to send them the Holy Spirit. Only the Gospels of Mark and Luke actually report Jesus' ascension into heaven. Matthew's Gospel concludes with Jesus' promise to remain with his disciples forever.

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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