The Ascension of the Lord – June 1,
2025
Acts 1:1-11;
Ephesians 1:17-23; Luke 24:46-53
Theme: “You Are Witnesses of These
Things”
A.
A Brief Exegetical Analysis of Luke
24:46-53
- Historical
and Literary Contexts
Luke organized his resurrection narrative into five
sections. Our Gospel passage, which serves as a conclusion to Luke’s Gospel,
comes from the last two sections: Jesus’ final instruction (24:44-49) and the
ascension (24:50-53). The three preceding sections are: (1) the women at the empty
tomb (23:56b–24:12), (2) Jesus’ appearance to the two disciples on the road to
Emmaus (24:13-35), and (3) Jesus’ appearance to the disciples in Jerusalem
(24:36-43).[1] It is worth noting that the Gospel
of Luke and the Book of the Acts of the Apostles are not separate works but one
book in two volumes written by the same author, Luke. Thus, our Gospel passage
(Luke 24:46-53) closes the first volume (the Gospel of Luke), while the stories
of the promise of the Spirit and the Ascension of Jesus recounted in Acts
1:1-12 (the first reading for this Sunday) begin the second volume (the Book of
the Acts of the Apostles).
This
Gospel passage is a narrative account divided into two parts: Jesus’
instructions to his disciples (vv. 46-49) and the events of Jesus’ Ascension
(vv. 50-53).
- Detailed
Analysis
To
better understand our passage, let us first analyze the account of Jesus’
appearance to the disciples in Jerusalem (24:36-45), which immediately precedes
our text. The Risen Jesus appeared to all his disciples in the Upper Room in
Jerusalem and wished them peace. The disciples were frightened, confusing him
with a ghost (vv. 36-37). Jesus’ glorified body transcends the limits of time
and space while remaining physical. Jesus is concerned about his disciples’
feelings of fear. He employs physical and scriptural evidence to prove that he
is not a ghost but their Risen Lord. The physical evidence includes showing his
disciples the nail marks on his hands and feet, inviting them to touch him to
feel his bones and flesh, and eating baked fish before them (vv. 38-43). In
terms of Scriptural evidence, Jesus’ interpretation of the Scripture opened the
disciples' minds, just as it did for the disciples of Emmaus (see 24:25-27).
They understood that the Risen Jesus fulfills everything written about him in
the Books of the Law of Moses, Prophets, and Psalms (vv. 44-45). Our text picks
up from here.
Vv.
46-49. Jesus tells his disciples they are the “witnesses of these things” (v.
48). “These things” refer to Jesus’ entire earthly life that has fulfilled the
Old Testament, especially his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, as well as the
repentance for the forgiveness of sins that should be preached in Jesus’ name
to all nations, with Jerusalem as a starting point (vv. 46-47). As Jesus’
witnesses, the disciples are called to carry out Jesus’ mission with the
assistance of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promises to send upon them. However,
before they begin this mission, Jesus urges them to remain in the city of
Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit, who will clothe them “with power
from on high” (v. 49). This is Jesus’ final speech and teaching.
Vv.
50-53. Before Jesus is taken up to heaven, he performs three actions for his
disciples: (1) he leads them out, (2) raises his hands upon them, and (3)
blesses them. The disciples praise Jesus. Then, filled with great joy, they
return to Jerusalem. The narrator informs his readers that they were
continually in the temple praising God.
4. Synthesis
Jesus
indicates that his disciples are witnesses to all the events of his earthly
life, which fulfilled the Old Testament, especially his Passion, Death,
Resurrection, and Ascension. As witnesses, Jesus assigns them the mission of
preaching, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins to all nations,
starting from Jerusalem. After his final speech, Jesus leads them outside,
raises his hands, and blesses them; then he ascends into heaven in their
presence. The disciples praise him as he ascends to his Father. Filled with
great joy, the disciples return to Jerusalem. The narrator concludes this
scene, and the entire Gospel, by noting that the disciples continually went to
the temple to praise God.
B.
Pastoral Implications
1.
1. Liturgical Context
The
liturgy of this Mass reminds us that we are Jesus’ witnesses and missionaries.
Indeed, we have witnessed all of Jesus’ events from Christmas and its
preparatory season, called Advent, to Easter and its preparatory time, known as
Lent, passing through the first part of Ordinary Time, during which we have
experienced Jesus’ ministry in establishing the kingdom of God on earth. Now,
it is time to work. The Scripture readings we heard remind us of the profound
significance of this celebration. The Ascension of our Lord is not a moment of
reward, as the disciples mistakenly believed in our First Reading. Instead, as
the Gospel instructs us, the Ascension is when our Risen Lord sends us on a
mission. To fully grasp the urgency of this mission and be empowered to carry
it out wherever we are, the Second Reading tells us that we need the Spirit of
wisdom and revelation that results in knowledge of God.
2. 2. What
the Church Teaches Us Today
Today, Jesus commissions us to preach, in his name,
repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He urges us to begin first in our
“Jerusalem,” which represents our families, Church community, neighbors, and
wherever we live. Before we start anything, Jesus asks us not to depart from
our “Jerusalem” but to wait until the Holy Spirit, who will assist us in our
mission, comes upon us and clothes us with “power from on high.” This will take
place next Sunday, at the Solemnity of Pentecost. Then, after Pentecost Sunday,
which will mark the end of the Easter Season, we will return to our ordinary
lives (Ordinary Season) and begin the mission Jesus has assigned us today.
Our first reading provides more
details about the same event we heard in the Gospel. It can be divided into two
parts: vv. 1-5 and vv. 6-11.
Vv. 1-5. Theophilus is mentioned as
Luke’s recipient (v. 1). He is the same person referenced in Luke 1:3. In
Greek, Theophilus means “The lover of God.” This suggests that Luke wrote his
two-volume Book for anyone who loves God. He informs Theophilus that in the
first volume of his book (referring to the Gospel of Luke), he has addressed
everything that Jesus did and taught up until the day of Jesus' ascension to
heaven (vv. 1-2). This introduction connects the two volumes, the Gospel of
Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
Luke summarizes the events following
Jesus’ resurrection in three points. (1) He emphasizes the forty-day period
between Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension (v. 3a). The Church also celebrates
the Ascension of the Lord forty days after Jesus’ Resurrection. Note that the
solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord always occurs on the Thursday after the Sixth
Sunday of Easter.[2] For liturgical purposes, the local Church in
the United States (except for the local Churches in Nebraska, Pennsylvania, New
York, and New England, which celebrate the Ascension on Thursday) observes it on
Sunday. Thus, from Easter Vigil to Thursday of the
Ascension, there are 40 days. In Scripture, the number forty conveys the symbolic
meaning of preparation. We can recall the Israelites’ 40 years in the desert
from Egypt to the Promised Land, Noah’s 40 days in the ark, Moses’s 40 days on
Mount Sinai, and Jesus’ 40 days in the desert before he began his ministry.
Now, our Lord needed forty days after his resurrection to prepare his disciples
for the mission he was about to assign to them. By celebrating the Ascension of
our Lord today, forty days after Easter, our Holy Mother Church wants to remind
us that we have been well-prepared during the forty days of the Easter Season.
What is the goal of this preparation? Luke answers in the second point.
(2) Jesus speaks about the kingdom of
God with his disciples (v. 3c). He initiated this kingdom during his earthly
ministry in the presence of his disciples. Mentioning it here can suggest that
Jesus reminds them, including all of us, of how he prepared us during the forty
days of the Easter season to continue this same mission of implementing
God’s kingdom wherever we live.
(3) Human effort alone is not enough
to accomplish this crucial mission. Therefore, Jesus reassured his disciples of
the assistance of the Holy Spirit. For this reason, he instructed them not to
leave Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit promised by his Father,
God.
Vv. 6-11. The second part of our
first reading recounts the story of Jesus’ Ascension. It begins with the
disciples’ question to Jesus: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the
kingdom to Israel?” They refer to the “physical kingdom” they wish to establish
in place of Roman power. In his answer, Jesus tells them that the times and
seasons established by God’s authority should not be their primary concern.
Instead, Jesus directs their focus to the mission he assigns them. He tells
them that they will receive the Holy Spirit, who will empower them to be his
witnesses throughout the world, starting with their own people, the Israelites
of both kingdoms (Jerusalem in the north and Judea in the south), including
even the Samaritans, whom the Jews considered the “unchosen people” (vv. 6-8).
The disciples reveal the motivations
behind their discipleship. They have followed Jesus for about three years, not
out of true discipleship, but due to their selfish ambition to seize power from
the Romans. How about us today? Why do we follow Jesus? What are our specific
motivations for being Christians? Do our motivations align with what Jesus
calls us to? In his reply, Jesus redirects his disciples’ focus from their
selfish motives to the essential mission of a disciple. He does the same for us
today. He tells us that our motivation for being Christians should not be to
know exactly when God fulfills our requests. We are Jesus’ disciples primarily
to implement God’s kingdom and be his witnesses wherever we live until the ends
of the earth. This is what Saint Paul asked God for in his prayers for his
believers and us, which we heard in our second reading.
Saint Paul first prays that God grant
us a spirit of wisdom and revelation, leading to a knowledge of God (Eph 1:17).
We are called to know not just about God but to know God personally. This
knowledge involves a personal relationship with him. Second, Saint Paul prays
that the “eyes of our hearts” be enlightened so that we may understand why God
calls us and what motivates us to be Christians (Eph 1:18). Therefore, our
baptismal motivation is not about the “physical kingdom” but about the “spiritual
kingdom,” not about our selfish ambitions but about becoming Jesus’ witnesses
and missionaries.
Still in the second part of our first
reading, Luke also reports that after Jesus finished instructing his disciples,
he was lifted up, and his disciples watched as he ascended to heaven. Two
angels, described as “men dressed in white garments,” asked why they stood
there looking at the sky. They told the disciples that the way Jesus was taken
up to heaven would be the same way he would return (vv. 9-11). The angel
confirmed Jesus’ second coming at the end of time. Here, our Holy Mother Church
wants us to know that if we celebrate this solemnity of the Ascension of our
Lord without committing ourselves to carry out the mission Jesus assigns us, we
are like these “men of Galilee,” merely contemplating Jesus without taking
concrete action. Jesus’ Ascension is not a time for “looking at the sky.”
Instead, it is time for work. Let us return to our “Jerusalem” (which
represents our families, neighborhoods, and everywhere we live) and begin
implementing the kingdom of God.
May the liturgy of this Mass help us
recognize that we are witnesses of Jesus and fulfill his mission of bringing
God’s kingdom to life wherever we are. Amen.
Rev. Leon
Ngandu, SVD
Pastor of
Holy Family Catholic Church, Jackson, MS &
SVD USS
Biblical Apostolate Coordinator
[2] For example, in the Liturgical Year 2024-2025, the Ascension of the Lord occurs on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Thus, from Easter Vigil on April 19th to Ascension Day, Thursday, May 29th, it is 40 days.
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