2016/05/08 — 7th Sunday of Easter — Year C

My apology for the lateness of this post. I was away on retreat over the weekend and had to "play catch up." I hope you will still find this worth reading.

If there is a unifying element to today's scriptures, it is a vision of Jesus, our ascended Lord, in the glory of heaven, a glory in which we aspire to participate in.


The first reading — Acts 7:55-60 — despite telling of an event which took place several years after the Ascension, has an indirect reference to it. Stephen is being killed for his vigorous defense of the Messiahship of Jesus before the Sanhedrin. That defense culminates in the words quoted here. What Stephen sees, Jesus standing at God's right hand, is Jesus after he has ascended to heaven. So we can say that the immediate occasion of Stephen's martyrdom is that he proclaimed the Ascension. We should also note that his dying words parallel some of Jesus' last words, and that the passage introduces Saul, who will later change his name to Paul and change from a persecutor of Christians to  a great apostle.


The responsorial psalm — Ps 97:1-2, 6-7, 9 with refrain drawn from verses 1 and 9 — draws us to consider God's universal kingship. The words "heavens," "Most High over all the earth," and "exalted" give imagery which calls to mind the Ascension.


The second reading — Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20 — concludes our series of readings from Revelation with the final scene of the book. Jesus promises to return and bring us the proper recompense for our deeds. We are encouraged to accept the salvation offered by Jesus so we can join the inhabitants of the city which was described on the fifth and sixth Sundays. We do this by "washing our robes." On the fourth Sunday, this washing was said to be in the blood of the Lamb. The washing can be taken as an allusion to Baptism, and the Blood of the Lamb as an allusion to the Eucharist, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, where he gives his Blood, shed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. The holy Spirit and the Church (the Bride) long for the return of ur ascended Lord.


The gospel — John 17:20-26 — is taken from Jesus' "high priestly prayer" at the Last Supper. Jesus is praying in the light of his coming death, resurrection, and return to the Father. Jesus prays that Christians throughout the ages will come to see his glory in heaven. He prays for the spread of faith in him, which requires the unity of believers in love. It's all about love, and, in this Jubilee Year of Mercy, we should realize that the love which we are called to is a love which expresses itself in works of mercy.

2016/05/05 — Ascension Thursday

In many places, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is transferred to the following Sunday. Where I live, however, it is still observed on the Thursday of the 6th Week of Eastertide.

The Lectionary provides two options for the second reading: Ephesians 1:17-23 or Hebrews 9:24-28' 10:19-23. I'll consider both.


The first reading — Acts 1:1-11 — gives us the familiar story of Jesus' Ascension. Several points are worth noting. The "first book," mentioned in the beginning, is understood to be the Gospel according to Luke, which also addresses Theophilus at the outset. The resurrected Jesus was seen by the apostles and spoke to them over a period of time. Certain that he was the Messiah, they asked about the common expectation about the Messiah: that he would restore the sovereignty of Israel. Jesus deflects the question, but emphasizes the baptism with the Holy Spirit which they were soon to receive. It would empower them to be his witnesses to the world. Traditions tell of the apostles going to Spain, India, Armenia, Egypt, and points between. The account concludes with two angels promising that Jesus would return.

The responsorial psalm — Ps 47: 2-3, 6-7, 8-9, with the refrain from v. 6 — has us view the Ascension as akin to an enthronement with accompanying celebration.

As I wrote last year, "Ephesians 1:17-23 focuses on the role of the Holy Spirit in confirming our faith and our understanding of Jesus' resurrection and his return to the Father. Now Jesus is Lord of all, including the Church, which is his body. In other words, the Church takes the place of Jesus in being physically present in the world." It presents us with a cosmic view.

The alternative second reading — Hebrews 9:4-28; 10:19-23 — invites us to think of Jesus as the eternal high priest who won salvation for us by his sacrifice of himself on Calvary. His ascension is the moment when he came bodily to the Father to present that sacrifice. As in Acts, there is a promise of Jesus' return. For now, we can approach God in worship in union with the Church, thanks to our Baptism ("hearts sprinkled … bodies washed"), which unites us to Jesus in the Church.

This year the gospel is from Luke —Lk 24:46-53. Like Acts, it contains words of Jesus indicating the work of the Apostles in spreading the gospel around the world and the power which the apostles would soon receive to fulfill that mission. It also speaks of the Ascension itself, placing it in Bethany, a couple of miles outside Jerusalem. Strikingly, there is no indication of a prolonged stay between the Resurrection and the Ascension. The gospel seems to say that the Ascension took place as the final event of the day of Jesus' Resurrection. Biblical scholar Luke Timothy Johnson sees the promise of power from on high and the Ascension as two moments in a single process, while the account in Acts elaborates on the process.

The situation of the Church today, and of us, its members, is essentially the same as that of the Apostles after the Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit. We await the return of Jesus. Meanwhile, we have the task of witnessing to him around the world.

2015/05/10 — Ascension Thursday

In many places, the celebration of the Ascension of the Lord is transferred to the following Sunday. Where I live, however, it is still observed on the Thursday of the 6th Week of Eastertide.

The Lectionary provides two options for the second reading: Ephesians 1:17-23 or Ephesians 4:1-13. I'll consider both.


There are two themes in today's readings: Jesus' ascension to heaven, and the duty of the Church and Christians from then until his return.


The first reading — Acts 1: 1-11 — gives us Luke's account of the ascension, preceded by a synopsis of the period between the resurrection and the ascension. So the first point is a reaffirmation of the reality of Jesus' bodily resurrection. There is also an indication that at some point Israel's kingdom will be restored, but not yet. Meanwhile, the apostles will receive the Holy Spirit, who will empower them to witness to him throughout the world. They see him ascend, and then two angels indicate that they should stop looking up in the sky for now, while reassuring them that he will return. Now they must wait for the Spirit (who will come at Pentecost) and then fulfill their duty of being witnesses.


Ephesians 1:17-23 focuses on the role of the Holy Spirit in confirming our faith and our understanding of Jesus' resurrection and his return to the Father. Now Jesus is Lord of all, including the Church, which is his body. In other words, the Church takes the place of Jesus in being physically present in the world.

Ephesians 4:1-13 also speaks of Jesus' ascension to heavenly majesty but it speaks as well of the place of Christians in the present age. In the first place, we are to live in unity and peace with one another. We have different roles, however; roles which God gives to specific individuals. But whatever specific calling an individual has, it is to be exercised for the building up of the body of Christ.


The gospel — Mark 16:15-20 — gives Jesus' commission to the Church to proclaim the gospel to the whole world. The condemnation of those who do not believe comes in the context of the proclamation of the gospel. It is not spoken in relation to people to whom the gospel has not been proclaimed. The signs that accompany believers as they witness evidently do not occur universally. If they do happen in particular instances, they confirm the message that is preached. Mark tells briefly of the ascension and then briefly of the disciples fulfillment of the commission Jesus had given them.


The Church, then is called to witness to Christ everywhere. Every Christian has a part in fulfilling this calling. There is a certain "fulness" which will be achieved before it will be time for Jesus to return and bring all to completion, and we all participate in achieving it.

Beyond these points in the scriptures of the day, teachers also make the points that what happened to Jesus as a human being is also possible for other humans. In other words, as they say: where he has gone, we hope to follow.

End of Holiday Season; Canada Day; Our Crosses

End of Holiday Season.  This year, the Church calendar had seven major feast days ("solemnities") in the period from May 17 through June 29. All but the last two are based on the date of Easter, and can shift about 2 1/2 weeks earlier or later than they were this year. This year, they were about in the middle of their possible range. So we celebrated —
May 17 — Ascension
May 27  — Pentecost
June 3 — Trinity
June 10 — Corpus Christi  (in many countries its original Thursday date, June 7 this year, is retained)
June 15 — Sacred Heart of Jesus
June 24 — St. John the Baptist
June 29 — Sts. Peter & Paul

I had a whole lot of celebrating to do (even aside from the point that the entire Easter season — April 8 to May 27 this year — is one big celebration, but you can't really party every day). Now there is no comparable concentration of big days until November-January, when from November 25 through January 6 we'll celebrate Christ the King, Immaculate Conception, Christmas, Mary Mother of God, and Epiphany.

Canada Day.  On July 1, 1867, the British North America Act came into effect, making Canada independent as a Dominion in the British Empire. Happy Canada Day to all!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsHSVE5d3sc&feature=related

Our Crosses.  I happen to be reading a book written several years ago by Cardinal Dolan when he was Archbishop of Milwaukee, To Whom Shall We Go? It is a series of reflections on St. Peter's words and actions as told in the New Testament, and I'm at the part where he writes about Peter trying to dissuade Jesus from being crucified. Cardinal Dolan says that we also have to resist the temptation to avoid the crosses in our own lives: the struggles and hardships and difficulties which we must endure if we are to live as we ought.

Ascension Thursday

Today, May 13, is forty days after Easter and ten Days before Pentecost. It's the day when the Church has traditionally celebrated the Ascension of the Lord. For Catholics, it is a holy day of obligation (obligation to attend Mass, the same as Sunday), but in much of the United States —and perhaps elsewhere — the celebration (with the obligation) has been transferred to the following Sunday. Here in the Boston archdiocese, we still keep the Thursday celebration. And I note from Lunario's blog that at least for civic purposes, it's still Thursday in Germany.

Anyway, among other things the feast tells us that our bodies are destined to be in God's presence in eternity. If Jesus could go bodily to heaven after his Resurrection, so can we after ours. It also tells us that meanwhile as the Church and as believers, we have the Holy Spirit — promised by Jesus, given on Pentecost — to guide us.