Homily for the Sunday of the Ascension of Our Lord, May 19, 2024. Acts 1:1-11, Mark 16:15-20. Theme: A Promise and A Power
Today’s Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven is the crowning event of the whole story of the Incarnation, that is, of God becoming human. Having successfully completed his rescue and restore mission of salvation Christ goes back to where he came from. He takes up once again the divine powers he had left behind when he came to planet Earth and resumes his rightful place in the full glory and majesty of the Kingdom!
However, Jesus still remains 100% a man and so this makes the Ascension kind of like a supernatural gold medal award ceremony for the human race! You see, many people just assume that once Jesus returned to Heaven then his gig as a human being was up and he didn’t need to be a man any more. And on the surface you can’t blame people for thinking like this. But it’s important to know that becoming human in every way that we are except for sin wasn’t just play-acting or a practicality for God the Son. It was at the very heart of his redeeming and sanctifying mission. The mission of rescuing us from sin and restoring us to life with God had to be an inside job, so to speak. He accomplished this by blessing our humanity with the presence of his divinity and so healing us from the inside out became possible. And now Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God and Man, lives and reigns along with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And for the first and only time in our history a human being is enthroned in Heaven, sharing in the very honor and authority of God!
And so we see that the Ascension isn’t just telling us something wonderful about Jesus. It’s also saying something incredible about us - about you and me! The Ascension proclaims that we who are united with Jesus by Baptism are also destined like him, to be raised up to a place of glory and honor. We can confidently say this and look forward to it because Jesus himself said, “Where I am going you also will be.” (Jn 14:3) But also like him, we must first do our part in spreading his rescue and restore mission on planet Earth! Christ speaks to us about this in today’s readings telling us to spread his Message and be his witnesses in the world. He assures us that great and unbelievable signs will sometimes accompany our spreading of the Gospel and that we will be enabled to do wondrous things because of the Holy Spirit, whom he refers to as the “Promise of the Father” and the “Power from on high”.
The Holy Spirit is called the “Promise of the Father” because in the Old Testament God promised to pour out his Spirit upon his people through the instrumentality of his Messiah. Both Jesus and St. John the Baptist called the fulfillment of this promise a “baptism in the Holy Spirit.” Baptism means “immersion” and so to be baptized in the Holy Spirit means that we will be drenched, soaked to the bone, with the Spirit of God and become consciously aware of his love and presence in our lives. It’s a spiritual experience that can change and transform those who receive it from the inside out. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit means a spiritual awakening or a renewal in our hearts that results in a firm personal decision to make and to keep Christ as the center of our lives. Sometimes we Catholics call this personal religious revival among adults a return to the faith or a conversion experience.
Jesus also calls the Holy Spirit the “Power from on high”. In our readings we heard him say, “you will be clothed with power from on high…” and “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses…” We all know that power means the ability, energy and strength to do something that needs to be done, even if it’s beyond our normal capacity. The Power that is the Holy Spirit infuses within us the ability to do things that we do not think we are capable of doing. He also enables us to give credible witness to Jesus among those with whom we live, work and socialize. This Divine Power from on high manifests himself in different and various ways in our lives depending upon what our personal situation is and what our needs, or those of others around us, might be.
Both the New Testament and the lives of believers throughout the centuries show us that the Power of the Spirit can work great signs and wonders through us ordinary everyday Christians. Why does the Spirit do this through us? Well, it’s so that we can give credible and tangible witness to the truth of Christ and the power of his Gospel to change and transform those who believe. The Power-from-on-high that we are given can enable us to do such things as obtain physical healings from God and speak the right words that people need to hear and that touch the listener’s hearts. But the greatest of all the Spirit’s power-gifts is the supernatural ability to love others as Jesus has loved us. The Church has always been adamant that it isn’t just the apostles or the saints who work such wonders. The Bible makes it very clear that ordinary everyday Christians like us - just like you and me - can do extraordinary things if we trust in the Power of the Spirit within us.
So, let’s spend the coming week between today and Pentecost Sunday next weekend praying for a reinvigorated baptism, outpouring and manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let’s pray for the grace to truly embrace the “Promise of the Father” who was first given to us at Baptism. Let’s pray for the grace to allow this “Power from on high” that was bestowed on us at Confirmation to become a living reality in our lives. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit in our prayers during the coming week to renew his wonders among us and through us in our times as if by a new Pentecost!
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