ASCENSION AND COMMISSIONING - C: Ascension Sunday

First Reading: Acts 1:1-11 (29 May 2022)

“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” (Acts 1:7-8).

This statement was the last words of Jesus before he left the world according to the narrative of Luke in the Acts of the Apostles. This speech expounds what we read in the last verses of the Gospel of Luke: “... would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you...” (Lk 24:47-49). In both narrations, Jesus suddenly ascended to heaven (Lk 24:51; Acts 1:10). Thus, for the evangelist, the Ascension caps the earthly life of Jesus but simultaneously commences the public ministry of his disciples.

It is somehow a passing of the baton, whereas Jesus reaches the end of his work on earth, he entrusts it to their abled hands.

More suitably, Ascension Sunday should be called Commissioning Sunday because Ascension is not the final end of the gospels but triggers only the beginning of apostolic witnessing. It should be noted that Ascension and Commissioning are two inseparable concepts since, without the other, each one’s existence is meaningless. On the one hand, an Ascension without Commissioning may present a beautiful conclusion to Jesus’s life, but everything stops from here; his deeds and teachings would remain only a sweet memory of the past, chronicled only in the annals in history. On the other hand, a Commissioning without Ascension can lead to the immediate growth of more Christian communities since Jesus would remain physically with his followers. However, such would not empower them since they would have continued to depend on him, deterring the harnessing of their own skills in evangelization and leadership.

What does this theological concept of the Ascension and Commissioning tell us? I think that it means that several departures in life should not be treated as the end of the world. While it can be obviously painful and devastating, each loss of an individual practically allows more actors to carry the torch in the achievement of any business or goal that is unfinished. Such is also the case in Philippine politics after the ostensible departure of our democracy as a consequence of the election of candidates with very questionable credentials, personalities, and track records.

Even if God allows the best persons in leadership posts to be defeated, nonetheless, it paves the way for more concerned individuals to be resilient and persevere in standing for the truth.

In a nutshell, any loss that we experience now is only a threshold to a new chapter in life. Nay, we should not be afraid because Jesus assured us of his perpetual presence by promising to send the Holy Spirit to guide us in our witnessing to the gospel (Acts 1:8; cf. Mt 28:19; Jn 16:7). In his general audience at the St. Peter’s Square on April 17, 2013, Pope Francis explains,

“The Ascension does not point to Jesus’s absence, but tells us that he is alive in our midst in a new way.... He is now in the lordship of God, present in every space and time, close to each one of us”

(cf.https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2013/documents/papa-francesco_20130417_udienza-generale.html).

- Rex Fortes, CM