Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

 

Ascension by Giotto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

“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’” (Acts 1:6-11).

“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.’
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” (Mk. 16:15-16, 19-20).

There we have it! Jesus’ mission is completed, but it is still ongoing. We are called to continue his mission; to go forth and evangelize and love and serve as he has done for us. We are called to participate in his mission so that we will also receive glory and honor as members of his body.