Mark 16, 15-20:
Sunday, 16th May 2021 (7th ET B)
The Ascension
After the death on the cross, and for a short time, the apostles experienced the Resurrection of the Lord, they experienced him present in their lives, they “ate and drank with him”. St. Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, and St. Mark, more briefly, tell us how on the solemnity of the Ascension, Jesus appears again, promises not to leave them alone, entrusts them with a mission, and they saw him rise up to heaven.
It is the moment of his glorification, of being at the Father’s side with full power over heaven and earth. Now he can send us his Spirit. He will return at the end of time. He has fulfilled the will of the Father, he has finished his mission and he entrusts the disciples to continue his work of salvation, bringing the joyful news of the Gospel to the whole world.
His Ascension is a mystery that we can only accept in faith. God sits him at his right hand in recognition of all his work. His time among us is over, but he does not leave us. It will be a new form of presence: “I am with you always, even to the end of time”. Then we will be able to fulfil his wishes: “make disciples, baptising them, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…”.
Today is a day of joy because the Ascension of Jesus is the victory of those of us who believe in Him, for we share in His divinity. It is a day of hope because where he is, we will be too, according to his promise: “I go to prepare a place for you”. And it is a day of commitment, for it is not easy to be his witnesses in a world where believers are so often hindered. Let us pray today with Saint Paul that “he may give us his Spirit to know him, and that he may enlighten our hearts to understand the hope to which he calls us”.
Juan Ramón Gómez Pascual
