THE ASCENSION MARKS FOR THE DISCIPLES A NEW WAY OF BEING FOR CHRIST, WITH CHRIST AND IN CHRIST

The Ascension of the Lord inaugurates a totally new relationship between him and the disciples, that even if it is marked by a physical separation, However, it does not generate sadness, nor regrets, because the disciples: "they returned to Jerusalem with great joy". Thus begins a bond that will have a strong impact on the spiritual life of the Christian, also because from now on he is constituted as a witness.

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The Ascension of the Lord forms a constitutive part of the unique and indivisible Easter event. The evangelical text of the feast places it at the end of the story of the apparitions of the Risen One, on that first day after the Sabbath which for Jesus becomes the opportunity to cheer up his still shaken disciples.

In this way He strengthens their faith in the resurrection: «That's what it says: «Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day» (v. 46); he announces their future mission to them: «in his name conversion and remission of sins will be preached to all peoples» (v. 47); and the gift of the Holy Spirit: "I send upon you what my Father promised" (v. 49). Let's read the Gospel passage:

"During that time, Jesus told his disciples: «That's what it says: Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and in his name conversion and forgiveness of sins will be preached to all peoples, starting from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of this. And here, I send upon you the one whom my Father promised; but you stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high". Then he led them out towards Bethany and, raise your hands, li blessed. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up, in the sky. And they fell before him; then they returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were always in the temple praising God (LC 24,46-53).

The Ascension is told, in some passages of the New Testament, with terms that speak of distancing, of departure, of hiring (analempsis At 1,11), of walking (confused At 1,10-11), of ascent (anabasis: GV 20,17), of separation: "he broke away from them" (LC 24,51). As we have already seen in last Sunday's Gospel of John, this withdrawal of the Lord from physical sight is not read, But, like a detachment, a lack or absence. Because it opens up a new bond between Jesus and his followers, this time internal and spiritual, guided by the Spirit and aimed at making the disciples witnesses of the Risen One. While John underlines the aspect of the Trinitarian indwelling, Luke instead captures that of mission and testimony: “You are witnesses of this” (LC 24,48) ; «You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem… and to the ends of the earth» (At 1,8). For both testamentary authors, the Ascension definitively hides the physical body of Jesus from the sight of his disciples, nevertheless they can meet him again both internally, thanks to the presence of the Spirit, both in mutual love between disciples and towards others: letting yourself be guided by the Spirit, they can do what Jesus himself did.

Before leaving his parents, Jesus gives a brief "summary" of his life and his mission. Previously, a Emmaus, he had explained how in all the Scriptures - "starting with Moses and all the prophets" - there was a reference to him and, above all, that the Messiah of Israel would "endure all these sufferings to enter into his glory" (LC 24,26). Now these speeches are addressed to the apostles, as the introduction to today's gospel says:

«These are the words that I spoke to you when I was still with you: all things written about me in the law of Moses must be fulfilled, in the Prophets and Psalms" (v.44).

Jesus is explaining, as he had already done in his three announcements of passion, that the Messiah, the Christ, he would die and rise again after three days. Here we see the beginning of the Christian hermeneutics of the scriptures and it is Jesus himself who inaugurates it, so long as, eg, we would hardly find such a clear explanation in the Old Testament, in a messianic sense, of the prophecies about the suffering servant of Isaiah. The risen Jesus reports this to his disciples. As they would, indeed, they were able to give such a "full" meaning to words that no one had ever interpreted in that way before? From then on Christians will read the Bible starting from the death and resurrection of Jesus:

«The death of the Messiah, king of the Jews, and his resurrection gave the texts of the Old Testament a previously inconceivable fullness of meaning. In light of the events of Easter, the authors of the New Testament reread the Old. The Holy Spirit sent by the glorified Christ made them discover its spiritual meaning" (Pontifical Biblical Commission, The Jewish people and their Holy Scriptures in the Christian Bible).

The Ascension of the Lord inaugurates, as mentioned, a totally new relationship between him and the disciples, that even if it is marked by a physical separation, However, it does not generate sadness, nor regrets, because the disciples: "they returned to Jerusalem with great joy". Thus begins a bond that will have a strong impact on the spiritual life of the Christian, also because from now on he is constituted as a witness: “You are witnesses of this” (LC 24,48). And this relationship will be placed under the seal of the Holy Spirit, or, the love of God and His free will to communicate and enter into communion with men. In this way, what Jesus lived and did with everyone, touching the poor or sinful members of our humanity, now even the disciples can do it. Letting yourself be guided by the Spirit, they can do what Jesus himself did. In the story of the Ascension that we read in the Acts of the Apostles, equally Lucanian as the gospel, we note a continuity between the coming of the Lord in glory and his historical journey, the verb used to describe Jesus' journey to heaven in At 1,10-11 it is the same one used to indicate the path he physically took. The Ascended One into heaven is also the Coming One and is the one who passed among men doing good and healing:

«Men of Galilee, why are you looking at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, a day will come in the same way as you saw him go to heaven" (At 1,11).

Eschatological coming and daily journey of Jesus they are in strict continuity; so also for the disciples: to know, to confess and bear witness to the Coming, it is not necessary to look to the sky, but remember the steps taken by Jesus on earth. The humanity of Jesus attested by the gospels becomes, like this, the magisterium that shows Christians the path to follow to bear witness to the one who, ascended to heaven, he is no longer physically present among his own and will come in glory.

It's still. According to the Gospel of Luke the Ascension of Jesus is accompanied by a blessing: «While Jesus blessed the disciples, he separated from them and was taken towards heaven" (v. 51); and according to the Acts of the Apostles by a promise: «Jesus will come one day…» (At 1,11). Promise and blessing are the assurance that the Lord does not abandon his, but he will come to meet them again. But they are also aspects that engage the Church in preaching and witnessing, while the latter joyfully awaits His glorious coming. The Gospel highlights two decisive characteristics of Christian testimony, and that is the conversion and remission of sins (LC 24,47) who were already at the center of Jesus' preaching and message, as the disciples themselves experienced. They shared the path with that Jesus who came «not to call the righteous, but sinners to conversion" (LC 5,32), and they experienced the forgiveness of sins, they have known salvation in the remission of sins (LC 1,77). After all, we are witnesses of what we have known and experienced.

In the end, you need to remember that there are many points, within the Gospels, in which Jesus prefigures what will happen in the Ascension, for example during the Last Supper, in which he announces: "I go to the Father". And the place at the right hand of the Father is, precisely, the place of honor, that of the beloved Son who became flesh out of love, he died and rose again and thus saved humanity. That place has always been his, because Jesus before being man is the Son of the Father and has a stable home and glory with Him. Jesus, however, ascends to heaven to begin the "kingdom that has no end", but also to prepare our place in heaven. If Jesus did not return to the Father in heaven, both redemption and salvation would not be complete for man: just like that, indeed, He brings them to completion, sending the Consoler into the world.

From the Hermitage, 01 June 2025

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