GOSPEL READING:
Matthew 28:16-2016 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."
SCRIPTURE READING:
Acts 1:1-111 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 To them he presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me, 5 for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." 9 And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
Meditation: Why did Jesus leave his disciples forty days
after his resurrection? Forty is a significant number in the
Scriptures. Moses went to the mountain to seek the face of God for
forty days in prayer and fasting. The people of Israel were in the
wilderness for forty years in preparation for their entry into the
promised land. Elijah fasted for forty days as he journeyed in the
wilderness to the mountain of God. For forty days after his
resurrection Jesus appeared numerous times to his disciples to
assure them that he had risen indeed and to prepare them for the
task of carrying on the work which he began during his earthy
ministry.
The Risen Lord is with us always to the end of time
Jesus' departure and ascension into heaven was both an end and a
beginning for his disciples. While it was the end of Jesus'
physical presence with his beloved disciples, it marked the
beginning of Jesus' presence with them in a new way. Jesus
promised that he would be with them always to the end of time
(Matthew 28:20). Now as the glorified and risen Lord and Savior,
ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven, Jesus promised
to send them the Holy Spirit who would anoint them with power from
on high on the Feast of Pentecost, just as Jesus was anointed for
his ministry at the River Jordan (Luke 3:21-22, 4:1,18). When the
Lord Jesus departed physically from the apostles, they were not
left in sorrow or grief. Instead, they were filled with joy and
with great anticipation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The Risen Lord empowers us to carry on his work
Why did the Risen Lord ascend into heaven? The Father raised the
glorified body of his Son and enthroned him in glory at his right
hand in heaven. The Lord Jesus in his glorified body now reigns as
Lord over the heavens and the earth - over all that he has
created. The Risen Lord reigns from the throne in heaven as our
Merciful Redeemer and Gracious King. He intercedes for us and he
empowers us through the outpouring of his Holy Spirit. The Lord
Jesus gives us new life in his Spirit and he strengthens us in
faith, hope and love so we can serve him and carry on his work as
citizens of his kingdom here on earth.
You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth
Jesus' last words to his disciples point to the key mission and
task he has entrusted to his followers on earth - to be his
witnesses and ambassadors to the ends of the earth so that all
peoples, tribes, and nations may hear the good news that
Jesus Christ has come to set us free from sin, Satan, and death
and has won for us a kingdom of peace, joy, and righteousness that
will last forever.
How can we be effective witnesses for Christ? Jesus told his
disciples, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you - and you shall be my witnesses... to the end of the
earth" (Acts 1:8). Jesus gives his followers the same power he
received when the Holy Spirit came upon him and anointed him at
the beginning of his mission (John 1:32-33). The Gospel is the
power of God, the power to release people from their burden of
sin, guilt, and oppression, and the power to heal, restore, and
make us whole. Do you believe in the power of the Gospel to change
and transform your life?
We are ambassadors for Jesus Christ
Paul the Apostle reminds us that we are called to be ambassadors
for Jesus Christ. Just as ambassadors are appointed to represent
their country and to speak on behalf of their nation's ruler, we,
too are appointed by the Lord Jesus to speak on his behalf and to
bring others into a close and personal encounter with the Lord and
Ruler of heaven and earth. This is the great commission which the
risen Christ gives to the whole church. All believers have been
given a share in this task - to be heralds of the good news and
ambassadors for Jesus Christ, the only savior of the world. We
have not been left alone in this task, for the risen Lord works in
and through us by the power of his Holy Spirit. Today we witness a
new Pentecost as the Lord pours out his Holy Spirit upon his
people to renew and strengthen the body of Christ and to equip it
for effective ministry and mission world-wide. Do you witness to
others the joy of the Gospel and the hope of the resurrection?
Lord Jesus, through the gift of your Holy Spirit, you fill us with an indomitable spirit of praise and joy which no earthly trial can subdue. Fill me with your resurrection joy and help me to live a life of praise and thanksgiving for your glory. May I witness to those around me the joy of the Gospel and the reality of your great victory over sin and death.
Psalm 47:1-9
1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. [Selah]
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Jesus ascends to heaven in his body - divine and human nature, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"You heard what came to our ears just now from the Gospel: 'Lifting
up his hands, he blessed them. And it happened, while he was
blessing them he withdrew from them, and was carried up to heaven.'
Who was carried up to heaven? The Lord Christ was. Who is the Lord
Christ? He is the Lord Jesus. What is this? Are you going to
separate the human from the divine and make one person of God,
another of the man, so that there is no longer a trinity of three
but a quaternary of four? Just as you, a human being, are soul and
body, so the Lord Christ is Word, soul and body. The Word did not
depart from the Father. He both came to us and did not forsake the
Father. He both took flesh in the womb and continued to govern the
universe. What was lifted up into heaven, if not what had been taken
from earth? That is to say, the very flesh, the very body, about
which he was speaking when he said to the disciples, 'Feel, and see
that a spirit does not have bones and flesh, as you can see that I
have' (Luke 24:39). Let us believe
this, brothers and sisters, and if we have difficulty in meeting the
arguments of the philosophers, let us hold on to what was
demonstrated in the Lord's case without any difficulty of faith. Let
them chatter, but let us believe." (excerpt from Sermon
242,6)
