The Ascension of the Lord

 Lectionary: 58

In the first book, Theophilus,
I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught
until the day he was taken up,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.

No modern cinephile, playgoer, or novel readers should be surprised that Saint Luke wrote a sequel to his Gospel. Nor, for that matter, should they be astonished that all the New Testament writers recognize the Jewish scriptures as prequel to the life and story of Jesus. In real life there is never a moment we can call "the beginning," nor does anyone live in the endless bliss of happily ever after. 

But the Ascension of Jesus signaled a new relationship with the Nazarene, and a surprising flowering of his disciples. These men who were generally described as confused and bewildered, and sometimes hard hearted, unbelieving, and unfaithful, suddenly knew what to do. They had to retire to Jerusalem and the Upper Room, pray and wait. Wait for something. 

Meanwhile, hordes of pilgrims were streaming into the city and the temple as Pentecost, the Jewish feast approached. These Galileans were fortunate to have a safe place to stay together and ponder what it all means. They must also repair some of the damage of Judas's betrayal by restoring the Eleven to Twelve. Clearly, Jesus had named twelve; the number was very traditional whereas eleven was not. And there was no shortage of volunteers, although only two were fully qualified. 

They also knew they could not go back to the lives they had lived before. The fishermen could not fish, nor could the tax collectors resume their trade. The zealots must forget the weapons they once fondled; and the husbands, their wives. 

They remembered and often repeated the last words of Jesus: 

...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.”

This power would more than gather a committee of men who individually can do nothing but as a group can decide that nothing can be done. Or a group of the unwilling, chosen from the unfit, to do the unnecessary. Nor would their elected leader be the least unwilling candidate, like those of many parish councils.

No, they were ready to do something. The Lord had trained them, and they had experience of doing his work. They had traveled ahead of him and announced his coming. They had cured the sick and cast out some demons. More importantly, they had suffered and survived a disheartening scandal which might have scattered them to the farthest corners of the earth in angry denial of ever having been a party to the Nazarene's  flimflammery. But, he rose from the dead he spoke of their announcing his Gospel to the ends of the earth. So they were ready. 

But it wasn't yet time. They must wait. They might act like Jesus, like actors mouthing Hamlet or King Lear. They might sing like Julie Andrews playing the nun Maria, or dance like Mikhail Baryshnikov as Don Quixote, but no one could be Jesus. No, they were still Peter, James, John, and so forth. To preach the gospel they must be themselves. They must be inspired and empowered. They felt neither. They must wait. They must pray.

The nine days between his Ascension and Pentecost have been called the first novena. The practice is deep in our Catholic tradition as we tally days, months, and years. The novena is a repeated, persistent, intentional prayer. We want, we hope, we act as we ask for God's mercy. Often, when the nine has expired, we know what to do, and we do it. Whereas, we didn't before. The sequel to all we've seen and heard and known before finally begins.