Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION (Cycle C)
Readings:
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47:2-3, 6-9
Ephesians 1:17-23 or alternate reading
Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23
Luke 24:46-53
Abbreviations: NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, and that is why we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The fortieth day of Eastertime, counting as the ancients counted with Resurrection Sunday as day #1 is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:2 identify the fortieth day after Jesus's Resurrection as the day Jesus ascended into Heaven to take His place at the right hand of God the Father. In the Eastern Church, this feast is known as analepsis, "the taking up," and the episozomene, "the salvation," denoting that Christ completed the work of our redemption by ascending into His glory. The Latin terms used in the West, ascension and occasionally ascensa, signify that Jesus was "raised up by His own power."
Scripture and tradition identify the Mount of Olives to the east of Jerusalem as where He left the earth to ascend to the Father. This feast ranks with the Feasts of the Passion, Easter, and Pentecost among the most solemn in the Church's liturgical calendar. It has a vigil and, since the fifteenth century, an octave, which is set apart for a novena of preparation for the Feast of Pentecost. The Solemnity of the Ascension is a Holy Day of Obligation, requiring attendance at Mass according to the precepts of the Church. However, some dioceses move this solemnity to the following Sunday. The Feast of the Ascension, on the fortieth day of the fifty days of Easter rejoicing, is the oldest yearly festival of the Church in addition to the celebration of the Lord's Resurrection.
The Theme of the Readings: The Hope of Heaven in the Ascension
of the Savior
In the first reading, St. Luke describes the Ascension of Christ through the eyes of the disciples and Apostles.
In ascending to the right hand of the Father, Jesus has taken our human nature to glory beyond that of the angels.
He is enthroned on high and lives forever in communion with God. Therefore, let us die with Christ, that we may also
live with Him (Rom 6:5), let us rise with Christ, that we may also walk with Him (Rom 6:4),
and let us ascend with Christ to the right hand of the Father, that we too might be called sons and daughters of God.
Of course, God's plan for humanity goes a step further. Our Lord ascends to the Father not just to take our humanity
with Him but also to send His Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Let us spend the next ten days in prayer along with the
Virgin Mary, the Apostles, and disciples in the Upper Room so that we may be found ready to cooperate with the Spirit in His saving work for humanity.
It is only because of Jesus's self-sacrificial death on the altar of the Cross, His Resurrection, and His Ascension into Heaven that we have the hope of God's gift of eternal salvation. Before the advent of Jesus Christ, the destination of all the dead, the righteous and the wicked, was the abode of the dead, Sheol in Hebrew, or Hades in Greek. It was the grave/netherworld where all souls awaited the coming of the Redeemer-Messiah (see CCC 633). It was where all souls were consigned after physical death since the fall of Adam before Jesus opened the gates of Heaven. From His tomb, Jesus descended Sheol/Hades (Apostles' Creed, 1 Pt 3:18-20; 4:6), where He preached His Gospel of salvation and liberated from the bonds of death those righteous souls who accepted His message and led their souls into Heaven (1 Pt 3:18-22; 4:6; the Apostles' Creed; CCC 632, 634, 845, 1219).
In the Responsorial Psalm, the psalmist calls on all nations to acknowledge the universal rule of Israel's God enthroned as the divine King over Israel and all the nations of the earth. Christian liturgical tradition applies the verse: God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy; the LORD [Yahweh] to the Ascension of the Christ to the heavenly Tabernacle as He takes His rightful place as the Lamb of God who is "Lord of lords and King of kings." As we sing of God enthroned in the Psalm, we have the hope that one day we will join the saints and angels in praise around His throne.
The theme of the hope of Heaven continues in the Second Reading as St. Paul speaks of Christ's Ascension and the promise of our "inheritance" of salvation when we will also ascend to the Father to live in the divine Presence forever. In the alternate Second Reading, St. Paul warns us that we must "hold unwaveringly to our confession." It was a confession of faith made at our baptism when we vowed (or was sworn on our behalf by our parents and Godparents and repeated by us in the Sacrament of Confirmation) our belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This confession identifies us as Christians.
The Gospel reading comes at the end of St. Luke's Gospel and is the same account of Jesus's Ascension that we read in the First Reading. The Gospel Reading provides a continuous narrative from St. Luke's two works in his Gospel and Acts of Apostles. In both books, Luke gives the account of the completion of Jesus's earthly mission as He ascends to the Father in Heaven, followed by the narrative of the ministry of Jesus's Apostles and disciples who continued His mission on earth in the works of the universal Church.
The First Reading is Acts 1:1-11 ~ The Ascension of the
Christ
1 In the
first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught 2 until the day he was taken up, after
giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles whom he had chosen.
3 He presented himself alive
to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty
days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4
While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from
Jerusalem, but to wait for "the promise of the Father about which you have heard
me speak; 5 for John baptized
with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 6 When they had gathered together they asked
him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He answered them, "It is not for you to know
the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. 8 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." 9 When he had said this, as they were looking
on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. 10 While they were looking intently at the sky
as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. 11 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."
St. Luke connects Acts of Apostles with his Gospel account of Jesus's life and ministry with the statement that his Gospel dealt with all that Jesus did and taught 2 until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles whom he had chosen. St. Luke dedicated his second volume to Theophilus, the same man to whom he dedicated his Gospel. Theophilus, a name meaning "God-lover/lover of God," may have been an unknown early Christian who provided the funds for the handwritten copies of this work, as he may have done for Luke's Gospel (Lk 1:3), or his name may be a reference to every Christian who loves the Lord.
In Acts 1:2, Luke sees all of Jesus's ministry as directed by the Holy Spirit, including the instructions to the Apostles (as he also expressed in his Gospel in Lk 4:1, 14, 18, 36; 10:21). This verse is Luke's first mention of the Holy Spirit's activity in the Church. It reminds us it is through the Holy Spirit that Jesus commissioned the Apostles after His Resurrection (Jn 20:23-24).
3 He
presented himself alive to them by many proofs [tekmerion] after he had
suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of
God.
The Greek word tekmerion suggests convincing signs or
evidence of His resurrection. Included in these "signs" are touching Jesus's
wounds (Jn 20:27), eating meals with His disciples (Lk 24:42-43; Jn 21:12-14),
and appearing and disappearing without physically passing through doors
(Jn 20:19). According to Acts 1:3, the resurrected Christ continued to teach His
Church for forty days between His Resurrection and His Ascension. Forty is a
significant number in salvation history and is associated with several events
in Scripture:
In the significance of numbers in Scripture, forty is a number symbolizing both testing and consecration. See the document "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture."
After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdala, to the eleven faithful Apostles, and to the men and women disciples who were with them (Mt 28:9; Mk 16:9, 12, 14; Lk 24:13-15; 34-43; Jn 20:15-29; 21:1). He also appeared privately to Peter, to His kinsman James (the first Christian bishop of Jerusalem and writer of the Letter of St. James), and to over 500 people at one time (Lk 24:34; 1 Cor 5-6).
In the Gospels, Jesus came to proclaim the Kingdom of God, and St. Luke tells us that mission continued during the forty days between His Resurrection and Ascension. During that time, He taught the Church about everything written in the Old Testament Scriptures about Him (Lk 24:27, 44-49) and spoke about God's Kingdom (Acts 1:3). St. Luke mentions the "Kingdom" over 30 times in his Gospel. In Acts of Apostles, Luke's narrative continues with the Church taking up the message of proclaiming the "Kingdom" (Acts 1:3, 6; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31).
4 While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart
from Jerusalem, but to wait for "the promise of the Father about which you have
heard me speak; 5 for John
baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
To remain in the city of Jerusalem and wait for the Holy
Spirit is the same command Jesus gave the disciples in Luke 24:49. St. John the
Baptist foretold the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Matthew 3:11, and Jesus repeated
what He promised in His Last Supper Discourse in John 14:26, 15:26, and 16:7-8.
The Apostles, obedient to Jesus's command to baptize (Mt 28:19) and His
teaching that one cannot enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water
and Spirit (Mk 16:16; Jn 3:5), will use the ritual of water baptism as a
sacramental sign of spiritual rebirth and initiation into the New Covenant Kingdom
(Acts 2:41; 8:12, 38; 9:18, 10:48; 16:15, 33; 18:8; 19:5;
also see CCC 1257).
Notice the unique relationship of the Trinity in this passage. It reveals the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit once again as at Jesus's baptism (Mt 3:16-17; Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21-22) and the Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-8; Mk 9:2-8; Lk 9:28-36). Time and space would have limited Jesus's human physical existence had He remained on earth, hindering the spread of the Gospel. But after His Ascension to the Father, His spiritual presence could be everywhere, unbound by time and space, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke about the coming of the Holy Spirit in His discourse at the Last Supper, recorded by St. John in the Gospel of John Chapters 14-17. Jesus said the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Comforter, would come to the New Covenant Kingdom of the Church to dwell within the lives of individual believers through a spiritual baptism of rebirth and also to live within the corporate unity of the Body of the Church through the gift of the Eucharist. The mission of the Holy Spirit is to comfort, guide, and teach: But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you (Jn 16:7).
6When they had
gathered together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore
the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He
answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father
has established by his own authority. 8 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."
The Apostles and disciples might have been expecting the
Messianic Kingdom to be a political fulfillment like the Davidic Kingdom and to
include their liberation from the Roman oppressors. But what the disciples were
asking might also concern what Jesus prophesied about the completion of His ministry
in the "coming of the Son of Man." His mission will not be complete until He
returns in glory and judgment at the end of time. The Synoptic Gospels record Jesus's
discourse to His disciples about His Second Advent and the Last Judgment (Mt 24:29-44; 25:31-46;
Mk 13:24-37; Lk 21:25-28).
Notice that Jesus did not rebuke them for their question, something which He always did in the past when they were in error, and He gave them the same answer He shared in the Gospel discourses concerning His Second Advent (see, for example, Mt 24:3, 36, 42-44; Mk 13:32). His return in glory is a part of His mission under the Father's authority. St. Paul spoke of this unknown "hour" in his letter to the Church at Thessalonica: Concerning times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night (1 Thess 5:1-2).
Jesus commands the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit. Then He gives them His marching orders for the spread of the Gospel. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, His disciples will be empowered to proclaim the Gospel of salvation. They must start in Jerusalem, then go to the rest of Judea, north into Samaria, and finally to the "ends of the earth," which is probably understood to be the distant parts of the Roman Empire, all of which would be accomplished before the deaths of the first generation of disciples.
9 When he had said
this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from
their sight.
At Jesus's ascension, the disciples witnessed what the prophet
Daniel saw in Daniel 7:13: the Son of Man on the clouds of Heaven from where He
would enter the presence of the Almighty Father to receive power and authority
over all nations. The prophet Daniel wrote: I saw one like a son of man coming
on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the Ancient One and was presented
before him, he received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of
every language served him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall
not be taken away; his kingship shall not be destroyed.
10 While they were
looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white
garments stood beside them. 11 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."
Two angels with the appearance of men assured the disciples that Jesus would
one day return to the same place, to the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem.
The announcement of the angels that Jesus would return to the Mount of Olives probably did not surprise the disciples. The late 6th century BC prophet Zechariah prophesied the Davidic Messiah's last journey to Jerusalem, His rejection, Passion, and the promise of His return in glory to the Mount of Olives (Zec 14:4). Zechariah also wrote about God's Shepherd and the scattering of His disciples. Matthew 26:31 quotes the passage about the Shepherd's scattered "sheep" in Zechariah 13:7, and Zechariah 13:8-9 might be a description of the historical destruction of Judea and Jerusalem by the Romans during the Jewish Revolt in AD 70 that Jesus prophesied on His last teaching day in Jerusalem (Mt 24:1-22; Mk 13:14-23; Lk 21:5-23).
Zechariah Chapter 14 appears to foretell Christ's glorious return at the end of the Age of Humanity, just as the angels told the disciples at the Ascension in Acts 1:11 when 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." Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. God told the prophet Zechariah: That day his feet shall rest upon the Mount of Olives, which is opposite Jerusalem to the east. The Mount of Olives shall be cleft in two from east to west by a very deep valley, and half of the mountain shall move to the north and half of it to the south. 5 And the valley of the LORD's [Yahweh's] mountain shall be filled up when the valley of those two mountains reaches its edge; it shall be filled up as it was filled up by the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the LORD [Yahweh], my God, shall come, and all his holy ones with him. 6 On that day there shall no longer be cold or frost. 7 There shall be one continuous day, known to the LORD [Yahweh], not day and night, for in the evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day, living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea, and half to the western sea, and it shall be so in summer and in winter. 9 The LORD [Yahweh] shall become king over the whole earth; on that day, the LORD shall be the only one, and his name the only one (Zec 14:4-9).
Notice that the description of the return of the LORD is similar to what the angels told the disciples in Acts 1:11 and similar to the account foretelling the new Heaven and earth at the end of time in Revelation 21:1-22:5. As St. Paul would later write to the Christians of Thessalonica: We can tell you this from the Lord's own teaching, that we who are still alive for the Lord's coming will not have any advantage over those who have fallen asleep. At the signal given by the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to raise, and only after that shall we who remain alive be taken up in the clouds, together with them to meet the Lord in the air. This is the way we shall be with the Lord forever (1 Thess 4:16-17). It is a return with the promise of the resurrection of the whole of humanity that all Christians eagerly await!
12 Then they returned
to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath
day's journey away.
The interpretation of the old Law restricted travel on the
Sabbath to not more than 3/4th of a mile or about 1000 meters. The Mount
of Olivet or Mount of Olives was within this distance to the east of Jerusalem.
The disciples returned to the Upper Room in Jerusalem, and for nine days, in company
with the Virgin Mary, 120 of them prayed and waited for the Holy Spirit who
came to them on the Jewish Feast of Weeks/Pentecost, fifty days after the
Resurrection (Acts 1:13-15, Chapter 2).
Responsorial Psalm 47:2-3, 6-9 ~ God Enthroned in the
Heavenly Temple
Response: "God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare
of trumpets for the Lord" or "Alleluia."
2 All you
peoples, clap your hands, shout to God with cries of gladness. 3 For the LORD, the Most High, the
awesome, is the great king over all the earth.
Response:
6 God mounts
his throne amid shouts of joy; the LORD, amid trumpet blasts. 7 Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing
praise to our king, sing praise.
Response:
8 For God is king
over all the earth; sing hymns of praise. 9
God reigns over the nations, God sits upon his holy throne.
Response:
The psalmist calls on all the nations of the earth to acknowledge the universal rule of Israel's God (verses 2-3), enthroned as the divine King over Israel and all peoples (verses 6-9). Christian liturgical tradition has applied verse 6, God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy; the LORD, to the Ascension of Jesus Christ to the Father's heavenly Kingdom. As we sing of God enthroned, we have the hope that one day we too will join the saints and angels in praise around His throne, witnessing the same vision of St. John in the Book of Revelation Chapters 4-6, seeing Christ the Lamb of God enthroned as King of kings in the heavenly Sanctuary.
The Second Reading is Ephesians 1:17-23 (or alternate
reading Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23)
Ephesians 1:17-23 ~ The Unity of the Church and the Hope
of Eternal Salvation
17 May the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom
and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. 18 May the eyes of your hearts be
enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his
call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness
of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great
might, 20 which he worked in
Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the
heavens, 21 far above every
principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not
only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as
head over all things to the Church, 23 which
is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
In this passage, St. Paul refers to an intimate knowledge of the Father through Christ Jesus. The "Spirit of wisdom" is the gift of God's grace. When Paul wrote, 18 May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, he was referring to the heart as the seat of knowledge and understanding, and the true moral essence of a person. God knows the human heart (Lk 16:15; Acts 1:24; Rom 8:27). He calls all men and women to love Him with an undivided heart (Dt 6:5; Mk 12:29-30), the gift of His Spirit dwells in the human heart (Rom 5:5; 2 Cor 1:22; Gal 4:6), and it is where Christ makes His home in every baptized believer (Eph 3:17).
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his
call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones
The glory of Christ leads to greater glory still as we receive
the promise of divine life through the Holy Spirit. It is a new life that
begins with our purification and rebirth in the Sacrament of Christian baptism.
Our "hope" is inheritance among the holy one, that one day we will live
among the saints who have already ascended to the Father and live as adopted
sons and daughters as members of God's holy family in His heavenly Kingdom.
21 far above
every principality, authority, power, and dominion
Principalities, authorities, powers, and dominions are
cosmic powers that are under the sovereignty of Christ the King (Col 1:16; 2:10),
who rules both Heaven and earth from the seat of power and glory to the right
of God the Father (Heb 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2;
1 Pt 3:22).
22 And he put
all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the Church,
23 which is his body, the
fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
Christ is the head of His Body, the Church (also, see Col 1:18). As God fills Christ, He, in turn, fills His Church and every baptized believer
within His Church with His divine life through His gift of the Eucharist,
giving His faithful the hope of Heaven.
The Alternate Second Reading is Hebrews 9:24-28 and 10:19-23.
The first passage of the Second Reading presents the Ascension
of Christ as a priestly act (Heb 9:24-28), and the second explains the meaning
of this mystery to us (Heb 10:19-23).
Hebrews 9:24-28 ~
Jesus, Our One Perfect Sacrifice Made Possible the Christian's Entrance into the
Heavenly Sanctuary
24 For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary
made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now
appear before God on our behalf. 25 Not
that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year
into the sanctuary with blood this is not his own; 26 if that were so, he would have had to
suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now once for all he has
appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice. 27 Just as it is appointed that human beings
die once, and after this the judgment, 28 so
also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second
time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await
him. [...] 19 Therefore,
brothers, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into
the sanctuary 20 by the new
and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, 21 and since we have "a great priest over
the house of God," 22 let us
approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled
clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession
that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.
23 Therefore,
it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified by these
rites, but the heavenly things themselves by better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter into a
sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he
might now appear before God on our behalf. 25
Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest
enters each year into the sanctuary with blood this is not his own.
In Hebrews 9:19-28, the inspired writer refers to the yearly
sacrifices on the God-ordained Feast of Atonement. Known in Hebrew as Yom
Kippur, "Day of Covering," it was a communal reconciliation sacrifice and
liturgical worship service in which the sins of the covenant people were
"covered" (Lev chapter 16). Unlike the Old Covenant high priest, who had to
offer multiple imperfect sacrifices for the sins of the people year after year,
Jesus Christ, our High Priest, bestows atonement for our sins in the heavenly
Sanctuary, offering the continual, single, perfect sacrifice of Himself for the
sins of all humanity.
Earthly things are not in themselves holy; they had to be purified, which made the Old Covenant purification rites necessary. Heavenly things, however, were already pure. From the time of the Fall of Adam, the sacrificial blood of animals accompanied by confession, repentance, and contrition became a cleansing and atoning symbol that foreshadowed Christ's one perfect sacrifice. God instructed His covenant people: Since the life of a living body is in its blood, I have made you put it on the altar, so that atonement may thereby be made for your own lives, because it is the blood, as the seat of life, that makes atonement (Lev 17:11). But unlike the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, Jesus, our High Priest, did not offer blood that was not His own. He offered the one perfect sacrifice with the power to forgive sins: His own flesh and blood, fulfilling what had only been a symbol in past ages.
26 if that
were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the
world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away
sin by his sacrifice.
What Jesus offers is one perfect but ongoing sacrifice; it
is why He is the "Lamb Standing" before the throne of God "as though he was
slain" (Rev 5:6). He was selected before the foundation of the earth to offer Himself
in atonement for our sins (1 Pt 1:20-21). "At the end of the ages" is an expression
signifying the Second Advent of Jesus Christ at the end of the world as we know
it and the de-creation and regeneration destined to occur at that eschatological
event (see Mt 24:37-44;
Lk 17:26-27; 34-35;
1 Cor 15:23-28;
1 Thess 4:13-18;
1 Tim 2:3-4;
2 Pt 3:10-13;
Rev 20:11-21:2; and
CCC# 1001-2).
27 Just as it
is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment, 28 so also Christ, offered once to take away
the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring
salvation to those who eagerly await him.
After death, there is an Individual or Particular Judgment
(see CCC# 1021-22), which eliminates any discussion of reincarnation for Christians
(CCC# 1013). For human life on earth, the finality of death is the one-time,
unrepeatable act, except in the case of Lazarus and others who were miraculously
raised from death to continue their earthly lives. There are also certain unique
cases through the intervention of medical science (with the ascent of God)
where people are revived to live and die again; these exceptions, however, are
resuscitations, not resurrections. The Preface of Christian Death I in the Roman
Missal reads: "Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended. When
the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death, we gain an everlasting dwelling
place in heaven."
As death comes to most mortals as an unrepeatable act, so too Jesus's bloody death was an unrepeatable sacrifice that was offered once and all time, achieving atonement and redemption for humanity. Therefore, all subsequent offerings of His one unique sacrifice are unbloody, as in the sacrifice of the Mass (see CCC# 1330 and the document "Is the Eucharist a True Sacrifice."
In Hebrews 9:28, to take away the sins of many is a quote from Isaiah 53:12 ~ Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses (bold added for emphasis). The Greek verb anaphero [an-af-er-o], in verse 28 and the Greek translation of Isaiah 53:12, can mean either to "take away," "take up," or "to bear." The inspired writer was using the double meaning of this verb to convey that by His atoning death on the altar of the Cross, Jesus both bore our sins and took them away.
The word "many" in 9:28 has the Semitic meaning of "all" in the inclusive sense. In Mark 14:24, in His Last Supper Discourse, Jesus used it in the same sense when He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many [all]." In Hebrews 9:28 (and as he will repeat in 10:19), the inspired writer was alluding to the action of the Jewish High Priest on the Feast of Atonement. During the Temple liturgy, the High Priest disappeared behind the "veil" (the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies; Ex 26:31-33) to enter into the innermost sanctum of the Temple to offer sacrifice for the people and then reappeared after God accepted the sacrifice. The inspired writer of the Letter to the Hebrews (who is probably St. Paul) was comparing this event to Jesus's Ascension to the Father in the cloud in Acts 1:9. At that time, He entered the Holy of Holies of Heaven as both the unblemished sacrifice and High Priest of the heavenly Sanctuary. He also compared that event to His promised return in the Second Advent when He reappears from behind the "veil" of eternity at the end of the Age. As for what happened after Jesus left the sight of the disciples on the Mount of Olives in Acts 1:9, see Daniel 7:9-14, where the prophet describes Jesus entering the heavenly Sanctuary to take His place at the right hand of the Father who confers on Him rule, honor and kingship that extends to all peoples, nations, and languages who became his servants. Jesus's rule is everlasting and will never pass away because His kingship will never come to an end!
Hebrews 10:19-23 ~ The Meaning of the Mystery
19 Therefore,
brothers, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into
the sanctuary 20 by the new
and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh 21 and since we have "a great priest over
the house of God" ...
The sins of the people separated them from the presence of
God. The visual representation of this separation was the "veil," a forty-foot-high
curtain as thick as a man's hand, that separated the Holy Place from the Holy
of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple. Once a year, on the Feast of Atonement, the Jewish
High Priest entered through the veil into the Holy of Holies to offer expiation
for the sins of the people (Lev 16:16, 34). When Jesus gave up His life on the altar
of the Cross, the "veil" was torn from top to bottom, signifying that God had
accepted His sacrifice, and the way to eternal salvation was now opened (Mt 27:51; Mk 15:37; Lk 23:45
and CCC# 433; 536, 1026). Jesus is the eternal High
Priest of the New Covenant people of God, and there is no separation between God
and His people who are one with Him through receiving the Body and Blood of
Christ's sacrifice in the Eucharist.
22 let us approach
with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
Through the sacrament of Baptism, our hearts have
been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure
water (Heb 10:21). The visible sign of the water and blood that
flowed from the side of Jesus on the Cross in John 19:34 is a symbol of baptism
and the Eucharist. The application of that grace came to the Church when the
faithful, praying in the Upper Room, received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The
sprinkling of the nations with clean water was a prophecy of the gift of the
Sacrament of Baptism to all peoples of the world given by God to His holy 6th
century BC prophet in Ezekiel 36:25 (also see CCC 536-57; 715; 1287).
Then, the inspired writer of Hebrews gave a warning: 23 Let us hold unwaveringly to our
confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 We must consider how to rouse one
another to love and good works. 25 We
should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage
one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.
We must "hold unwaveringly to our confession" of faith made
at our baptism in which we vowed belief (or was vowed on our behalf by our
parents and Godparents and repeated by us in the Sacrament of Confirmation)
that we believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This
confession identifies us as Christians and is a confession we repeat in the
Easter Sunday liturgy when the priest asks the congregation, "Do you believe?" It
is a belief we profess in the Creed. Notice in verse 24 how the love of God and
our demonstration of works of mercy are related in our journey to salvation. St.
James wrote, for just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith
without works is dead (Jam 2:26).
The inspired writer of Hebrews stresses the significance of "the day drawing near" and the importance of attending "our assembly" in verse 25. "The Day" is usually a reference to the coming Day of Judgment when Christ returns in glory. In this case, however, it could be a reference to the Day of Judgment on the city of Jerusalem that Jesus prophesied would take place during the lifetime of the Apostles (Mt 23:33-39; 24:1-3, 15-25; Mk 14:14-23 and Lk 21:20-24). In the late AD 60s, lawlessness was increasing. Revolts were fermenting across the Roman Empire, and among the people in the Roman Province of Judea were many who were ready to throw off the Roman yoke of oppression. If this letter was written before AD 64, Christians were experiencing Jewish persecution in Judea, but it was not as bad outside the province. Before AD 64, the Roman authorities were somewhat ambivalent to Christians, considering them just another sect of the Jewish faith. That ambivalence changed in AD 64 after the fire that destroyed three-fourths of Rome when Emperor Nero made Christians the scapegoats for the devastation and ordered official Roman persecution of Christians. The reference to being faithful to Christian assembly on the Lord's Day (Sunday, the New Covenant Sabbath) may point to more intense persecution, which caused some Jewish-Christians to turn away from Christian worship and back to the safety of the Old Covenant observances in Jewish Synagogues and the Jerusalem Temple. From the time of the Sinai Covenant, "resting" in the Lord on the 7th day, the Old Covenant Sabbath (Saturday), was a command of the Covenant (Ex 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:15-17; 34:21; Lev 23:3-8). With the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, "the (New Covenant) creation in Christ" required a new day of entering God's "rest" in worship through a sacred assembly, and that day became the 1st day of the week (the day of the Resurrection), the Lord's Day (Mk 16:9; Lk 20:19; Acts 20:7; Rev 1:10).
However, we should take the warning seriously that it is necessary to gather together to worship in the assembly of the faithful on "the Lord's Day" in preparation for His Second Advent. Celebrating the risen Savior on the Lord's Day and entering into God's "rest" prefigures the hope of our "eternal rest" and our promise of worship in the heavenly Sanctuary. It is a sin to purposely avoid the sacred assembly of Christ's faithful in the celebration of the Eucharist on the Lord's Day without a legitimate reason for failing to come together in union with the Church to worship God. See CCC# 2180-81.
The Gospel Reading is Luke 24:46-53 ~ Jesus's Appearance
to the Disciples in Jerusalem and His Ascension from the Mount of Olives
46 And he said to
them, "Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead
on the third day 47 and that
repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all
the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You
are witnesses of these things. 49 "And
behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city
until you are clothed with power from on high." 50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands
and blessed them. 51 As he
blessed them, he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. 52 They did him homage and returned to Jerusalem
with great joy, and they were continually in the Temple praising God.
46 And he said to them,
"Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the
third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached
in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of
these things."
Universal power and kingship now belong to the risen Jesus;
therefore, He confers upon the eleven ministers of His Church a universal
mission to teach the Gospel message of salvation and baptize believers from
Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Notice that Jesus links repentance to the
forgiveness of sins and the call to salvation. Without genuine repentance (the
changing of one's heart from rebellion to obedience towards God) there can be
no forgiveness of sins (see, for example, Mt 3:2;
Lk 1:77; 3:8; 5:32; 13:3;
Acts 2:38; 3:19, 26; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 17:30; 26:20).
Between Jesus's appearances to His disciples and Apostles on Resurrection Sunday and His Ascension, there was a forty-day period in which Jesus continued to teach the Church, appearing and disappearing at will (Acts 1:3). He met with them in Galilee, as He told them at the Last Supper (Mt 26:32) and as the angel instructed them (Mt 28:7). St. John's Gospel gave a lengthy account of that meeting (Jn 21:1-23). After the meeting in Galilee, the disciples and Apostles returned to Jerusalem just before the pilgrim feast of Weeks, also known by the Greek title Pentecost, which means "fiftieth day" (Dt 16:16). It was a feast celebrated fifty days from the celebration of Firstfruits (as the ancients counted) that came on the first day after the Sabbath of the Holy Week of Unleavened Bread, and like the Feast of Firstfruits, it always fell on the first day of the week, the day we call "Sunday" (Lev 23:15-21; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 13.8.4 [252]. The Feast of Firstfruits was Resurrection Sunday. Jesus would meet with them one final time before He led them out to the Mt. of Olives and ascended to the Father (Lk 24:49; Acts 1:4-5).
Luke 24:49-53 ~ The Ascension
49 "And behold I am
sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are
clothed with power from on high." 50 Then
he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands and blessed them. 51 As he blessed them, he parted from
them and was taken up to heaven. 52 They
did him homage and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were
continually in the Temple praising God.
"The promise of my Father" was that Jesus would send the
Paraclete, God the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:15-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-8). Notice the
procession of the Holy Spirit in these passages from the Father and the Son. It
is what we profess in the Nicene-Constantinople Creed. The disciples obediently
returned to the same Upper Room in Jerusalem where they held the Last Supper. In
obedience to Jesus's command, it was there that the Apostles, the men and women
disciples, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus's kinsmen all remained in prayer for nine
days as the united 120 members of the first Christian community (Acts 1:13-15).
Under the Old Covenant traditions, 120 was the minimum number required for forming
a religious community. They continued in prayer, waiting for the coming of the
Holy Spirit on the Jewish Feast of Weeks/Pentecost on the tenth day after Jesus's
Ascension and fifty days from His Resurrection (Acts chapter 2). For this
reason, a "novena," a prayer with a single petition (in Latin "novem," meaning
"nine"), lasts for nine days. After the coming and indwelling of the Holy Spirit,
the Apostles continued Jesus's earthly mission by devoting themselves to
teaching the community, breaking bread together, and fearlessly going to the
Temple daily to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:42, 46-47). To
continue Jesus's earthly mission is still the mission of the Church today. Every
one of her citizens has the same obligation to study Jesus's teachings, to meet
together to break bread in the Eucharist, and proclaim the Gospel of the
Kingdom of Jesus Christ to the world.
St. Paul wrote to the Christian faithful at the church in Ephesus: And he (God) put all things beneath his (Jesus's) feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way (Eph 1:22-23). That is what the Universal Church celebrates on the day of Christ's Ascension. It is a day about Christ's presence, not His absence, and reminds us of what Jesus told His disciples at the end of St. Matthew's Gospel when He said, "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28:20b).
Catechism references for The Feast of the Ascension (*
indicates Scripture is paraphrased or quoted in the citation):
Acts 1:1-2 (CCC 512),
1:3 (CCC 659*),
1:6-7 (CCC 672*),
1:7 (CCC 474*, 673),
1:8 (CCC 672*, 730*, 735, 857*, 1287*),
1:9 (CCC 659*, 697),
1:10-11 (CCC 333*),
1:11 (CCC 665*).
Psalms 47:2-3, 6-9 (CCC 783, 786, 908, 2105)
Ephesians 1:17-23 (CCC 2632*), 1:18 (CCC 158), 1:19-22 (CCC 272, 648*), 1:21-22 (CCC 668), 1:22-23 (CCC 830*), 1:22 (CCC 669*, 753*, 2045*).
Alternate reading Hebrews 9:24 (CCC 519, 662, 2741*), 9:25 (CCC 662), 9:26 (CCC 571), 9:27 (CCC 1013, 1021*), 10:19-21 (CCC 1137*), 10:19 (CCC 2778*), 10:23 (CCC 1817).
Luke 24:46 (CCC 627), 24:47-48 (CCC 730*), 24:47 (CCC 981, 1120*, 1122), 24:48-49 (CCC 1304*), 24:51 (CCC 659*)
The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (CCC 659*, 660*, 661*, 662*, 663, 664*, 665-667, 668*, 669*, 670*, 671*, 672*, 697*, 965, 2795*)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2013; revised 2022 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.