***
Gospel: Matthew 28: 16-20
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
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,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
When I was twelve years old, my grandfather asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him, “A nice watch.” I wasn’t expecting anything fancy, but something sophisticated and shiny like grown-ups wear.
When we opened up our presents, there was a small box with my name on it. Inside was exactly what I asked for…or so my grandfather thought.
It was a “grown up” watch alright. It had a black leather band, a round silver face, and two tiny black hands – one that counted the hours and the other the minutes. However, there was one critical piece missing.
There were no numerals on the watch’s face.
I had no idea how I was supposed to tell time. What was the difference between eight and nine? Ten and eleven? I wept inside. Fortunately, I held it together and tucked my watch away in my sock drawer once I got home.
Two months later, my grandfather died unexpectedly on Valentine’s Day. That watch was the last thing he ever gave me. Ironically enough, it was a gift I came to appreciate with the passage of time.
***
In today’s Gospel, the disciples are given an incredible gift as they watch Jesus ascend into heaven. But it is not something they immediately understand; they will only come to appreciate what has happened with the passage of time.
As Matthew tells us, “they worshipped, but they doubted.”
They worshipped Jesus because they didn’t know what else to do. Worshipping him was simply muscle memory.
Whenever the Lord healed someone, or walked on water, or raised Lazarus from the dead, they worshipped him. No one had ever done things like that before.
But they doubted because they didn’t know where exactly he went, or what they were supposed to do now. Their miracle working Master just vanished from their midst! When would he come back again and take them to himself as he promised at the Last Supper?
Tomorrow? Next week? After another forty days?
I’d imagine Christ’s ascension caused the disciples to react a bit like I did at Christmas; they wept inside. Or maybe they couldn’t hold it together and suddenly they bawled their eyes out.
Only at Pentecost would the disciples be given the consolation of the Spirit – and with the Spirit, the wisdom to understand and the courage to act.
***
So, what did the Ascension mean for the disciples? And what might it mean for us today?
***
Slowly, the disciples began to understand that they were Christ’s abiding presence on earth; that their own bodies were now his temple. That if anyone sought to hear Christ’s voice or witness his power, then they would have to turn to his disciples.
So, they stopped looking up and started looking out at each other and deep within themselves.
Then the disciples did as they were commanded – healing the sick, forgiving sinners, and preaching salvation to all, even to the very crowds who shouted for the Lord’s death.
The disciples realized that Christ’s ascension opened the way to eternal life, which also gave them the courage to accept death in the most unimaginable ways, often dying just like their Lord.
As Saint Paul later writes, “If we have died with Christ, then we believe that we shall also live with Christ.”
***
This may not have been the storybook ending the disciples expected. It would’ve been much easier for them to tether the Lord to this earth, making him do all the work.
But once they accepted God on God’s terms, they got down to business, continuing what Jesus started – bringing light where there was darkness, hope where there was despair, love where there was hatred, and salvation where there was death.
The Ascension points to the humbling truth that, at some point, Christ’s followers must rise up and become the leaders; his listeners must become the preachers; his converts must become the missionaries: those who were once broken and helpless must do the healing.
***
Much like that watch my grandfather gave me as a kid, the Ascension is a gift from God which takes time for us to appreciate. You might say it’s a feast for “grown-ups,” who understand that time has changed, that the temporal has been replaced with the eternal.
That the bond of death has been broken as the gates of heaven are thrust open. And we who give ourselves away like Christ and his disciples did in this life will receive the fullness of life in the next.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Christi Himmelfahrt, Gebhard Fugel (2) Watch Connection, Movado (3) X.com, Thykingdomcome global