Psalm 47: 2-3, 6-7, 8-9
“God mounts His throne amid shouts of joy.”
This week we celebrate the Ascension of
our Lord, who was taken up to heaven
to be seated at the right hand of the Father,
far above every principality, with authority
over every nation, as our 2nd reading tells us.
With such an awesome God on His throne,
what hope do we have as mere human beings
that we will ever be able to approach Him?
How far above us can this Jesus be, if He is
taken up to heaven and has all things put
beneath His feet?
Power is often associated with arrogance and
brutal treatment, but our God uses His power
to work miracles, and bring about healing.
And His power is expressed by His love, by
which we are raised up with Jesus. He is risen,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father
in heaven. Knowing this, 'We shout with joy,
and we praise Him.'
Though He has ascended, fortunately Jesus
leaves with us a way to share in His divinity,
through the Holy Spirit which he gives to us.
His power and presence remain within us,
so long as we repent from our sins and believe in Him.
After Jesus' Ascension, the disciples began their
active ministry, empowered by the holy Spirit.
That same power is given to us – we too are called
to ministry, to go into the world and proclaim the Gospel!
And for that we are inspired to praise the Lord;
as the psalmist says, “Clap your hands, shout to God
with cries of gladness ... sing praise to God!”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. As per the Psalm and the readings this week,
our Lord has been raised up so high above us,
how do you reach Him, how do you build a personal
relationship with Him?
2. The psalmist encourages us to clap our hands,
and shout to God with cries of gladness, because God
mounts His throne. Speak of how you are raised up
with our Lord Jesus, as He ascends to sit at the right
hand of the Father.
We reach Him every time we take the Eucharist.
ReplyDeleteCatechism of the Catholic Church:
1324 The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life."
"The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch."
Amen
The image of the Ascension is beautiful and uplifting. I picture the apostles with their heads literally tilted up, toward heaven, taking in the last moments that they see Jesus with their physical eyes. I embrace the concept of ascent and "heaven-ward", if you will -- even this week's questions both use the term "raised up". Interestingly, my answer actually involves the opposite concept: I feel "raised up" when I "pass down" Biblical truths to my children. Motherhood is an anointing that I do not take lightly. The Bible tells us even as far back as Deuteronomy 11:18-19...
ReplyDelete"Fix these words of mine in your heart and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children , talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." With the gift of the Holy Spirit as my teacher and guide, I can be the Jesus that my kids need to see. They can also be that Jesus to their peers as they pass on the flame of faith. We just need to keep coming back to the same source of light and strength. Even in our physical world, a candle's small flame does not decrease when we take a match to it to light another. With these thoughts in mind, I am closest to Jesus and indeed "raised up" as I actively share His words with those around me, especially my children, the next generation of evangelists.
When most humans are faced with adversity, they are challenged, but given a little time, most of us can not only deal with adversity, but overcome it!
ReplyDeleteWhat is truly scary, is when humans are given power...and the more power that is given, the scarier it is. We have all seen many examples of this throughout history.
God, who has unlimited power, tests us, by sharing His power with us. By walking and talking with God on a continuous basis, hopefully we will continue to use our God given powers in a Godly way.
Celebrating God's greatness improves our relationship with Him, knowing that God chooses to forgive us instead of punishing us. He uses his power to work miracles to show that He will always love us.
ReplyDelete