Reflections
“God
mounts His throne amid shouts of joy.”
This
Sunday 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 (Ephesians 1: 20-21).
With
such an awesome God on His throne,
what hope do
we have as mere human beings
that He will have anything
more to do with us?
How far removed can we
be if this Jesus is taken
up to heaven and has all things
put beneath His
feet (including us)?
Fortunately,
for us men, 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.
Power
is often associated with arrogance and brutal
treatment,
but our God uses His power to work
miracles,
and bring about healing. 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.
As
today's Gospel tells us, after Jesus' ascension,
the
disciples
began their active ministry, empowered by
the
Holy Spirit
(Matthew 28: 16-20). That same
power
is
given to us so long as we believe; we too are called
to
ministry. And for that we are inspired to praise
the
Lord, as the psalmist says, “Clap your hands,
shout
to God with joyful cries; sing praise to God!”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm speaks of God mounting His throne and reigning over the nations.
1. The Psalm speaks of God mounting His throne and reigning over the nations.
If God is raised up so far above us, how do
you go about having a relationship
with our Lord so that He is present to you?
2. The Psalm's verses tell of God as the great king over all the earth, and we are
2. The Psalm's verses tell of God as the great king over all the earth, and we are
urged to sing praise to our king.
Describe how our Lord's ascension inspires you
to celebrate with
shouts of joy.
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