by Fr. Tommy Lane
It is extraordinary to our way of thinking, that on the day of Jesus’ ascension, as we heard in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles still did not understand Jesus or his kingdom after spending a great deal of time with Jesus after his resurrection. They asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) They were still hoping Jesus would somehow expel the Roman occupiers of Palestine and get independence for them again. They had the same misunderstanding as Judas who had hoped that by forcing Jesus into a corner by betraying him, Jesus would restore the kingdom to Israel. How could Jesus answer their question? They were still incapable of understanding. So Jesus sidestepped the question saying it was not for them to know times and seasons (Acts 1:7). To understand, they would need the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. That’s why Jesus said, “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.” (Acts 1:8) Instead of being concerned about driving out the Romans, Jesus’ response shows their concern after Pentecost would be entirely different: witnessing to Jesus. The apostles still had much to learn and the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost would be their teacher. They still had to learn what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
That’s an interesting way to think about following Jesus: learning what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. The word “disciple” in the Greek of the New Testament means “student.” A disciple of Jesus is a student of Jesus. When Jesus visited the home of Martha and Mary, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet which was the position of a disciple or student (Luke 10:39). She was a student of Jesus. In today’s Gospel, as Jesus gave his last instructions before his ascension, he asked the apostles to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19), that is, to make all nations his students, to make all nations sit at his feet learning from him. We are all in the school of Jesus, continuing to learn from Jesus what it means to be his disciple, what it means to be his student.
Just before he ascended, Jesus gave the curriculum for his school: Jesus said to teach “all that I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:20) Jesus taught in his school; the apostles preached what Jesus taught, and the evangelists, Matthew, Mark. Luke, and John put the preaching of the apostles—the teaching of Jesus—into writing. That is why, of all the books in the Bible, we give most importance to the Gospels because they are the teaching of Jesus. That is why we stand when the Gospel is proclaimed. Again, to show the importance of the Gospels, a deacon or priest proclaims the Gospel while a lector proclaims the other readings. When I recommend people to start reading the Bible, I always suggest that they begin with one of the four Gospels.
Some of the important points in the curriculum in Jesus’ school are: God is always waiting to forgive us and we are to forgive our enemies and forgiving our enemies is loving our enemies. Some parts of Jesus’ curriculum are easy—God is always waiting to forgive us—and some parts challenging: we are to forgive our enemies and forgiving our enemies is loving our enemies. We are students in Jesus’ school for the whole of our lives because we are always learning more of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Three years was not enough for Judas, nor for the apostles in our first reading. That is because the way of the world is different to the way of God; as we heard in the Gospel last Sunday, the world cannot accept the Spirit of truth because it neither sees nor knows him (John 14:17). The Spirit of truth is so different from the spirit of the world. The apostles needed the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as we do.
Jesus said to the apostles just before he ascended that they were to make all nations students of his, and the curriculum in Jesus’ school was all that he had taught them. To understand and learn in Jesus’ school, we need the Holy Spirit, as did the apostles in our first reading. We can turn the beginning of our second reading into a prayer for the Holy Spirit:
May the God of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give us a Spirit of
wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.
May the
eyes of our 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,
and what is the surpassing
greatness of his power
for us who believe. (Eph 1:17-19)
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2023
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Ascension of Our Lord
Praying for the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ Ascension 2021
Gathered around Our Lady after Jesus’ Ascension 2018
Enlightened to our calling and destiny
Year B: Jesus is present in his Church after his Ascension 2006
Year C: Jesus’ Ascension: Jesus with us in a new nearness 2022
Related Homilies: Waiting in prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit