St. Luke is a gifted writer. For those who can read his gospel in the original Greek, it is like reading poetry. His language is classic in style and sound. So, when he narrates the Ascension scene, even if we only read it in English, we get hints of its beauty and style. It is dramatic, especially the moments before Jesus ascends. He leads his disciples to Bethany, raises his hand, blesses them and departs. He doesn’t just leave them, he “parted from them and was taken up to heaven.” A very regal departure!
Could anything be more dramatic, or depicted more lovingly: the disciples alone with Jesus, the final blessing and the stunning departure? Luke concludes the event by describing the disciples doing homage to Jesus and returning to Jerusalem, “with great joy.” He adds, they “were continually in the temple praising God.”
Of course, there is a truth to what Luke tells us. It is about the beginning of the believing community. They had witnessed the risen Lord and were blessed by him before he left. He also told them he would send “the promise of my Father upon you” — the Holy Spirit.
But today’s story ends there. Jesus has left; the Spirit has not come yet. What else did those disciples experience? Were they feeling what we would at such a time? Didn’t they feel alone? Didn’t they wonder where Jesus was as they faced their initial feelings of insecurity? Were they afraid that the opposition and hostility that brought down Jesus would now be focused on them? What would they do? How would this community hold together without Jesus in their midst to settle disputes among them and keep them focused on the mission he gave them before he departed — to be “witnesses” to his life, death and resurrection? Note: “witness” is a New Testament word implying martyrdom. If they try to witness to their faith in Christ, they will pay with their lives.
So, while Luke’s story of the Ascension ends well and on a hopeful note, the disciples must have felt the way we do when we have to face challenges in life — when witnessing to Christ requires sacrifice or, when life turns on us and puts difficult obstacles to faith in our path. Believing and trusting aren’t always easy — especially when Jesus seems absent.
At this point in the story the disciples are at an in-between point. With Jesus’ blessing they are a joyful and praying community. But they and we need more. Like them, we need sustaining power to keep us faithful over the long haul. The Ascension story may have wrapped up neatly, but it is incomplete, there’s more to come. We need to wait for and hear the rest of the account. For that, Luke will write the Acts of the Apostles. As our first reading shows, that book will begin with the Ascension and include the two men in white garments who reassure the disciples that Jesus will return. Meanwhile, they have to stop staring up to the sky and get busy being the witnesses Jesus asked them to be.
You walk into a dark room and you stumble looking for the light switch. You hear a sound and, even before you turn on the light, you realize, “I am not alone in the dark.” That is not a very comfortable feeling, is it? — Alone in the dark with a strange noise?
There are other dark places when you hope for the opposite: you hope there’s someone there with you in the dark. We’re in the dark when a loved one dies, a sickness strikes; or when, as “witnesses,” we struggle against aggressive forces — poverty and discrimination because of religion, race, education, ethnicity, gender, etc. Those are dark places and we can’t always switch on the light to dispel the night. That’s when we want someone in the dark with us. That’s when we need help if we are to sustain our Christian values and practices. That’s when we want Jesus to keep his word and send us “the promise of my Father upon you.” We want that promised One with us in whatever darkness, interior or exterior, we find ourselves.
Today’s feast has us in a waiting place, waiting for the promised Spirit of Pentecost. We know that at our baptism we have already received the Spirit. But we need to be reminded of it and wait for a renewal of that Spirit for the present moment and circumstances of our lives. We lean on Jesus’ word that he would send that Spirit to those waiting for it. Meanwhile, as we await the Pentecostal gifts we need now, we do what those disciples did after Jesus’ ascension. While we wait we gather continually in prayer praising God for the One we know is coming afresh, the Promised One.