By Fr. Ed Liptak, SDB

Oddly enough, the best account of the Ascension is not in the Gospels but in St. Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. That is fine, because Luke thought of ‘Acts’ as Volume II of his history of Jesus and the Church. Therefore, he wrote, “After [Jesus] had suffered, He appeared to them during forty days speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, [Jesus] enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Much is revealed here. For a considerable time, after Calvary, Jesus met with his Disciples. He told them not to leave Jerusalem. WHY? Because through Jesus, God would send the promised Holy Spirit. Also, there is a sacrament beyond Baptism. They had been baptized with water but “in a few days,” just ten from then, the new Passover Lamb, Jesus, shall have spoken to the Father, and the Disciples would be Baptized with the Holy Spirit. 

A bit later, as the Apostles prodded the risen Jesus about when all he had been speaking about would occur, Jesus quieted them and 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..” With that, Jesus left them, ascending into heaven They had been questioning Jesus, and now two angels questioned them: “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” The narrative was complete.

None of the four Gospels, including Mark’s of today, offer details of the Ascension as does Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. Very likely it is because of this that Luke the historian fills in the gaps. We owe him great thanks. The more we know about Jesus the more we are able to love Him and deeper is our faith. He has gone to heaven. There He prepares a place for us. 

You made living streams of grace flow from the Apostles, that their teaching may bring Salvation to all Nations.(Divine Office)