Lifted to Live: Following the Ascended Christ on Earth

Ascension of the Lord: June 01, 2025

Readings: Acts 1:1–11; Psalm 47:2–3, 6–7, 8–9; Ephesians 1:17–23; Luke 24:46–53 

 To listen to my audio-video reflections via YouTube, please click here: https://youtu.be/FZdeCn9IRII

Today, we celebrate the great feast of the Ascension—Jesus’ return to the Father after completing His earthly mission. It is a moment filled with awe and mystery, but also with challenge and commissioning. The Ascension is not a farewell; it is an invitation to deeper faith, bolder witness, and wholehearted discipleship. This Sunday's liturgical readings invite us to enter deeper into the mystery of Christ's ascension into heaven. A Christian with enlightened eyes sees the world with hope, lives without fear, and embraces every task as sacred. Christ’s Lordship over all things gives meaning to our life of hope.

1. Christ Entrusts Us with His Mission 

Before He ascends, Jesus opens the minds of His disciples to understand the Scriptures. He reminds them that the Messiah had to suffer, die, and rise, and now “repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in His name to all nations.” Then He declares, “You are witnesses of these things.” In other words, they are not supposed to think about the empty tomb and sit idle.

This is the heart of the Ascension: the baton of mission is passed to us. We are his witnesses. Christ doesn’t just rise to glory; He empowers us with His Spirit and sends us out. Now we have to make him visible. Being a Christian is not a passive calling. We are to carry the Good News into our homes, workplaces, cities, and even to those far off. To follow Christ wholeheartedly means to be His witness with our lives—boldly, lovingly, and unashamedly.

2. Power from on High

Jesus tells the disciples to wait until they are “clothed with power from on high.” This points us to Pentecost, but also reminds us that mission is impossible without grace. Jesus is going to empower us. We cannot trust in our own abilities, but in the abilities of our master. The power to live a holy life, to forgive enemies, to endure trials, to proclaim truth—it does not come from our strength but from the Holy Spirit. If we try to follow Christ without prayer, without the sacraments, without dependence on grace, we will quickly burn out.

Wholehearted discipleship requires daily surrender to the Spirit, allowing God to work in and through our weaknesses. God comes in our midst in our weakness. Christ’s Ascension does not leave us alone; it prepares us to receive His very life within us.

3. Eyes Fixed on Heaven, Feet Firmly on Earth

As Jesus ascends, the disciples stare into the sky. Two angels ask, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” It’s a gentle rebuke, reminding them that the mission begins now. We can be tempted to spiritual escapism—to seek comfort in private prayer or pious thoughts while neglecting the call to serve in the world. Let us not simply commemorate an event from the past. Let us allow the Ascension to shape our present and future.

To follow Christ wholeheartedly means to keep our hearts anchored in heaven while our hands are busy building God’s Kingdom on earth. We are to live in such a way that others catch a glimpse of heaven through our lives. Therefore, Christ fills us with hope, so that we inherit the immeasurable greatness of his power. This is a deep invitation to interior transformation. The Ascension isn’t just about Christ going up—it is about us being lifted into a new way of seeing. Christ has ascended—not to leave us behind, but to draw us upward. Let us follow Him wholeheartedly, until He returns in glory.

Questions for self-reflection

1. Are we living as witnesses of Christ, not just with words but with our whole lives?
2. Are we depending on the Spirit’s power, or merely on our own abilities?
3. Are we stuck staring into the heavens, or are we building God’s Kingdom with joy?
4. Are the eyes of our hearts enlightened to see our daily life as part of God’s grand design?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, as we celebrate Your glorious Ascension, we thank You for not abandoning us but for entrusting us with Your mission. You call us to be Your witnesses in the world—not by our own strength, but through the power of Your Spirit. Help us to live each day with hearts turned toward heaven and hands ready to serve on earth.

Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord, so we may see the hope of our calling and the greatness of Your love. Teach us to depend on Your grace, to trust in Your presence, and to walk with courage and faith. May our lives reflect Your truth and mercy in all we do, until the day You return in glory. We make this prayer in Jesus' Holy Name, Amen.

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

28 May 2025