Year C – Ascension of our Lord | Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53
History reports Jesus walked among his disciples forty days after resurrecting from the dead. He spoke daily about the kingdom of God. He promised a power to come upon the Church. That power would be the Holy Spirit of God. That power was demonstrated as Jesus ascended up into heaven before their very eyes. Such power is immeasurable by human standards.
Psalm 47 is selected to accentuate our Lord’s ascension. “God has gone up”. Praises are sung to our King. “God sits on his holy throne.” And so the Church recognises Jesus as its King, ruling from heaven above. The majesty of our Lord is expounded through this week’s alternative Psalm 93. The holy decrees of our Lord thunder with immeasurable power.
Through the Ephesian Church, we learn the immeasurable greatness of Christ’s power is “for us who believe.” Believers of Jesus’ words and promises can know this great power. Accompanying God’s power at work in Christ is a glorious inheritance. Our hope to which we are called is to rule and reign with Christ. Our enlightened understanding is empowered to work through this life’s trials in exchange for future glory.
And so Luke closes his gospel as his history of the apostle’s Acts begins: with an historic account of Jesus ascending upward into heaven. The immeasurable power that propelled our Lord upward through the sky was given for us to be witnesses. We are to testify that the scriptures speak of Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection. This good news is the hope of humanity and it explodes with immeasurable power.