NKCC

The Ascension of the Lord

Reading I – Acts 1:1-11

Reading II – Ephesians 1:17-23

Gospel – Luke 24:46-53

Farewell Blessing -  In the Hebrew scriptures the “farewell blessing” is a fairly common way to end the story of the lives of the great figures in Israel’s faith.  The farewell blessings of Jacob, Moses, and David are particularly notable.  At the end of Luke’s Gospel, we have a “farewell blessing” by Jesus; it is the only time that Jesus is described as giving a blessing to His disciples.

Jesus’ farewell, of course, is different.  Unlike Jacob, Moses, and David, who gave this blessing at the time of their deaths, Jesus bestows His blessing as He prepares to enter into new and glorious life seated at the right hand of God in heaven.  His blessing, like that of His predecessors, is meant to give them strength and courage.  But it also has another purpose:  it prepares them to be sent out on mission.  In this way, it is a precursor to the dismissal blessing we receive at the end of every Mass.  Yes, the grace of God’s blessing strengthens us, but it is also a dynamic force that sends us out on a mission to continue the life and the work of the Risen Christ. Copyright, J.S. Paluch Co.