Homily for Ascension Year B 2018
Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Mark 16:15-20
Introduction
I would like to compare today’s feast of the Ascension, to the proverbial middle child. The middle child, sandwiched between the over-achieving first born and the pampered baby of the family, often feels neglected and can’t find his niche.
For, coming as it does between Easter and Pentecost, sometimes we forget about Ascension. While everybody knows that at Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, when he conquered death once and for all and at Pentecost, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to empower and inaugurate the Church, one might ask, what is left to celebrate at the Ascension?
Scripture and Theology
If you are asking that question, you are in good company; for the Apostles were just as clueless. On Ascension Day, when the Lord gathered them together, they knew that something big was about to happen; but they were not sure what. They thought, perhaps he was finally going to re-establish the Kingdom, the Kingdom that the Jewish people had been waiting for, for hundreds of years. They thought that perhaps this was the big payday for which they had been working and waiting, to take up positions in his Kingdom. That is why they asked: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
To their great surprise, Jesus instead said: "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In other words, he was saying, “Look guys, I have done my part in establishing the Kingdom – I am going back to the Father. You now have to carry on the job that I started and bring the Kingdom to completion.”
- And so, we could think of the Ascension as being like the day when a successful CEO takes a step back from actively running the company and hands the reins to his successor.
- We could also think of the Ascension as being like when the runner in the relay race, who has ran a good race, now hands the baton on to the last runner and says “off to the finish line; win this one for us.”
Jesus is that successful CEO, Jesus is that star athlete on the relay team who pass on the task. And we the Church are the new CEO, we are the last athlete, and we have been given the task of completing the mission. The feast of the Ascension is therefore the line that marks the ushering in of the age of the Church, when the disciples take over God's mission of establishing the Kingdom.
But were the disciples qualified to carry on this mission of establishing the Kingdom of God? They were good fishermen; but what did they know about running a worldwide religious organization? Some were tax-collectors and that expertise might help with the collection; but what did they know about preaching God's word? Thankfully, Jesus did not just throw them into the water and tell them to swim or sink. Actually he had empowered them for the task in two ways.
First Jesus had taught them, by his word and by his example. For three years as they lived with Jesus, they heard him teach, they saw his miracles and his example of prayer and compassion, and most importantly, they saw his suffering, death and resurrection, the cause of our salvation. And these are the things they were to preach to the nations, these are the things of which they were to be witnesses. Like the retiring CEO who has been grooming his successor for several years by teaching him things, Jesus had indeed groomed the disciples.
Secondly, and unlike the CEO, Jesus gives spiritual muscle to the apostles. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,” he tells them. In other words in carrying on the mission of the now departing Jesus, they are not going to rely just on their own power and abilities; remember, they are only weak human beings. Instead, they will be empowered by the life-giving Spirit of God, for which they have to wait in Jerusalem, which we celebrate on Pentecost.
- And so if Pentecost is the birthday of the Church, when the Holy Spirit comes down upon the apostles, Ascension is the conceiving of the Church, when Jesus gives the great commission: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
- If Pentecost is like the wedding day when the bride and groom seal their love with the grace of the sacrament, Ascension is like the engagement when the couple make the firm commitment to get married.
And so after all, Ascension, like the middle child, has its niche. Ascension reminds us Christians of the great commission given to us by Jesus.
Christian Life
The Apostles did indeed carry out the great commission. They preached the Good News, not only in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, but indeed to the ends of the earth. They in turn passed on this baton of faith to their successors who continued the work until the Good News reached us here in Louisiana.
We today, now have the baton of faith. We today, are called upon to be witnesses of Jesus. We today, are responsible for restoring the Kingdom of God. Each of us has been given a role to play in this great commission. If I were to list all the things we can each do, we would be here until the cows come home. But broadly speaking, we have three area of witness: teaching the word, celebrating worship and performing works of love: the Word, Worship and Works.
- Some of us carry out this commission as ordained ministers: Pope Francis, Archbishop Aymond, Father Michael (John), myself and the deacons.
- Others carry out this commission of witness as lay ministers, in parish administration, during Mass, even teaching in the school or religion.
- But most of us, carry out this commission out in the world, in our daily lives, so that others see Jesus in what we say and what we do.
Perhaps the most important theatre of witnessing to Jesus is in the family. How can we witness to the world, when we don't witness to those closest to us? Since today is also Mother's Day, let me reflect briefly on the witness of parents in general, but especially the witness of mothers. I am sure that most of us learnt about the faith from our mothers and grandmothers. I know I did. My mother taught my siblings and me the basic prayers, the commandments and the sacraments, for that is simply what mothers do! She read to us stories from the Bible about Jesus, for that is simply what mothers do! She showed us by her example, what it means to live as a Christian, for that is simply what mothers do!
Conclusion
As we remember the witness of our own mothers, let us not forget the special Christian witness of women who find themselves in very difficult situations.
- Think of the single mother, like mine, made single by divorce, separation or widowhood, or by an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. And yet she ploughs on, working two, three honest jobs to put food on the table, showing her children the values of Jesus, despite their lack of material things.
- Think of the woman who has no children, either because she was not able to bear children, or chose not to be a mother, or has lost her children to death or imprisonment, or has simply been abandoned by her children. Such women often witness in their own way to carrying the cross of Christ.
- Finally, you have children who have no mothers to celebrate, either because they lost them to death or imprisonment or abandonment, or who have a strained relationship with their mothers. And yet, they too witness to Jesus, by determination, by perseverance, by forgiveness.
Like the apostles, like these women, let us be "witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." There is no place in our lives where we cannot be witnesses to Jesus. Let us be witnesses to him always. Let us be witnesses to him everywhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment