Today
we celebrate the solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord into heaven. To ascend,
simply put means to go up or climb up. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared
to his Apostles for forty days to assure them that he had truly risen. On the
day of the Ascension Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit, blessed them and was
taken up to heaven.
In
Article 6 of the creed, we say: “He Ascended into Heaven and is seated at the
right hand of the Father”. This is one of the tenets of our faith that we must
profess and believe. “Christ’s body was glorified at the moment of his
Resurrection, as proved by the new and supernatural properties it subsequently
and permanently enjoys. But during the forty days when he eats and drinks familiarly
with his disciples and teaches them about the kingdom, his glory remains veiled
under the appearance of ordinary humanity. Jesus’ final apparition ends with
the irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory, symbolized by the
cloud and by heaven, where he is seated from that time forward at God’s right
hand” (CCC 659). So now that Christ has ascended to the Father, it is now left
to the apostles to carry out his mission of witnessing to his love and
resurrection. They were warned not to stand idle but be up and doing. “They had
their eyes fixed on the sky as he went away, when two men dressed in white
suddenly stood beside them and said, “Galileans, why are you standing there
looking up at the sky? (Acts. 1:10-11).
Mark
Link, S.J. relates a story in his book ‘Sunday Homilies’ of the ancient legend
about the ascension of Jesus into heaven. “When Jesus reached heaven, his body
still showed the wounds of his crucifixion. His hands and feet still bore the
prints from the nails. His side bore the mark from the spear. His back bore the
stripes from the whip, and his head bore the wounds from the thorns. When
people in heaven saw these marks, they fell on their knees before Jesus. They
were astounded to see how much he had suffered. Then angel Gabriel rose up and
said to Jesus: “Look, how greatly you suffered on earth! Do all the people on
earth know and appreciate how much you went through for them and how much you
love them?”
Jesus
replied: “Oh, no! a handful of people in Palestine know that. The rest haven’t
even heard of me. They don’t know who I am. They don’t know how much I
suffered, and how much I love them.” Gabriel was shocked to hear this. Then he
said to Jesus: “How will all the rest of the people on earth ever learn about
your suffering and your love?” Jesus said: “Just before I left, I told Peter,
James, and John, and few of their friends, to tell the rest of the world for
me. “They’ll tell as many people as they can. These people, in turn, will tell
other people. In that way, the whole world will eventually learn about my love
for them.” Gabriel looked even more confused now. He knew how fickle people
are. He knew how forgetful they are. He knew how prone to doubt they are. So he
turned to Jesus and said: “But, Lord, what if Peter, James, and John grow tired
or frustrated? What if they forget about you? What if the people they tell
become frustrated? What if they forget? What if they begin to have doubts about
you? “And even if none of these things happen… Didn’t you take these things into
account? Don’t you have a back-up plan – just in case?” Jesus answered: “I did
take all these things into account, but I decided against a back-up plan. This
is the only plan I have. “I am counting on Peter, James, and John not to let me
down. I’m counting on the people they tell not to let me down”
This,
indeed, is a powerful story demanding our attention. Jesus is counting on us; we
must not let Him down. We must take
seriously His divine mandate, to go make disciples of all nations (Matt.
28:19-20). He has passed on the baton to us and the message must be preached.
St. Paul urged Timothy: “I solemnly urge you to preach the message, to insist
upon proclaiming it (whether the time is right or not), to convince, reproach
and encourage, as you teach with patience” (2Tim. 4:2). We may not be good
preachers, or good at singing, or at doing anything much for that matter, but
we are called to be good Christians, to have the love of Christ in our hearts
and to share same with others. We must be kind, hospitable, compassionate and
forgiving. We must learn to show mercy and stop engaging in uncharitable acts
of unkindness. We must stop running to the factory that manufactures gossips
and rumors just to buy some ourselves and share through the phone with willing
listeners. Must refuse to peddle rumors and unkind words about one another.
Gossip can ruin without killing, it can tear down homes, break hearts and wreck
lives. You can find gossip in the pews of the pious as well as in haunts of the
unholy. It gathers strength with age and spread venom where greed is unknown.
It can bring confusion and suspicion where distrust is unperceived. And most of
the time innocent lives are destroyed. Let us spend our time wisely in
constructive criticism, the kind that will build our brothers and sisters up
instead of tearing them down. For these are the things that idle minds do. The
first reading warns us not to be idle day dreamers waiting for rumors, gossips
or tales that may come our way so as to pass them around. Let us spread the
message of love around. Tell people instead what God has done for you and
encourage them to come taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Though
Christ has left us physically, he is very much around us spiritually. He has
long assured us that he is with us always till the end of time. He said goodbye
to his disciples so as to allow them grow into mature witnesses. His Spirit,
working in and through his disciples guided them and taught them the way of
love and discipleship. May this same Spirit dwelling in us show us the way to
true discipleship. Amen!
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