Mt 28:16-20
Dear Friends, The Gospels are always inviting us deeper into the mystery revealed by Jesus Christ. There is no end to the profound insights about the wonder of God that awaits us as we faithfully pursue the gospel.
In today’s scripture texts of the Ascension, I would like to point out four small points that help us see how shocking and tumultuous this event was for the disciples and how it should draw us into an ever deeper appreciation of what it means for us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
First of all, try to imagine how alarming and distressful it was for the disciples. A significant part of Matthew’s Gospel was on the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law not the withdrawal from it. Jesus made it clear, over and over again, his mission was to the family of Abraham. Now, in this final encounter, the mission is to “make disciples of all nations.” (Mt 28:19) It was going to take some time for the first disciples to grasp the depth of Jesus’ call to universal inclusion. The consequent confusioon is portrayed clearly in The Acts of the Apostles.
Secondly, we read in the Gospel text: “when they saw him, they worshipped, but they doubted.” (Mt 28:17) While Matthew is much gentler than Mark, he too, portrays the original twelve as a flawed group of human beings. This text is an example of that. Right from the beginning, the Church was struggling with the clear limits of the human condition no matter how exalted the divine commission to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Thirdly, after a lifetime of experience and centuries of tradition, the concept of being “The Chosen People” was simply part of their Jewish DNA. Now in a flash, they are missioned to turn everything around and upside down and inside out and preach the gospel to the heathen gentiles.
A final observation is more comforting. In Mt 1:23 we read: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child and they shall name him Emmanuel which means “God is with us.” Now again we are given this divine assurance of Jesus: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the ages.” (Mt 28:20)
Today, we also face our daily reality and have the call of Christ to be witnesses and preachers of the gospel. It is a challenging task if we truly respond with generosity. The obstacles are enormous. Seemingly countless of our friends and relative and children have abandoned the Church. The young people of today seem much more inclined to find their spiritual way outside of organized religion. Our culture gets more materialistic by the hour and less inclined to take spirituality seriously. Along with these, and many other negative factors, we have the seeming endless onslaught of the sexual abuse in the Church.
In it all, we need to cling to the promise of Emmanuel, God is with us.
The meaning of this beautiful feast of the Ascension is further captured in the words of today’s preface of the Mass:
Christ, the mediator between God and men
Judge of the world and Lord of all
Has passed beyond our sight
Not to abandon us but to be our hope.
Christ is the beginning, the head of the Church;
Where he is gone we hope to follow.
Our hope is rooted in the reality that Jesus is with us all of the time. Our fate is not hopelessness and confusion. It is a simple commitment to live with faith and trust in a God who has a better plan. We pray in the opening prayer of the Mass of the Ascension, “May we follow him into the new creation, for his Ascension is our glory and our hope.”
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