Ascension of the Lord (B); May 16, 2021

Acts 1:1-11.  Ps 47.  Eph 1:17-23.  Mk 16:15-20

Deacon Jim McFadden

            The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord embraces two elements: on one hand our gaze is directed toward heaven where the glorified Jesus is seated at the right hand of God (cf. Mk 16:19); on the other, it reminds us of the mission of the Church?  Why?  The Risen and Glorified Christ is no longer with us physically; so, he sends his disciples—he sends us—to continue to spread the Gospel throughout the world.  Therefore, the Ascension encourages us, indeed, calls upon us to lift our gaze towards heaven in order to return it immediately to earth where we continue the work of our Lord—namely, to proclaim the Good News of the salvation of the world.  That’s the task that Jesus has entrusted to us, the Church.

            You see, it’s not that the Church has a Mission; rather, the Mission of Christ has a Church.  As the mystical Body of Christ, we have the exact same Mission as the Risen and glorified Christ.  And, this Mission is boundless—that is, it is literally without boundaries, which is why the evangelical Church brings the Good News throughout the four corners of the world, which is why we are catholic.   Our marching orders are unmistakably clear: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation” (v. 15). 

            Now, with such a formidable undertaking, one would think that the Lord would entrust this herculean Mission to an A-team, to the apostolic version of the Avengers.  Far from it: Jesus entrusts the task to a small group of ordinary men who weren’t intellectual giants from the rabbinic schools of Jerusalem.  No, he selected blue collar workers, mostly fishermen, to bring about his purposes.  How could this be?  How could this modestly gifted group common men compared to the great powers of the world bring about Jesus’ message of salvation of love and mercy to every corner of the earth.

            On their own, this plan  wouldn’t have happened.  It was only through the strength and power of God working through the Apostles and disciples that the Mission can be realized.  The Risen and Glorified Christ is the Doer—make no mistake about that reality.  But, we are, by virtue of or Baptism, his instruments.  Their Mission, our Mission, will be supported, empowered by the Holy Spirit.  We hear in our first reading, “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

            Brothers and sisters, this is the ONLY way that his Mission can be accomplished.  The Apostles got it; they understood as they immediately began this work which has been continued by their successors to this day.  Our Bishop Soto participates in this Apostolic Succession as he pastors the local Church to promote the Kingdom of God.  The Church, while holy, also consists of sinners—everyone one of us without exception excluding our Blessed Mother and the Lord Jesus.  Energized by the power of the Holy Spirit, this wounded field hospital of broken people has continued the work of Jesus throughout the centuries and continues still today. Without the Holy Spirit, without the empowerment of grace, the Mission could not, would not be realized.  At the same time, this Mission requires the cooperation of all of us, the People of God.  Each one of us, by virtue of our Baptism which initiated us into the Body of Christ, have been anointed as priest, prophet, and king to proclaim the Gospel.  What qualifies us is not our credentials, gifts, or talents but is it our Baptism that qualifies us to be missionary disciples, to proclaim the Gospel.

            As mentioned previously, the Risen and Glorified Christ is no longer with us physically; but, the Ascension inaugurates a new form of Jesus’ presence among us, calls us to “see” him with the eyes of Faith and to be open to encounter him in new and daily ways, to bear witness that he is alive and Risen to others.  As such, we are people of the Ascension; that is, experiencing the Risen and Glorified Christ within us, especially in his Real Presence in the Eucharist, we bear his presence to the world; we become ‘Christophers’!  On this journey we know that Jesus is not ‘missing in action,’ but that he is really present to us in our gathering, in the assembly of the Church; in other words, we experience Jesus with  and each  other, especially the poorest who suffer in their very flesh the harshest  and humiliating forms of poverty.  Indeed, we hear in Matthew 25 that what we do to the least of Jesus’ brethren, we do to him! 

            We heard in today’s readings that the Risen Christ has sent the Apostles with the power of the Holy Spirit to continue his Mission.  So, too he sends us today in the 21^st century with the same Holy Spirit power so as to establish concrete and visible forms of hope in a world that so desperately yearns for peace and joy.  The Risen and Glorified Christ is the sign of hope.  He went to Heaven and opened the gates of Heaven for us and he has given us the hope that we can reach it. 

            That’s why our soul should resonates with joy which is the greatest proof that we are experiencing the Risen Christ alive within and among us.  We have our Mission: it’s up to us, the disciples of Jesus empowered by the Holy Spirit, to make our Lord’s presence visible by our enthusiastic witness, proclaiming and living the Good News to all nations.  Amen.