Walking with Jesus: The Ascension of the Lord

Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 4:1-13; Mark 16:15-20

The world has existed for a long time. With God’s creation there has always been a spiritual component urging gratitude to God and at the same time keeping all focused on His love and grace. All awaited for contact with the Divine, and Jesus was born in time to show God’s love to redeem us and the way to eternal life. He was born in Bethlehem … lived in Galilee where He began His ministry … condemned to death in Jerusalem … crucified and died on Mt. Calvary on Good Friday and was buried … rose on Easter Sunday ... and today we celebrate His return to the Lord: the Ascension of the Lord. Tradition tells us that this covers about 33 years.

In the first few lines of the Gospel, Mark summarizes the whole history of the Church: “Jesus said to His disciples: ‘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.’” [Mark 16:15-16] The task is set. No longer do we need to worry whether God is pleased with us or has forgiven us, or if heaven is still available for us. If we remain connected to Christ through baptism; live an active life of prayer, living love and grace through the sacraments; we can be absolutely certain that our lives are already connected to heaven. Paul puts it this way: “… our citizenship is in heaven.” [Philippians 3:20]

Today’s Gospel passage is the ending of Mark’s Gospel and is accepted as the inspired word of God even though it was not written by Mark himself, but much later. In it Jesus instructs His followers, “Go into the whole world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” [Mark 16:15-16] Now how did the apostles take this message and live it? The scriptures don’t tell us how far they traveled aside from the descriptions of the journeys of Peter and Paul in the Acts of the Apostles. Tradition tells us that several of them traveled as far as modern Russia (Andrew), India (Thomas), northern Africa (Philip), and Persia and Asia Minor (Matthew). What we know is that where they went they spent the rest of their lives fulfilling Jesus’ final mission. Tradition tells us also that with the exception of John, all were martyred, the ultimate witness of faith. They spread their faith in Jesus wherever they went, baptizing and conferring the Holy Spirit (Confirmation) on these new believers. We too, by reason of our baptism, have been given the same great commission to witness our faith in Jesus. We are not called to be bashful but to share our faith with anyone who might approach us about what it means to follow Jesus and how we are to live His love commands. The Holy Spirit is always with us and guides us. We are not called to stand on a soapbox proclaiming, but to go about our daily routines knowing that God goes with us into every moment.

So what is left for me to do? I can’t sit back and relax and say I'm all set. Jesus has promised heaven. I can just live the way I want and receive my reward when I go to heaven. But Jesus didn’t say this. Instead He said that each baptized person has a mission to be His witness. This involves a twofold mission: to continue His example and work of teaching and healing. I teach by being a person of love in my actions and my words. I heal by touching those who are hurting, who need a listening ear, a tender touch, a loving smile, or encouragement to continue through the daily trials and suffering life brings. Mark tells us that Jesus promises to accompany our faith with signs that will “authenticate” the good news of the gospel that we hear and pass on. These signs have never been lacking in the Church or in our own lives. How many times has a person asked for help and we knew their need was great but had no idea what to say ... then they look at us and we begin to speak. The words that come out are not ours; God’s grace is there … they come out as encouragement, caring, knowing this person is loved and God is with them. They thank us profusely and we stand dumbfounded, wondering: Where did this help come from? It was from God the Holy Spirit. In every kindness we offer, in every word of encouragement and comfort we utter, in every moment we spend listening and in support, we are being Jesus’ witnesses. We are broadcasting Jesus’ Gospel: the good news of compassion, mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation. Every good work … every kind word … every look of care and love — however small or hidden — is a spark of the Risen Lord in our midst. We remake the lives of the hurting, the struggling and the despairing. They are looking at us and thinking, are you Jesus? I really need Jesus … and then their look and face radiate thank you Jesus.

So I reflect on:

• How much should the thought of Christ’s victorious presence in heaven encourage our fidelity to Him here on earth?
• What can we do in order to become more aware of and more positively influenced by the many signs that God used to confirm us in being His witnesses to the faith?

Sacred Space 2021 reads:

“Pope Francis is calling us today to obey the Lord’s command given 2,000 years ago. We are to work out together how to share the Good News. We cannot bury or hoard the gift we have been given because everyone needs to hear the good news that they are loved. We are to be ‘the good news in the present tense.’

“God is determined to bring us all into the final community of love which is gathering day by day. So, Lord, let me listen to You and You say, ‘Go!’ and let me find creative ways to be good news to those around me.”