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| Raphael's Ascension |
During these 40-some days we have been celebrating the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ – a mystery that includes his death and resurrection, and also his ascension to his Father in glory, and the descent of the Spirit of God upon the disciples. These are all different aspects of the passage of Jesus from his earthy life through death into a new, transformed reality—anticipating our own future.
The Ascension we celebrate this Sunday is Jesus’ final leave-taking from the disciples, so something new can happen: the descent of the Spirit. Yes, the living Christ continues among us through the Spirit of God.
The Book of the Acts indicates that the Lukan Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles are a two-volume work. The Gospel is about Jesus; the Acts about early Christianity. The ascension, connecting Luke and Acts, signals the close of Jesus’ earthly ministry and heralds the beginning of the Church’s ministry.
Paul in his letter to the Christian community at Ephesus prays that we will grow in wisdom and enlightenment so that we will see more clearly God’s saving work in Jesus Christ. Jesus is indeed the “head” of the “body,” the Church, the people of God. We with our multi talents are called to build the Mystical Body of Christ.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus tells the disciples to be missionary disciples. The disciples then, and you and I now, are the hands and feet and eyes and ears and voice of the Living Christ until He comes again in glory to transform this universe into a new heaven and a new earth.
The living Christ, gloriously alive, has created new relationships for us—with God and with one another. And in light of this, I would like to pose three questions:
First, what makes us feel alive? The awesomeness of nature? Hearing Tony Bennett or Carrie Underwood sing? Holding a baby? Accomplishing good work? Watching a space flight lift off – there’s a manned flight scheduled this week; let’s pray for the safety of these two astronauts.
Second question: what does it mean to be alive in Christ? We have been gifted with God’s triune life in baptism, our initiation into a community of disciples. The rite of baptism makes us alive in Christ. At birth, we lack God’s triune life. In the beginning, man and woman walked with God. Somehow they lost that friendship. Genesis describes that they hid from God. But God became flesh in Jesus. God through the crucified and risen Christ re-connected us. Through baptism we enter a community of disciples, a fellowship of grace.
The third question is: How really alive in Christ are we? The Spirit of God is within us, to bring about the design of God on this planet of ours. The Spirit empowers us to be channels or instruments of faith, hope, love, forgiveness, compassion, truth, fairness, hospitality, fidelity, responsibility and self-discipline, in our families, our workplaces and our communities.
This time of year, we would usually hear commencement speeches. The coronavirus changed this season. But the best advice I ever heard, in a commencement speech, was this: the quality of your life and your soul’s destiny will be measured by your character: going the extra mile to help someone in need; helping a child realize potential; being faithful in your relationships and responsibilities; working for the common good; trusting always in a good and compassionate God who is ever near to us and who will guide us safely home.
If we follow that advice, we indeed will be continuing the saving work of Jesus Christ.
