PanDASALan – Solemnity of the Ascension – June 01, 2014 “Mission Accomplished – Mission Possible” Years ago, there was a Catholic missionary preaching in the open square of a village in North India. As he finished, a Muslim gentleman approached him and said: “You must admit we have one thing you have not, and it is better than anything you have.” The missionary smiled and said: “I should be pleased to hear what it is!” The Muslim went on to say: “You know that when we go to Mecca, we find at least a coffin; however, when you Christians go to Jerusalem, you find nothing but an empty tomb.” The Catholic missionary replied: “Ah ha! But that is the beauty of Christianity and it makes all the difference. Mohammad, the founder of Islam, is dead and he is in his coffin. But the head of Christianity, Jesus Christ, has risen from the dead and returned to heaven.” My dear friend, brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are celebrating the solemnity of the Ascension. We do not often think enough of this great mystery except for when we pray the rosary. But this mystery of Jesus going up to heaven is an integral part of His mission and message. The ascension is the culminating moment, the finale, the final blow; the moment in which Christ’s victory will be enshrined in heaven for ever. Jesus ascends to heaven as the living sacrifice, the lamb that will continue to be the bridge between God and humanity until the end of time. Jesus’ words at this moment, therefore, are very important and the message is twofold: the message of salvation and the handing over of a very important task. Jesus reminds the Apostles that he had come to earth to preach salvation and to make it a reality by His suffering, death, and resurrection. We experience the fruits of salvation through the blood of Christ shed in the soil of humanity. Jesus gives a task, a job, to his followers – to be witnesses of salvation. The apostles would not have been able to carry out their duties to be witnesses all by themselves; they needed the Holy Spirit and at Pentecost, the apostles were strengthened by the Holy Spirit, as well as the Church, to proclaim what Jesus had asked them to do – to go to all nations and baptized them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As Christians, we do not just believe in ideologies, as Pope Benedict XVI says: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” As Christians, we believe in a person, a Savior; we believe in God who is alive and actively participating in our lives and who has brought our human nature into heaven so that we can have a hope, not wishful thinking, but a promise that is held to be accounted for. We do not wish upon a star, we pray to the one who made the stars. Jesus has gone into heaven not to abandon his disciples, but to give them hope. Jesus has gone into heaven not to abandon us, but to give us hope – to be our hope. Jesus has led the way, he left a trail of his footprints so that we can follow him to everlasting life. Bearing witness to Christ, to his message and the power of his goodness is our primary mission on earth. Before Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, he did not say to “go and have a good time” or “go and find yourselves a new leader”; No, Jesus said to “Go by my witnesses to all the nations.” We all share in same mission entrusted to the apostles and how are we to fulfill this mission? Some of us are called to be priests, some of us are called to the consecrated life, and others are called to transform the world from within, either as humble workers or as great leaders. Each of us can be witnesses in our own little ways: at work, in school, in public places, etc. By virtue of our baptism and confirmation, we bear in our souls the very message of Christianity – Christ himself! Each of us is called to bear witness by the sincerity of, faithfulness, and loving-kindness with which we live out our normal responsibilities. We are created in the image and likeness of God, created to live in friendship with Him, and that means sharing also in His projects. What are those projects? God’s projects to this world are repentance and preaching of His name to all the nations. When Christ ascended to heaven, the apostles returned to Jerusalem with great joy and why is that? Because Christ revealed to them the purpose of their lives – they had a mission and their lives have meanings. Christianity does not rest on flat foot philosophy or different ideologies; it is a lived experience with Christ and the message of Christianity is Christ himself, raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. We get the message; we have the mission, let us go forth and preach the good news to all nations. God Bless.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 15:59:05 +0000
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