Ascension

There is an old story about the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. According to the story, when Jesus reached heaven, his body still showed the wounds of his crucifixion.

His hands and feet still bore the prints from the nails. His side bore the mark from the spear. His back bore the stripes from the whip and his head bore the wounds from the crown of thorns.

When the people in heaven saw these marks, they fell on their knees before Jesus. They were astounded to see how much he had suffered. Then the angel Gabriel rose up and said to Jesus: “Lord, how greatly you suffered on earth. Do all the people on earth know and appreciate how much you went through for them and how much you love them?”

Jesus replied: “Oh, no. Only a handful of people in Palestine know that. The rest have not even heard of me. They don’t know who I am. They don’t know how much I suffered, and how much I love them.”

The angel Gabriel was shocked to hear this. Then he said to Jesus: "How will all the rest of the people on earth ever learn about your suffering and your love?” Jesus said: “Just before I left, I told Peter, James and John, and a few of their friends to tell the rest of the world for me. They will tell as many people as they can. Those people in turn will tell other people. In that way, the whole world will eventually learn about my love for them.”

The angel Gabriel looked even more confused now. For he knew how fickle people are – He knew how forgetful they are and He knew how prone to doubt they are.
So he turned to Jesus and said: “But Lord, what if Peter, James and John grow tired or frustrated? What if they forget about you? What if they begin to have doubts about you? Did you not take these things into account? Don’t you have a back-up plan – just in case?”

Jesus answered: “I did take all these things into account, but I decided against a back-up plan. This is the only plan I have. I am counting on Peter, James and John not to let me down.”

Twenty centuries later Jesus still has no other plan. He counted on Peter, James and John, and they did not let him down. And today Jesus counts on you and me not to let him down.

The feast of the Ascension is one of the most important feasts of the liturgical year. It is the day on which we celebrate Jesus' return to the Father. We might compare the Feast of the Ascension to the passing of a baton from one runner to another in a relay race.

On this day 2000 years ago, Jesus passed the baton of his work to Peter, James and John. They in turn passed it on to the people who came after them. They in turn passed it on to us. And now it is our turn to pass it on to others.

[There is one person here today who deserves special recognition – who deserves our respect and our gratitude – one person who has sacrificed much and who really cares about our spiritual well being – he is a personal inspiration to me – he picked up that baton almost 4 years ago when he was ordained to the royal priesthood of Christ – and he continues today to run the good race for our Lord – that is of course our very own Fr Jon – who celebrates his 4th anniversary to the priesthood this coming Thursday.]

[There is one person here who deserves special recognition – who answered Christ’s call to Shepard His people – who has sacrificed much and works very hard, who really cares about the people entrusted to him – who picked up that baton 34 years ago and continues today to run the race for our Lord – that is of course our very own Pastor – Fr. Gene – who celebrates his 34th anniversary to the priesthood this weekend.]
(applaud) – invite people to the reception outside after Mass.

That baton though has been passed to each of us – we all have a responsibility in God’s plan. But practically speaking, what does this mean? Does it mean going out and preaching about Jesus as Peter, James and John did? Does it mean preaching at street corners or in shopping centers and telling everyone about Jesus?

It could mean this for some of us, but for most of us it means something much more basic and fundamental than this. It means living out Jesus' teaching in our own personal lives. The way to begin preaching Jesus to the world is to begin preaching Jesus to ourselves.

There is an old Chinese proverb that says: "If there is right in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. And if there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.

The way to begin preaching Jesus to the world is to begin living Jesus in our own lives. Once we begin to do this, the message of Jesus will begin to ripple out across the world. And if enough Christians do it, the ripple will turn into a tidal wave, and that tidal wave will change the face of the earth in a way that we never dreamed possible.
This is the message of today’s feast. This is the challenge that today’s readings hold out to us. Jesus is counting on us.

Yes, Jesus has passed on to us the responsibility of completing God's kingdom on earth: namely the work of preaching the Gospel to the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and caring for the homeless. He didn’t leave us orphans though – we do have help – God sent the Advocate – the Holy Spirit – to help us. Each of us have received gifts that are to be used to build up God’s kingdom here on earth.

In his book “The Song of the Bird”, Fr. Anthony de Mello tells this story. He puts it in the first person to give it added impact. He says “On the street I saw a small girl, cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope for a decent meal. I became angry and said to God: Why did you permit this? For a while, God was silent and said nothing. That night though he replied quite suddenly: “I certainly did something about it, I made you.”

Fr. De Mello’s story makes the same point that today’s feast makes. On the day of his Ascension 2000 years ago, Jesus passed on to us the responsibility of completing the work that he began on earth.

You and I, in this Church today, share this responsibility. Not one of us is exempt. Each one of us must decide how we can best use the gifts we have been given to carry out our part of this responsibility.

As we honor Jesus today on this feast of his Ascension into heaven, let this be our prayer: Lord Jesus, give us new eyes to see your face in the faces of those who are in need. Give us new ears to hear your voice in the voices of those who cry out it pain. Give us new tongues to tell your story to those who have never heard it. And give us new hearts to share your love with those who have not yet experienced it.