VII Sunday of Easter:Ascension:2015:Acts1:1-11,20-26;Eph
4:1-13;Mk16:15-20
Introduction: Today is one of those days when across the globe, in the
Catholic Church, people may not be listening to the same readings. In
many countries, on this day we celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the
Lord. In some other countries, however, this feast might have been
already celebrated last Thursday, marking the 40th day after Easter.
As we heard in the first reading of today, Luke tells us in the Acts of
the Apostles (Acts 1:3) that Jesus was seen in his risen form for forty
days. After those forty days, Jesus was no more seen in his risen
body. The feast of today marks this stage of transition in the story of
incarnation and resurrection – that Jesus is no more seen in his earthly body.
Luke describes this “withdrawal” of Jesus (Lk 24:51) in terms of being
“lifted up” (Acts 1:9). And Mark describes it in terms of “being taken up
into heaven” (Mk 16:19). Hence, “the ascension” of the Lord! The most
important message of today is the parting message of Jesus to his apostles, as
we heard in the gospel reading of today, which is also similar in all the
synoptic gospels (Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15-18; Lk 24:46-49).
Exegesis:
Matthew, Mark and Acts
record Jesus’ last words differently: 1) “You
will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth” (Acts 1:8). 2) “Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
3) “Go into all the world and proclaim
the good news to the whole creation” (Mark.16:15). All are in
agreement that (a) Jesus gave his disciples a mission of bearing witness to him
by preaching and living the good news.
They are to tell and re-tell the story
of Jesus' life, suffering, death and Resurrection. (b)
He assured them of the Divine assistance of his Holy Spirit in the carrying out
of this mission.
Jesus
ascended to Heaven after giving his final blessing and missionary command to
his disciples. The command was to “proclaim the Good News to the whole
creation,” “to be his witnesses," and “to make disciples of all nations.” This commissioning of Jesus
in the words of Mark, invites us to realize that we are embodied. We are
part of creation. We experience the love of God in our embodied
nature. Underlying our own experience of salvation, there lies the task
of integrating our whole self – body, mind and spirit.
And also, the
proclamation of the Good News to all creation, reminds us of what St Paul talks
about in his letter to the Romans (8:19-24) that the whole creation is waiting
and groaning. There is a movement in creation towards perfection in God. This
perfection has been personified in Jesus, because in Jesus of Nazareth God
became part of creation. In Jesus, the Creator God becomes part of
creation. In Jesus, we see what we will really be. In Jesus, we see the
fulfillment of the purpose of creation. The proclamation of the Good
News, therefore, reminds us and the rest of creation of that journey towards
perfection, for which we are waiting in hope (Rom 8:24). And as the Book
of Revelation promises us, we are journeying towards that time – the Kairos –
when all will be made new. This is the work of the Spirit of the Risen
Lord – whose feast we will celebrate next Sunday: “Look, I am making the whole
of creation new” (Rev 21:5)
Joke: 1)
Question: How many Zen buddhists does it take to change a light bulb?
The answer is “Three”
-- one to change it, one to not-change it and one to both change- and
not-change it.
2) Zen Master Has A
Hotdog. So the Zen master steps up to
the hot dog cart and says: "Make me one with everything." The hot dog vendor fixes a hot dog and hands
it to the Zen master, who pays with a $20 bill.
The hot dog vendor puts the bill in the cash drawer and closes the
drawer. "Where's my change?"
asks the Zen master. The hot dog vendor
responds: "Change must come from within."
Practical Applications: 1) We need to be
proclaimers and evangelizers: To be a Christian is to be a proclaimer and
an evangelizer. There is a difference
between preaching and proclaiming. We
preach with words but we proclaim with our lives. Let us ask the guidance of the Spirit of God
to bear witness to Jesus by our transparent Christian lives.
Introduction: Ascension Sunday
Message:
Jesus commissions his disciples to baptize in his name, reminding them that he
is always present through his Spirit.
Having ascended to his Father amid cries of gladness, we are to be his
witnesses for we have been gifted with his Spirit of wisdom and
revelation. Let us, therefore, live in a
manner worthy of the call we have received.
Saints and events in this week: 18 –
Eighteenth – Monday – Saint John I, Pope,
Martyr; 20 – Twentieth – Wednesday – Saint Bernadine of Siena, Priest; 21 – Twenty First – Thursday –
Saint Christopher Magallanes, Priest,
and Companions, Martyrs; 22 – Twenty Second – Friday – Saint Rita of
Cascia, Religious; 24- Twenty Forth – Pentacost Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment