Homily for May 25, 2017.
Today
makes it forty days since the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The last
forty days have been a time of great spiritual rejuvenation. During this
period, we have heard some of the most consoling words of Jesus; words he spoke
knowing fully well that he would not be around with them physically any longer.
One of the
words of Jesus I consider quite unforgettable is this: “Do not let your hearts
be troubled, believe in God and believe also in me.” Just last Sunday, Jesus
said: “I will not leave you desolate.” That is, to say, I will not abandon you.
During the
week, we heard Jesus justify his departure saying: “If I do not go, the Holy
Spirit will not come to you.” Today, exactly forty days after Easter Sunday, we
recall and celebrate the “departure” of Jesus.
In a
sense, it is not really a departure in that Jesus is still with us. As God,
Jesus is everywhere. And he himself said in our Gospel passage this morning: “I
am with you always, to the close of the age.” Matthew 28:20. We may refer to
the ascension as a departure in the sense that Jesus is no longer walking on
the streets of Nazareth.
I tried to
imagine if Jesus did not ascend to heaven. He would have been very old by now,
perhaps he would have been about 2,049 years old and I wonder the millions of people
that would be trooping to Israel to see him. Since He is God, Jesus would never
have died, maybe he would have been going on world tour preaching from country
to country.
But then,
it dawned on me that what Jesus would have been doing if he were still
physically around is exactly what he instructed us to do. Check out the last
words of Jesus as he ascended (departed):
“It is not
for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own
authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to
the end of the earth.” Acts 1:7-8.
Even in
Matthew’s Gospel we read the last words of Jesus as:
“All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. GO THEREFORE AND MAKE
DISCIPLES of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
Matthew 28:18-20.
Do you see
how Matthew’s Gospel corroborates with the Acts of the Apostles? Jesus’ parting
words to you and I was simply to go and preach and this preaching is not only
with words but with our life styles and actions.
To preach
even without words is to witness for Jesus, to preach without words is to practice
what your words would have preached. Witnessing is an aspect of preaching but
preaching without witnessing (living it out) is useless.
And it
takes wisdom to witness with one’s life while preaching. No wonder St. Paul
prays for us in our second reading that God should give us a Spirit of Wisdom
so that having come to know Christ, our eyes may be enlightened and our hope
would be based on the riches of heaven.
By going
up to heaven, Jesus does not intend to create a distance between himself and
us, rather his ascension is a meant to confirm in us the truth that we all have
a final destination that is not here on earth.
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, may I be fully prepared to receive the Holy Spirit. Amen.
*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. (The Ascension of the Lord. Year A. Bible Study: Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:17-23 and Matthew 28:16-20).*
Fr. Abu.
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