May 28^th 2017. ASCENSION SUNDAY

GOSPEL: Matthew 28:16-20

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL: Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
"All power 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.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

 Kieran’s Summary . . . A good father does not do everything for his child. He educates his child, gives structure to his life, and then eventually allows his child the space to act for himself. A good parent does not solve his child’s problems, but teaches him how to solve problems for himself. When Jesus ascends into heaven, he entrusts his mission to us, and gives us the space to follow him in freedom. He promises that he will be with us to the end of time, but not in a way that dominates our actions. He wants us to perform his works on earth, and he wants us to have the joy and privilege of performing them in freedom, exercising our own initiative and responsibility. St Augustine says that Christ becomes incarnate twice. The first time was when he took on flesh within the Virgin Mary. The second time is when he takes on “flesh” through his Church, through our actions, words and our way of relating to others. Christ gives us an incredible mission! He wishes us to immerse people in the relationship with the Father Son and Spirit, the relationship into which he has already called you and me. We ascend with Christ by leaving aside our human works and doing the works of God. We ascend with Christ by turning people’s hearts from this earthly life towards the heavenly Father. Satan has power over the things of the earth, but with Jesus on our side we can infuse the things of this earth with heaven. We can immerse people in the Father, Son and Spirit by inviting others into relationship with the Lord.

Christ goes away in order that his works might be done through us. He trusts us and therefore entrusts us with his mission. If he stayed with us and did everything for us, then that would be a sign that he didn’t trust us at all, nor really want us to have the freedom to imitate him fully. He goes away in order to be with us in a richer and more life-giving way

This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Ascension. The first reading gives the presentation of the event in Acts, and then we go on to read the account which is found at the end of Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew’s Gospel has a beautiful structure and he arranges the material in  such a way so that it culminates in this final encounter with Jesus: “Behold I am with you always, even to the end of time”. This seems to be in contrast to the account of the Ascension in the first reading which emphasizes the Lord’s departure. There is a paradox here which our liturgy on Sunday tries to hold in the correct tension: Christ ascends in order to remain with us. We must never forget the importance of the theme of “Christian ascent” - the notion of the person who progresses to the point where his works attain completion and bear fruit. In human relationships we have an analogous situation. A father encourages his son, helps him to grow, provides a structured life for him, until the son reaches the point where he is able to do things by himself. A good father is not one who solves his son’s problem but who teaches his son to solve the problems by himself. Jesus’ disciples have been given the mission to bring to others the life that they have received from him, and they must bring this life to the ends of the earth. They are assured that Christ will be with them until the end of the world, but our God is not a paternalistic father who distrusts us and tries to do things for us. At first Christ educates us, but once the time for mission comes, then he steps back and allows us to act.

God wishes us to bring his work to completion. He trusts us and remains with us, but allows us the space to serve him in freedom

When someone is shown trust, then he becomes “infused” with that trust. But if a person is not trusted, if they are continually being checked, then they are not given the space in which to be themselves or to grow. Psychologically, we grow when we are shown paternal trust. There are two extremes in education: the teacher who distrusts his pupil and does not allow him the space to make mistakes, which are so necessary for growth; and the teacher who shows no interest in his student, perhaps because he has little to teach or simply does not love his pupil. Jesus differs from these two extremes. He has so much to teach us, but allows us the room to act for ourselves. What liberty, but, at the same time, what care he shows us! God gives us everything, but he also gives us space for our own identities to be developed. “I am with you always to the end of the world, but I will allow you to act”. This is the great experience of all who spread the Gospel: the Lord is ever present and ready to help, but he gives us the wonderful experience of being protagonists in the works of God. God brings his works to completion through us.

Christ became incarnate by taking on our flesh. But now he can become incarnate again if we carry out his works in our flesh, our actions, our words, our way of relating to others.

St Augustine speaks of the two incarnations of Jesus. Firstly, Jesus takes on our flesh and becomes man. And then, in an analogous way, he takes on “flesh” by entrusting himself to the Church, entrusting his works to us. These works now pass through our hands, our bodies, our words, our relationships. What a great responsibility we have, what trust has been shown to us, what great help we have at our disposal!

We ascend with Christ by leaving aside our human works and doing the work of God. We ascend with Christ by turning people’s hearts from this earthly life towards the heavenly Father. Satan has power over the things of the earth, but with Jesus on our side we can infuse the things of this earth with heaven. We can immerse people in the Father, Son and Spirit by unveiling the true and eternal significance of things.

Christ ascends to heaven and gives us the space to follow him in freedom. We too are called to ascend with him. First of all we ascend from the old man to the new man, from works that are purely our own to works that have their origin in God. Secondly, we are called to bring people to God, to bring them from this earthly existence towards the heavenly Father. This process requires an experience of the power of Christ, a power that is not simply of this world. It is a power that unites heaven and earth. As Jesus says, “All power in heaven and earth has been given to me”. With Jesus, the things of this world are infused with heaven, infused with paradise. But the powers of this world are of this world and nothing more. During the temptations of Christ in the desert, Satan claims to have power over the things of this earth. And this is not mistaken. It is a sad fact that the things of this world are under the sway of evil, violence, deceit. Who has the power to unite heaven and earth? To make heaven manifest in the things of this world? The one who seeks to dominate others? The one who uses violence? No! Rather, it is the one who fills things with divine love, who unveils the hidden divine significance of things. This is our mission! To immerse people in the Father, Son and Spirit. The term “baptize” refers to full immersion. To take people where they are now and to help their hearts take the road of ascent to heaven, to show them that they can ascend to the Father through these very things. This is our wonderful and important mission.

Jesus bestows power upon us, but it is not a worldly power; it is not a power than can be imposed on others. This transforming power of living in relationship with Father, Son and Spirit can be experienced by people who are defeated, sick, or in prison. Christ gives us this power and bestows upon us the ability to extend it to others, as we call others to live in relationship with him.

Jesus ascends to heaven so that we can become the road to heaven for others on this earth. As the Our Father says, “Your will be done of earth as it is in heaven”. What a wonderful life the Lord Jesus call us to! What incredible, beautiful, consoling things we have been promised! But we must be careful. It is not worldly power that the Lord wishes to bestow upon us. It is not a power that imposes itself on others. The power that the Lord gives can be experienced by a sick person in his hospital bed. The power of Christ can be lived by a person behind prison bars, or a person that has been defeated in worldly terms. It is the power to encounter heaven in this place where I find myself, in this sick bed, in this prison, in this setback, in this reality. This is the power that the Lord Jesus bestows on us, and, incredibly, enables us to extend to others.