May 12th 2024. The Ascension of the Lord
GOSPEL: Mark 16:15-20
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .
GOSPEL: Mark 16:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ
SUMMARY
At the Ascension, Jesus gives his missionary commandment to the disciples, but his discourse can also be read as a description of the unique characteristics of the Christian way of life. The first thing Jesus says is to preach the Gospel to every creature. Every man and woman was created for the Gospel. As Chapter 8 of the Letter to the Romans states, creation awaits with longing the appearance of the children of God. Humanity was created for the Gospel, to be saved and loved by God. We have a natural compatibility with the Gospel. Jesus goes on to say, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned”. This highlights the seriousness of the Christian message, but it does not follow that the Gospel should be imposed on people to ensure their salvation! The Gospel must be received with freedom. The Church must propose, not impose. The Gospel message proposes the love of God for all humanity, and love by its nature CAN BE REFUSED. It is an incredible thing, but Christ asks our permission before entering our lives. The passage then tells us that those who believe are accompanied by five signs. These signs are not to assist us in our faith but become present as a result of our faith. Let us consider the five signs one by one. Firstly, the driving out of demons. Aside from exorcisms, the fathers of the desert in the fourth century realised that the most common driving out of demons involved the combat against evil thoughts. We see when a person believes in the Gospel because he begins to drive evil out of his heart as he resists the suggestions of the evil one. Secondly, the speaking of new languages. On an ordinary level, this refers to the capacity of the evangelizer to speak in a new way, to speak of new life rather than death. The Gospel, in fact, is naturally apprehended by each person as if it were their native language being spoken to their hearts. Thirdly, they will pick up serpents. Christians will not be a timid race. They will be able to handle difficult things and enter into the horrors of life, as many saints and others have done. Fourthly, they will not be harmed by deadly poison. This refers to the poisonous external circumstances which surround us. John Paul II spoke of a “culture of death”. This culture of death reappears in history but Christians survive in its midst without losing the faith. Fifthly, they will heal the sick. This refers to the capacity of the Gospel to heal interiorly as well as exteriorly. The final lines of the passage speak of the synergy between the Lord and his disciples. In all of these matters – the capacity to speak to the hearts of people, the capacity to bring healing, the capacity to survive in poisonous circumstances, the capacity to handle difficult matters – in all of these, Christ is working with us. We do not do these things ourselves but by the grace of Our Lord Jesus, who has ascended to heaven and given us his power.
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