There is a legend about the ascension that comes to mind in light of these readings. When Jesus reached heaven, his body still showed the wounds of the passion. Upon seeing him, the angel Gabriel said, “Lord, how greatly you suffered on earth! Do all the people there know and appreciate how much you love them and what you did for them?”
Jesus replied, “Oh, no, Gabriel. Not yet. Only a handful of people in Palestine know that. The rest haven’t even heard of me yet. Thy don’t even know who I am or how much I love them.” Gabriel was stunned. “Then what will you do to let everyone know of your great love for them?”
Jesus said, “Before I left, I told Peter, Andrew, James, 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 others. In that way, the whole world will eventually learn about my great love for them.”
Gabriel knew how finicky, forgetful and doubtful people could be, so he protested, “But Lord, what if they grow tired or frustrated? What if they call it quits? What if they begin to have doubts about you? And even if they don’t, what if the people they tell become skeptical or have doubts about your message? Do you have a back up plan, just in case?” Jesus answered, “Gabriel, I haven’t made any other plans. I am counting on them not to let me down.”
Twenty centuries later, Jesus still has no other plan. He counted on Peter and the apostles along with the other disciples whom he personally taught when he walked the hills of Judea and they didn’t let him down. He counted on the people they told and they didn’t let him down. He counted on Paul and he didn’t let him down. Soon in every corner of the world people were hearing the Good News. Today Jesus is counting on you and me to continue to proclaim the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness.
These readings remind us that we are commissioned to continue Jesus’ work on earth, just as the apostles did. We are to be his hands and feet in today’s world. God calls each and every one of us to evangelize, that is, share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
The notion of evangelizing may seem intimidating, yet Jesus was speaking to us just as much as he was speaking to the apostles when he said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth.” By what we say and do, we can support his cause for following his way of living. We preach the values of Christ best by our good example.
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul prays that the followers of Jesus may receive wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of Jesus. Think of Jesus as a mystery; we will never fully know our Lord but our awareness of him is deepened each time we seek to better understand him through prayer, scripture, and spiritual readings. As you do so, the eyes of your heart will be enlightened to the beauty of Christ’s blueprint for making this a better world.
In the gospel, Jesus promises his followers that they will be clothed with power from on high by the Holy Spirit, that same power we receive at our baptism. Jesus knows that sharing the Good News isn’t a task we can do single-handedly.
Perhaps the idea of being an evangelist may still seem overwhelming to you but the bottom line is this: Jesus is counting on us to live out the Good News in our daily lives. We begin by preaching Jesus to ourselves, how is he calling us to live our lives? Then doing what we can to make the kingdom of God real here and now.
The mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde along with the war in Ukraine, have claimed many innocent lives and left many more grieving; a stark reminder that there is still much unrest and violence in our world, which aches for peace and forgiveness.
Jesus proclaims, “Thus it is written…that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name…” We all stand in need of forgiveness. Are we convinced that our sins are forgiven? Are we willing to forgive, a promise we make whenever we say the Lord’s Prayer? Jesus is calling on us to practice the art of forgiveness.
An old Chinese proverb says well what I believe many of us yearn for deep down in our hearts. “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. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.”
When we live in the manner that Christ calls us to do, his message of repentance and love has a rippling effect on the world around us. If enough Christians dared to live this way, that ripple of love and forgiveness will turn into a tidal wave that can change the face of the earth forever.
Such is the message of the Ascension. Jesus Christ has entrusted to us the same sacred responsibility of sharing with others everything he taught and revealed to the apostles. In our time and place he is counting on us to our part in making this a better world.