As we celebrate “the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord” I cannot help but reflect on the many ideas and concepts that swirl around this feast…some with unintended consequences! The word “ascension” itself congers up images of Jesus rising up into the clouds to join the Father and the Holy Spirit somewhere “up there”…far, far away. The problem with this is it can lead us to believe that heaven is “up there” and we are “down here” and that God is far off and distant from us and from our lives.
This stands in stark contrast to the heart and soul of the meaning and significance of the incarnation. The truth of our God having become “incarnate” (in the flesh) in Jesus, meaning that God is with us…and not off somewhere, watching us from afar. We need to recall Jesus’ promise “I am with you until the end of time”! These simple words are some of most profound encountered in all the Gospels! There is no need for us to stand gawking skyward with our jaws hanging open, looking for the Risen Christ. The physical presence of Jesus Christ as a singular human and divine presence no longer walks the earth as before…but Christ is here, as close to us as our own breath, keeping us alive to be his presence in our world. He told his disciples that he was in the Father and the Father was in him and he was in them. This is the Divine indwelling of Christ in us!
As we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus let us celebrate the presence of the Risen One in our midst! Before his ascension Jesus gave a clear command and mission to his disciples…to us. We are charged with preaching the “Good News” of Jesus Christ and to be that healing, loving and welcoming presence in a world filled with sickness, hatred, and exclusion.
Filled with the “real presence we are sent forth to stand up and be the voice of the voiceless, to speak out on behalf of those who are silenced or ignored, to make sure that hatred, racism, and misogyny are not left unchecked. Filled with the Spirit we speak the truth of the Gospel to power, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether garnering us friends or marginalizing us, it is our call as disciples of Jesus Christ!
And we are able to do this precisely because “in God we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Filled with the very presence of Christ himself we are empowered and emboldened to go forth and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ even to the ends of the earth -- not just with words but with actions -- by the manner in which we live our lives.
And so let us ask ourselves: how am I a “healing, loving and welcoming presence” to the immigrant, the refugee and to those who experience discrimination, racism and misogyny? How do I share the Good News with my family and friends, and with my coworkers. And how do I take the Gospel values of inherent universal human dignity and the call to love unconditionally, and preach it to those in political power? How and where do I experience the presence of God in my life?
Easter Blessings,
Fr. Tim
This stands in stark contrast to the heart and soul of the meaning and significance of the incarnation. The truth of our God having become “incarnate” (in the flesh) in Jesus, meaning that God is with us…and not off somewhere, watching us from afar. We need to recall Jesus’ promise “I am with you until the end of time”! These simple words are some of most profound encountered in all the Gospels! There is no need for us to stand gawking skyward with our jaws hanging open, looking for the Risen Christ. The physical presence of Jesus Christ as a singular human and divine presence no longer walks the earth as before…but Christ is here, as close to us as our own breath, keeping us alive to be his presence in our world. He told his disciples that he was in the Father and the Father was in him and he was in them. This is the Divine indwelling of Christ in us!
As we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus let us celebrate the presence of the Risen One in our midst! Before his ascension Jesus gave a clear command and mission to his disciples…to us. We are charged with preaching the “Good News” of Jesus Christ and to be that healing, loving and welcoming presence in a world filled with sickness, hatred, and exclusion.
Filled with the “real presence we are sent forth to stand up and be the voice of the voiceless, to speak out on behalf of those who are silenced or ignored, to make sure that hatred, racism, and misogyny are not left unchecked. Filled with the Spirit we speak the truth of the Gospel to power, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether garnering us friends or marginalizing us, it is our call as disciples of Jesus Christ!
And we are able to do this precisely because “in God we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Filled with the very presence of Christ himself we are empowered and emboldened to go forth and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ even to the ends of the earth -- not just with words but with actions -- by the manner in which we live our lives.
And so let us ask ourselves: how am I a “healing, loving and welcoming presence” to the immigrant, the refugee and to those who experience discrimination, racism and misogyny? How do I share the Good News with my family and friends, and with my coworkers. And how do I take the Gospel values of inherent universal human dignity and the call to love unconditionally, and preach it to those in political power? How and where do I experience the presence of God in my life?
Easter Blessings,
Fr. Tim
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