Jesus Ascended Yet Still With Us
On Ascension Day, Jesus gives His apostles—a group of men singularly lacking in influence—a worldwide mission. How would they be able to pull this off?
Gospel (Read Mk 16:15-20)
As Jesus prepares to depart from the apostles, He gives them a lofty charge: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” They were to preach the Good News of Jesus and to offer the Sacrament of Baptism. Theirs was to be a kind of life-and-death work. Baptism would grant salvation from the condemnation all men have been under since Adam and Eve: death. The Good News consisted of announcing what Jesus did for all of us to escape the just judgment that falls on all sinners. As a result of seeing the Risen Jesus and being taught by Him for forty days, the apostles finally understood this.
Even so, think about what this plan must have sounded like to the Eleven gathered there. They were a motley crew of mostly uneducated and nondescript men: fishermen, a tax collector, a political zealot, etc. It is doubtful that any of them had ever left the boundaries of their own nation. Were these men ready to change the world? Surely this scenario was far beyond their ability even to imagine. Fortunately, Jesus said something else that made all the difference: “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.” Although Jesus was making a physical departure from the apostles, He was to remain with them in a unique way. He would work miracles through them so that people would believe their message, just as He had worked miracles in His earthly life for the same purpose. In the Acts of the Apostles, we have a historical record of times when many of these signs were performed by the apostles in their work of evangelization (see Acts 2:4-11; 3:6-8; 16:16-18; 28:1-6, 8). When they heard this promise, perhaps their mission seemed less overwhelming.
We know from our first reading today that the apostles had to wait until the descent of the Holy Spirit to begin their preaching mission. When they received the gift of the Spirit’s power, falling on them in such a dramatic way, they knew that Jesus, in heaven and seated at the right hand of God, was beginning His reign on earth through them. This gave them the courage to go forth and preach everywhere. They were not the men they used to be. Formerly, they had been companions of Jesus. Now, they were His co-workers: “the Lord worked with them and confirmed their word through accompanying signs.”
Thus, one great mystery, Jesus’ disappearance, was followed by another, Jesus’ presence in His Church. Something changed, yet something stayed the same. We’ve been absorbed in this mystery ever since.
Possible response: Lord Jesus, when I doubt You can use me to spread Your kingdom, help me remember that You started with just twelve disciples.
