"Men of Galilee, why do you stand there looking at the sky?"
Readings for Ascension: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050816-ascension.cfm
The famed
English playwright and poet, William Shakespeare, is likely the most quoted
author we’ve ever had. His plays and
poems remain timeless. One famous line is taken from his play Romeo and Juliet. As these two lovers leave each other one
night, Juliet speaks fondly to Romeo: “Parting
is such sweet sorrow.” In their context, those famous words of Juliet imply
that leaving Romeo is both a moment of sadness and a time of sweetness. She is sad to leave him but also filled with
a certain sweetness knowing they will see each other again.
Strangely,
that line came to me as I was preparing these readings and I wondered for a
moment what this Shakespeare play might have to do with the Feast we celebrate
today, that of the Lord’s Ascension into heaven. Yet, in the earthly life of
Jesus, this transitional moment after his resurrection we might say was bitter
sweet for the Apostles. He had been with
them for a number of years, they shared intimately in his teaching and his
moments of divine revelation. They were his trusted disciples, his friends.
There was great disillusionment at his tragic death but greater joy at his
resurrection. As he left this earth, how could they carry on without him?
Although
there was still much for them to learn, these disciples knew Jesus, now
revealed as Savior and Son of God, invited all to a new kind of love, a charity
or agape encounter with the living God that is based in communion with one
another and with God. The new covenant
shed and sealed by his blood on the cross, forever realigns us in a new
way. It invites all humanity to see God
not as distant and uncaring but as up close and merciful.
That being
said, for the Apostles who at the Last Supper were told by Jesus: “I no longer call your slaves but friends” the
leaving of our Lord from their physical sight and presence must have been a
moment of sadness. They stood for a time
at the sight of the Ascension, as our readings from Acts today tell us: “While they were looking intently at the sky
as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?This
Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as
you have seen him going into heaven.”
While the
feelings of the Apostles are not stated we can conjecture that Luke wants to
tell us they were momentarily stuck. “What next” may have been on their
mind. Similar to that emotion of sadness
when a loved one leaves us or we say “goodbye” to a close family member or
friend. We stand for a moment in the
sadness of that parting and wonder if life will ever be the same again.
Yet, we
know the lives of the Apostles never would be the same again. They were told by Jesus: “. . . to wait for “the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak; . . . you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1: 1-11). So, the sadness of losing sight of our Lord
would be replaced by the sweetness, the joy of a new presence; a new way in
which Christ would be present and active among them and in the Church about to
be born on Pentecost. Jesus parting from this earth was a moment of sadness
tempered with the hope of something more – the coming of the Holy Spirit.
So, this
Feast of the Ascension, while it may not grab us in the same way that Christmas
or Easter or even next Sunday with the remembrance of the Spirit’s coming may
hold us, it remains an important moment of both joy and anticipation.
So, we
share in the joy of Christ himself. The
joy of gratitude the Apostles felt by the privilege they had to be witnesses of
all that Jesus did and said and the joy of knowing that Christ will never
abandon us.
Just as
they, we also cannot stand idly looking up into the sky as the Apostles did at
that moment. Our faith is not static and
fixed; it is a living person, Christ Jesus himself, alive in every age and we
know that once the Spirit came upon them, these Apostles would begin the
mission Jesus entrusted to them.
So we can
wait for our Lord in prayer and the work we do to share in the mission of
witnessing to the Gospel of Christ. It
may be a kind of bitter sweet moment for us and we certainly feel at times unprepared.
But, because we know that many have not heard much about the good news Christ
has brought we hear that God is inviting us into a new kind of love
relationship with him and others based in love and peace. This Jubilee Year
reminds us that we are called to enter the mercy of a loving Father God and
thereby be empowered to share the good news of Christ.
Alternatively,
many have rejected or at best grown indifferent to that message. Whenever, for
example, a couple comes to inquire about a wedding and I realize that one of
the spouses is not of the Catholic faith, I always ask if he/she have ever
considered joining the Church. At times
when a diverse crowd gathers for a wedding or a funeral of a loved one, aren’t
those moments to evangelize? When a
couple brings a child to be baptized, shouldn’t we see that encounter as a time
to witness to this good news of Christ in the Church and invite the parents to
renew their own faith? When we gather
each Sunday, particularly at Christmas and Easter, those are priceless moments
to present the faith of the Church in positive and welcome way. These are all prime times that provide for us
opportunities to truly be who we profess to be – the body of Christ in this
world.
Our faith
is far more than just a “feel good society.” With Jesus himself as head of the
Church and we his members, let’s use this coming week to prepare – to “go to
the city and wait” as Jesus requested of his men. We should pray that the Spirit received in
Baptism, Confirmation, and Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist offer us the
courage and strength we all need to be authentic witnesses. The Spirit may need to wake us up a bit!
Until he
comes again as he left, it is our turn to be his hands, feet, word, and
witness. “Come most Holy Spirit . . .”
Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God,
and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving,
for the Ascension of Christ your Son
is our exaltation,
and, where the Head has gone before in glory,
the Body is called to follow in hope.
(Collect of Feast)
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