Today we celebrate the ascension of Christ into heaven. We also celebrate the commissioning of the Apostles. In today’s 1st reading and the Gospel, we hear two different versions of the same story. Christ’s ascension to heaven, preceded by his commissioning of the Apostles to be his witnesses, 1st in Jerusalem, then throughout Judea, Sumaria, and to the ends of the earth. He instructs them to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. We celebrate that next weekend with Pentecost. Here we are two thousand years later….as descendants in Christ’s church, we too are called to be witnesses of Christ. We are all called…in some way, the fact to be witness to Christ that we are gathered here today is proof of that. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t being called. We gather here on Sundays to be nourished by the body of Christ so that we can be witnesses of Christ the rest of the week to those around us in our actions and in our words. Exactly how we are to do that is for us to discern, as we pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit from a quote from Francis of Assisi, it’s not always by words that we preach. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the service, I celebrate one year as a deacon this weekend. I started having that call about 7 years ago in the form of a dream. At first, I tried not to hear that call, mostly because I had no idea what a deacon was, but the dream kept coming back, then one day Fr Leo Desso, our pastor at that time, just out of the blue, handed me an application to the diaconate, so I finally gave in and said, “I get the picture.”
Now, I bring this up for another reason. Last weekend at a deacon retreat in Anchorage, we were informed that the Archdiocese is starting another deacon formation class this fall. We were all asked to speak at our home parishes about the diaconate and get applications to anyone who feels they may be called to the diaconate. So, I’ve got these pamphlets. Now I’m not going to shove them into anyone’s hands like Fr. Leo did to me, but if any men here have the slightest notion that they may be called to the diaconate, please see me after service today.
Deacons are in good company, ST. Laurence, a deacon and a martyr, is the patron saint to deacons, St. Francis of Assisi was a deacon, as well as the Apostle Stephen, the first martyr.
After Christ commissioned the Apostles, we hear of his ascension to heaven. Even though Christ is gone from us in body, he is still present to us in other ways.
- He is present to us historically. Holy Scripture recounts his physical life here on earth, his teachings, his miracles, and finally his death on a cross. Christ is present to us sacramentally, on the altar and in the tabernacle. Lastly, he is present in all of us who love him and love each other.
Some people may ask why Jesus had to ascend to heaven. Why couldn’t he stay here on earth and guide his church himself? The simple answer is: “To fulfill scripture.” If we dig a little deeper, scripture tells us that the earth is temporary. The earth will one day pass away. He ascended to heaven because his eternal kingdom is there….and he wants us too eventually be with him there. John chapter 14:3 tells us, “I go to prepare a place for you…that where I am, you may be also.”
He ascended to heaven so that you and I would have an advocate before the Father. John 16:23 tells us “If you ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in my name.”
These are all consoling thoughts as we celebrate Ascension Day. May the Holy Spirit guide each of us as we go forth witnessing to Jesus Christ in our daily lives, in whatever manner we are each called to do.