20150514
CHRIST WHO LEADS US TO OUR HOMELAND DEMANDS THAT WE
ALREADY LIVE THIS FUTURE LIFE AND HOPE TODAY
Readings at Mass
These
readings are for the Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast:
First reading
|
Acts 1:1-11 ©
|
In my earlier work,
Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the
beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen
through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive
to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had
continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had
been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait
there for what the Father had promised. ‘It is’ he had said ‘what you have
heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now,
will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’
Now
having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come? Are you going to
restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know times or
dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not
only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of
the earth.’
As he
said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from
their sight. They were still staring into the sky when suddenly two men in
white were standing near them and they said, ‘Why are you men from Galilee
standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into
heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go
there.’
Psalm
|
Psalm 46:2-3,6-9
©
|
God goes up with
shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
or
Alleluia!
All peoples, clap
your hands,
cry to
God with shouts of joy!
For the Lord, the
Most High, we must fear,
great
king over all the earth.
God goes up with
shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
or
Alleluia!
God goes up with
shouts of joy;
the Lord
goes up with trumpet blast.
Sing praise for God,
sing praise,
sing
praise to our king, sing praise.
God goes up with
shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
or
Alleluia!
God is king of all
the earth,
sing
praise with all your skill.
God is king over the
nations;
God
reigns on his holy throne.
God goes up with
shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
or
Alleluia!
EITHER:
Second reading
|
Ephesians 4:1-13
©
|
I, the prisoner in
the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one
another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all
you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you
together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one
and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within
all.
Each one
of us, however, has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted
it. It was said that he would:
When he ascended
to the height, he captured prisoners,
he gave gifts to
men.
When it says, ‘he
ascended’, what can it mean if not that he descended right down to the lower
regions of the earth? The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all
things is none other than the one who descended. And to some, his gift was that
they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some,
pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of
service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to
unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the
perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Mt28:19,20
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Go, make disciples of
all the nations.
I am with you always;
yes, to the end of time.
Alleluia!
Gospel
|
Mark 16:15-20 ©
|
Jesus showed himself
to the Eleven, and said to them: ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good
News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who
does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated
with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift
of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should
they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will
recover.’
And
so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there
at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached
everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs
that accompanied it.
CHRIST WHO LEADS US TO OUR HOMELAND DEMANDS THAT WE
ALREADY LIVE THIS FUTURE LIFE AND HOPE TODAY
|
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ACTS 1:1-11;
EPH 4:1-3; MARK 16:15-20
Do you
know where your home is? Do you know where your home was? Otherwise
how can you return home when your life has ended, since you do not know where
your home was? Yes when we speak of someone who has ‘returned home’
we presume we know that he knows where his home is. The tragedy is that
many people today do not know where home is or even whether they have a home!
The
gospel tells us that Jesus knew His homeland and was returning to where He was
before the foundation of the world. This is the meaning of the feast of
Ascension. Too often, we stress on the visible aspect of Jesus being
taken up to heaven that we forget that this is only a graphic illustration of a
theological and transcendental event that has taken place in the life of Jesus.
After all, what is above the heaven if not the stars and space! Only when
we understand the theological significance of this event can we then appreciate
why Holy Mother Church instructs that all the Faithful are obliged to come for
this celebration.
The
theological intent of this feast of Ascension speaks of an invisible reality
that occurred in the life of Jesus, namely, His exaltation and
glorification. By His resurrection, Jesus was raised to a new life.
His body was transfigured. By His ascension, the Church wants us to know
that Jesus has returned to His Father where He always was since eternity.
To be seated at the right of the Father, as we confess in the creed, simply means
that He now shares the Father’s glory and power which He emptied Himself of in
His incarnation.
In the
same vein, His exaltation means that Jesus Christ reigns over sin and
death. He has conquered all His enemies and He is now established as the
Lord of Lords. This is what St Paul writes, “This you can tell from the
strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the
dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every
Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be
named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come. He has put all things
under his feet, and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the
Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole
creation.” The feast of the Ascension means that in principle the kingdom
proclaimed by Jesus is now established especially by His passion, death and
resurrection.
Where
He is now, we hope to follow. This is why it is an important day for the
Church and a day of obligation. It speaks of our ultimate hope. No
longer do we live aimless lives, like unbelievers who do not know the outcome
of their lives on earth. This is particularly true for those who
suffer much on earth, especially from sicknesses, wars and injustices.
With Jesus reigning in heaven and victory over sin and death, we are assured of
our homeland at the end of our sojourn on earth.
Jesus
has not only revealed to us where our home is, but He has also shown us the way
to the Father and back to our homeland. He has taught us the way to live
the kingdom life in the beatitudes. He has shown us the Father’s
love in His teachings and most of all, in the paschal mystery. By His
life, passion and death on the cross, Jesus has revealed to us the
unconditional love and forgiveness of the Father. By His resurrection, He
demonstrated that life is in the hands of God. So if we want to
reach our homeland, we must now grow in knowledge of Jesus. This is the prayer
of St Paul to the Ephesians, “May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to
bring you to full knowledge of him.” Once we deepen our understanding of
Jesus, we too will be inspired to live this kind of life.
We too
must empty our lives like Jesus at the incarnation and the cross in order to
share in the resurrected life and the glory that He has with His Father.
Only when we empty ourselves like Jesus, can the Spirit of God fill us with His
love and presence. When that happens, we too share in the glory of Jesus
and His Father. We who glorify the Father as Jesus did, will ourselves be
glorified by the Father. St Irenaeus says “the glory of God is
found in man fully alive”. When we live the life of God, the life of love
and self-emptying, the glory of God will exude from us. Truly, the more we are
willing to empty ourselves, of our sins and selfishness and give ourselves
totally to God, then God will use us mightily for His glory and service.
In the
meantime, whilst awaiting our final entry into the homeland promised and made
certain by Jesus, let us not make the same mistake as the disciples who were
staring at the sky waiting for the coming of the kingdom. No, we must
remember the command of Jesus before His Ascension, that instead of speculating
the date and time of the Second Coming of Christ, we are called to be witnesses
of Christ to the ends of the earth. We must therefore continue the work
of Jesus to establish His kingdom on earth. This kingdom that is to be
ours at the end of time however must begin here and now as a foretaste.
We must now already live the kingdom life.
Hence,
the end of Jesus’ mission on earth also sets the stage for the beginning of the
Church’s mission. Knowing the hope and destiny that is ahead of us, we
should be excited to proclaim the Good News to all creation. We should be
empowered and enthusiastic in sharing the revelation given to us by Jesus about
our purpose and destiny of life on earth. We want to share our vision of
the Kingdom with all. We want all men to share in the joy of the kingdom
and to arrive at their end.
Yes,
like St Paul, we too pray thus for them, “May he enlighten the eyes of your
mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he
has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that
he has exercised for us believers.” Only God will reveal to them their
real desire and goal in life, for every human person desires a life without
end, a love that lasts forever and that justice triumphs in the end.
Without which, life is absurd!
Before
we can proclaim Jesus, we must first know Jesus. If many of us are still
not converted to the Lord, it is because we do not know Jesus and therefore
unable to see that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We do not have
the inner eye to see that Jesus is the way to salvation. For this reason,
we need the Holy Spirit who will enlighten the mind of our hearts. That
is why Jesus instructed the disciples saying, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait
for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised. John baptized with
water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Yes,
the proclamation of the gospel is not something we can do by our own efforts
alone. This work must be done with Jesus. Only Jesus can work in
and through us by His Holy Spirit. This is what the gospel is reminding
us. We must allow Jesus to work with us and in us and accompany our work
with His signs.
This
explains why the Angels told the disciples, “Galileans, why are you standing
there looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven,
will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”
Jesus will come again in the same way in the Holy Spirit. In the Holy Spirit,
the mission of Jesus will continue and the Kingdom begun by Jesus will
eventually be established.
With
the Holy Spirit, we will also receive the gifts necessary to fulfill His
mission. He will empower us with the gifts needed for this work and He
will produce the signs in us to authenticate the reality of our message.
For this reason, the period between Ascension and Pentecost is a time of
waiting in prayer, like the Apostles who were gathered in the Upper Room with the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
Traditionally,
the Church encourages us to have a Novena to the Holy Spirit, beginning the day
after Ascension to prepare for the renewal of the Holy Spirit in our
lives. So, let us pray earnestly for the awakening of the Holy Spirit in our
lives and the release of His gifts to us all so that we can become a vibrant,
missionary and evangelical community of faith.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment