20240509 MISSION OF BUILDING THE CHURCH FOR HIS KINGDOM
09 May 2024, Thursday, Ascension
First reading | Acts 1:1-11 © |
Jesus was lifted up while they looked on
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.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 46(47):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!
Second reading |
Ephesians 4:1-13 © |
We are all to come to unity, fully mature in the knowledge of the Son of God
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 © |
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News
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.
MISSION OF BUILDING THE CHURCH FOR HIS KINGDOM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 1:1-11; EPHESIANS 4:1-13; MARK 16:15-20]
What is the significance of celebrating the Solemnity of the Ascension? One thing is clear, it is not about Jesus flying into the sky and then disappearing. It is nevertheless true that the Ascension is meant to indicate the termination of the earthly appearances of our Risen Lord to His disciples. The forty days are not meant to be taken literally either, but a biblical number to indicate a period of time. As Luke wrote, “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.”
But what happened after the Ascension? Firstly, there was a change in the status of our Lord. Indeed, the Ascension of our Lord signifies Jesus’ return to where He came from, namely, His Father. Earlier on, before the washing of the feet, John already noted, “Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.” (Jn 13:1) The Ascension of our Lord therefore means that He has gone back to assume His full divinity which He emptied Himself of when He was incarnated on earth. On earth, St Paul said, “though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” (Phil 2:6f) But now He is seated at the right hand of the Father, which simply means, He assumes the full majesty, glory and power of His Father.
However, this time, when Jesus went back to His Father, He was not exactly the same as before because before the Incarnation, He was without a body. After the incarnation, He returned to His Father with a transfigured body. This means that the Second Person of the Trinity has embraced humanity forever. We are not inserted into the Holy Trinity through our Lord, who is both divine and human. Because of this, the Ascension spells out Christian hope that our ultimate destination is to be with the Holy Trinity, with our soul and transfigured body. There we will find our fulfilment, in union with the Father, the Son and the Spirit, in joy.
Secondly, the Ascension of our Lord must not be misunderstood that Jesus is in heaven waiting for us to join Him. On the contrary, the angels told the disciples in Acts, “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.” This reminder is a confirmation of what the Lord told the disciples earlier on “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.'” Jesus has gone to the Father so that together with His Father, they will send us their Spirit, the Holy Spirit to be with us as the gospel of Matthew says, “until the end of time” (Mt 28:20) So the Ascension of our Lord makes it possible for Jesus to be with us even now in His Spirit. We are not alone in this pilgrimage of life.
Consequently, Jesus has returned to be permanently with us in the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. But His presence with us also mean that He will act in and through us in the Holy Spirit. St Mark wrote, “After the Lord Jesus had talked with them, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right side of God. The disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved that preaching was true by the miracles that were performed.” Jesus will be working side by side with us. He will empower us and He will gift the Church with His gifts. St Paul, citing Psalm 68, said, “When he went up to the very heights, he took many captives with him; he gave gifts to mankind.” Explaining further, he asked, “what does “he went up” mean? It means that first he came down to the lowest depths of the earth. So the one who came down is the same one who went up, above and beyond the heavens, to fill the whole universe with his presence. It was he who ‘gave gifts to mankind’; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers.”
Thirdly, what is the purpose of bestowing the gifts of the Holy Spirit to His Church? It is to make us, His Church, His body. St Paul wrote, “He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” (Col 1:18-20) With the presence of our Lord in the Holy Spirit, we are united as one Church, one body and one spirit. The second reading from Ephesians says, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as there is one hope to which God has called you. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; there is one God and Father of all mankind, who is Lord of all, works through all, and is in all.”
Unity in the Church is paramount if we are to be truly a sign of Christ’s presence or sacrament in the world. This explains why St Paul gave a preamble to the gifts of the Holy Spirit by reminding the Christians of the need to be humble and gracious of the gifts that God has bestowed upon them, not to compete with each other but to complete each other as the Body of Christ; “live a life that measures up to the standard God set when he called you. Be always humble, gentle, and patient. Show your love by being tolerant with one another. Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together.” We know that preserving unity in the Church is, especially among religious and lay leaders; perhaps the most difficult in today’s climate of relativism, individualism, and the pressure of society to give in by giving up the truths of the gospel. Of course, squabbling, competition, self-centeredness, seeking glory and honour also exist among our Church ministry members. Leaders also have to reckon with a demanding entitlement mentality among Catholics who expect the Church to serve them but they would not serve or contribute to the Church either financially or in terms of human resources.
Fourthly, we need to fulfil the final purpose of the Ascension. As the scripture readings intend to lead us, the Church exists for the mission of building the Kingdom of God. When the apostles met our Lord for the last time, “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.'” Indeed, the Holy Spirit is given to the Church so that as Church united in love and purpose, we will be able to witness powerfully to the gospel in our lives. We are called to be witnesses to the gospel and to establish the reign of Christ, not so much in terms of space but more importantly in their hearts. It is our duty to make Christ known, believed, loved and worshipped.
Accompanying our proclamation of Christ and His gospel, it must also be seen in deeds as well. This is why the Lord also gives us gifts to demonstrate His living presence and power in our midst. He said to them, “Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all mankind. Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues; if they pick up snakes and drink any poison, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people, and these will get well.” Today, these gifts are still present in our midst. We are called to sing praises to God in new tongues – to dispel the poison of moral relativism, consumerism and self-centeredness, the power to heal through miracles, mercy and compassion, and to cast out evils in all its forms, that seek to destroy life through abortion, euthanasia and senseless wars; or hostile economic competition, the use of technology to destroy lives; and the destruction of the identity of the individual as created by God in His image and likeness, male and female, the unity of marriage between man and woman, and the fragmentation of the family. Let us therefore seek to help every man to attain his or her ultimate vocation, which is to share the hope given to us by our Lord when we share in His life and that of the Father with our transfigured body.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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