Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator
As we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension and enter into the last week of the celebration of the Paschal Mystery, we might benefit by recalling that we are celebrating who we are even more than we are simply remembering events that happened to Jesus. These feasts are about us, about how our story continues to unfold, about our hopes and how we live out those hopes.
St. Luke includes a somewhat humorous touch in his story of the Ascension from the Acts of the Apostles. He records that the apostles stood looking up into the sky after Jesus had ascended. Two messengers were sent by God to remind the disciples that this was not what they were supposed to be doing. Looking up into the sky is nothing more than a matter of waiting for Jesus' return. I could not help but think of all the media attention that was paid to a certain prognosticator who had told the world that it was about to end on May 21. Figuratively speaking, he and those who believed his story were imitating the apostles. They were looking up into the sky.
However, our sight should be trained on our environment, on our culture, on our society, on our community. The eyes of faith need to focus on the needs that lie before us so that we can spend our energies bringing the healing touch of the Gospel upon those people, upon those events, etc. If we stand around looking up into the sky, we will never see the tasks that lie before us.
Our faith teaches us that Jesus will return. However, until that time, we also believe that Jesus has given us a great commission. We are to go into the world, preaching repentance and reconciliation, baptizing all in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We preach repentance and reconciliation by being forgiving and merciful people. We preach the Good News of Jesus by leading lives that reflect his life within us. We gather others into our baptized community by reaching out in love to all who are in need of a human touch. This is the true meaning of our faith. We have been saved by Jesus. However, we must act to spread that redeeming grace to all people in all nations.