Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations”

(Mt. 28, 16-20)

Rev. Alexander Díaz

The Ascension of the Lord is a huge celebration with big hope to the us, who believe in Jesus Christ and follow his Word, because we know that He first went to Heaven, so that we all may follow Him.  Follow His footsteps and His walk towards the glory of the eternal Father.  This is why the celebration of this mystery gives us the assurance that we too will follow Him there.  The gospel of the previous Sunday told us in a very clear and concise way that:

“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places, ff there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself so that where I am you also may be. (Jn. 2-3)

Jesus has opened a special place for us in Heaven, so that we too may participate and live forever.  The right to heaven should not be for the human being a simple option, but rather, an obligation to be true followers of Jesus.  Our following Him will be rewarded when we live in heaven eternally.

Today’s gospel has some elements that disconcert me, because they really represent the human attitude when face free divinity.  I feel that it is hard for us to completely believe in this free divinity, and that was happening to the apostles the day of the ascension of the Lord.  The Word tells us the disciples worshipped Jesus, but some of them “had doubts”.

They did not believe easily, they wanted proof and reasons to know if the resurrected was really Jesus or someone else.  I fear that our life on this earth will always be splatter on these two instances:  of worship and doubt.  The human being is capable of worshipping and doubting at the same time.

Our fragile human nature weights in many instances and that makes us stumble, but even though we stumble, we should not give up because His powerful presence will allow us to be better men and women in our society and the world. 

Jesus tells us that He has all authority in heaven and in earth.  ¿How are we going to understand Jesus’ authority when we see that this world is going on a complete different path from His  message? This is the question many of us make ourselves: ¿If God is so powerful, why is the world so troubled?  The world is troubled when we don’t pay any mind to what God indicates. If we live by the Gospel, with dignity, the world will be more alike to what God wants. 

The wickedness in the world is the absence of God.  God has the power to offer the human being a message, His own person, a God that gives Himself up for us.  In order to accept God I need to balance out my mind and my heart and make an option from my liberty.  God has the power to invite us always from the bottom of our hearts to follow Him joyfully. (Mario Santana Bueno) 

I am impacted by the mandate Jesus gives to the twelve, because it gathers the group’s vision of all the human beings.  For the Jews, they were the only ones who had access to salvation; everyone else was not call by the Lord to be with Him.  Jesus breaks the scheme, because He invites the whole world to make disciples of all the inhabitants of the world. 

Today, that we talk so much about the unity of the nations for the common good, we forget that it was Christianity who started this unity, above all human differences, the one who impulsed the globalization  of God’s salvation. 

Therefore, under this divine mandate we are obliged to evangelize and turn into true missionaries in the world, no matter the race, color or tongue.  What is important is to show the real face of Jesus.   The Christians’ duties are very clear, to bring the gospel to other people no matter the color, race or tongue.   Baptism is the door to have an encounter with our Lord.  Thru baptism we begin the journey that Jesus has made thru the world’s path.

 In the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, the Church proposes this text where Jesus leaves us the promise to be with us always.  “I am with you always, until the end of the age” He is with us every single day, in good and bad times. It is a “ I leave but I stay”.

This text  specifically, must keep us alert and sure of what we are and of what we have, our Catholic Faith, nothing or no one can take us away from her or destroy it, because He is always with us.   He walks hand in hand with us, He makes us men and women that are sure of what we are, baptized and His children. 

This means that His presence among us should lessen our fears and doubts, because He walks ahead of us, hence, whenever we initiate a company or when we encounter challenges, we must be assure that He is with us every day of our lives until the end of time.  Because all we have is for Him, with Him and in Him, forever and ever,

 AMEN