This weekend’s Liturgy is quite unique. Most dioceses in the U.S. have transferred the Feast of the Ascension to this coming weekend, May 15-16. Other dioceses, mostly in Northeast will celebrate the Liturgy for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, having celebrated Ascension Thursday several days ago. To accommodate readers in both areas, I have prepared a reflection on the readings for each of these liturgies beginning with the Ascension of the Lord followed by one for the Seventh Sunday of Easter.
Deacon Tom Writes
Go, Make Disciples
Today St. Luke shares his account of the post-resurrection experience of Jesus Christ. Luke tells us that Jesus “presented himself” to his apostles, “giving (them) instructions though the Holy Spirit”. The he departed leaving his hand-picked understudies to spread the Good News throughout the world. What an awesome task! Insightful too is that the Jesus left his disciples under the wings of the inspirational Holy Spirit to guide them as the built the kingdom of God on earth. Looking back over these 2000 years since, while not without its dark moments, the church Christ had entrusted to Peter has been very successful in following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Peter et al, the first messengers, did “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature”. This Holy Spirit whom Jesus sent and the Apostles received was the guiding Principal leading the church through its formative days and continues to do so today.
This effort to spread the Gospel message to all the nations was also intended, I believe, to bring about the “unity” Christ prayed for at the Last Supper... “Father, that they may be one, as you are one in me and I in you”. As St. Paul says elsewhere in his letter to the Ephesians, “There is one body and one spirit..” EPH 4:4
As I reflect upon these readings for Ascension Thursday in light of the state of the world around us, I ask “What chance do we have today of being .... “of one body and one spirit” as Christ intended us to be? It seems that every aspect of our lives is a source of division... one’s race, religion, ethnicity, culture, national origin, political affiliation, social class, etc., each serves as a distinction that more than ever is a source of friction or even conflict with others. How could we ever expect to “be of one mind” on anything let alone agree on the teaching of Jesus? What do you think would happen if a corporate CEO presented his executives, with a Business Plan he wanted them to implement and they failed to achieve it. It wouldn’t be good for the management team is my experience.
Yet, when it comes to the practice of our faith, it is not just the leadership that fails. It is we the community of believers that has a large share in failing to achieve what Christ has asked his disciples. Why is that? Well, in reality Christ’s teachings are quite clear. We are to love one another, forgive one another, not judge one another; we are to count all peoples as our neighbor; we are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, bury the dead, counsel the ignorant. We are not to judge others, or gossip... “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up”. EPH 4:29. Yes, we know the teaching of Jesus. The difficulty is that we are not following them the way he taught them. We have decided who our neighbor is; we have made the decision who is worthy of our charity; we have used our speech to tear down and revile those who disagree with us. We have cast aside the teachings of Christ and are acting in accord with our lesser nature by choosing to Christ’s call to be one in him. The consequences of our choice, I believe, is visible in the disorder and chaos we see around us.
If we are to be faithful to Jesus’ call to unity, we must decide to choose to follow his teaching and see the world as he sees it: a world redeemed by his death and renewed by his resurrection; we need to do our part to build up the kingdom for which Jesus laid the foundation; we must persevere in doing what is right and listen to the Voice of Truth. If we are to be disciples worthy of the name “Christian” we must do as Christ taught us by putting aside all that divides us through our “dying to self”, through our “picking up our cross” and by our “following him”, choosing to be one with all our brothers and sisters in his Mystical Body.
Enjoy the Day!
Deacon Tom
Photo Credit: www.123rf.com/photo_31942799_ascension-of-christ
Deacon Tom Writes,
Sharing In Christ’s Joy
It is natural for us to want to have as much joy in this life as we can get. How we find that “joy” is the essence of our spiritual journey. How often we confuse happiness with joy! Happiness depends upon our circumstances and the events that happen to us. I am happy when something good happens to me such as making a new friend, winning the lottery, or getting that new car or job, just as I may be sad when I have a reversal of good fortune. Happiness doesn’t last. We always need something else each tomorrow to renew our happiness. If we don’t find that special something new to enthrall us, very often we end up down in the dumps. Here in America it seems that happiness is available for a price. At least that’s what Madison Avenue would have us believe. Isn’t that the message that advertisers are selling…You will be happy if you drive this kind of car, or if you wear this suit or go on this vacation…if you buy this or that?
Joy is something else completely. It is an interior state of being. Being joyful has nothing to do with my circumstances or what is happening in my life. Joy has REAL staying power. As a matter of fact, one can be full of joy while experiencing extreme hardships in life. The Perfect Joy of St. Francis was in serving God completely by renouncing all but the necessities of life. Most of us wouldn’t find the joy in that! I have encounter people with true joy in soup kitchens, lying in a hospice bed, mourning the loss of a loved one…The Anawim, God’s lowly, disenfranchised, poor, humble people who had nothing of this world’s treasures or comforts seemed to have found the secret to the perfect joy Christ intends for his disciples. Their joy rests completely in the awareness that God loves them.
Today we are invited to share Christ’s joy completely by listening to the “Word” and letting it take root in our hearts, elevating our love and service to one another. Let us grow deeper in our relationship with Christ so we can choose to live in that complete joy that only He can give and which lasts forever over the happiness of the world that never satisfies and always leaves us wanting for more.
Enjoy the Day!
Deacon Tom
Image Credit: www.123rf.com/photo_38788883_joy-written-in-the-sand
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