Hope in the Call - Feast of the Ascension

Hope in the Call – Feast of the Ascension

When I was fifteen I was chosen to be on a Babe Ruth League All Star team that represented our city in a statewide baseball tournament.  While being chosen for the team was an honor, at first I did not play at all.  The first few games of the tournament I sat on the bench, until one game in which we were behind by three runs.  The coach decided to put me in as relief pitcher, not thinking at all that I would do well, but in order to rest the other players so we could play again in the double elimination round.  This calling to the mound was not exactly a ringing endorsement, but I held our opponents scoreless while we came back to win the game and advance to the state finals, at which point I started regularly. 

In today’s Gospel we find Jesus gathering the eleven in Galilee just before he ascends to heaven.  These eleven men, as the text states, “worshipped, but they doubted.”  These words indicate their lack of perfection as followers of the Lord Jesus.  In spite of all they had witnessed, they still had doubts about the identity and mission of Jesus the Lord.  Nevertheless, in spite of their lack of perfection, Jesus calls them to go forth and make disciples of all nations, to teach, and to baptize. 

From all that we read in the Gospels the twelve show no indication that they understand the identity and mission of Jesus.  They continually misunderstand and fail in the work of discipleship.  And now that Jesus has died and risen from the dead they once again have doubts, leading us to think that failure will again come their way in the ministry of the Lord Jesus.  And yet to be chosen by God has nothing whatsoever to do with merit, for none of us is worthy, none of us is able to succeed of our own abilities and talents.  All of us have fallen short of the glory of God, and if we read the Gospels closely enough we will find ourselves in the place of the disciples when they misunderstand, when they betray, when they deny, when they run away in fear, and when they doubt. 

And yet you and I have been chosen by God to follow the Lord Jesus and carry out His work on earth.  We are called to love as He loved, to teach and to baptize, to reconcile and to heal.  Will we fail to live as we ought?  Yes, but God knew this fact ahead of time and called us anyway.  And we may be surprised at what we can accomplish with the help of God.  Remember that these same frail men who failed so often became transformed by the power of the Spirit.  They traveled to far away places in order to teach, to heal, and to reconcile.  These men, who had once run from a garden in fear of death, suffer many tribulations and die violent deaths just as the Lord Jesus had done. 

While we await the feast of Pentecost next week, we need not wait for the coming of the Spirit in our lives, for the Spirit is already present among us and dwells within us.  The rebuke of the two men in white is also addressed to us:  “Why are you standing there looking at the sky?”  We have been given a mission to accomplish:  to teach, to baptize, to heal, and to reconcile.  It is enough that we have been called by God to this work; we have what we need to accomplish the task, for Jesus has left us an example to follow, a glory to be awaited, and a Spirit to sustain us. 

In my baseball experience, my coaches did not believe in my abilities to be successful.  But God believes in us, and He calls us without any consideration of our merits.  And if God believes in us, why then should we not believe in Him?  Herein lies the parabolic nature of God:  we human beings spend so much time wrestling with belief in God and the path to God, while all the while God has put His faith in us all the while.  He did so at creation; at the incarnation of Jesus; at the resurrection and all times in between and since.  And now at the ultimate moment of Jesus’ return to glory God once again puts His faith in the human race by calling us to this work of Jesus the Lord.

As we come together to recommit ourselves to the work of God, we pray for that we might ever be conscious of the call, of the example of the Lord Jesus, of the glory that awaits us, and the presence of the Spirit ever with us.  “Father in heaven, our minds were prepared for the coming of your kingdom when you took Christ beyond our sight so that we might seek him in his glory.  May we follow where he has led and find our hope in his glory, for he is Lord forever and ever.  Amen.”  

How Foolish We Are

How Foolish We Are – 3^rd Sunday of Easter Year A

Parents often marvel in disbelief over the things that young children will fight over.  Who can forget the great debate over whose teddy bear was better, or the epic battles over space in the back seat of the car on road trips?  As adults we look at these feuds as childish, petty, and unimportant.  However, if we stopped to look at our own disputes with fellow adults we might not see the actual pettiness that exists within these spats.  How many “irreconcilable differences” in divorce proceedings are really unimportant matters of our own selfishness?  Even in matters of great consequence pride can consume our discussions and we are not conscious of God speaking to us and providing the resolution we need.

In today’s Gospel text we find two disciples walking to Emmaus conversing and debating the entire way about the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Certainly they did not agree on the meaning of these events, or even perhaps they disagreed on the facts described to them by the women.  By their own words they saw Jesus as one from Nazareth who was a powerful prophet of God – words they utter to Jesus himself, though as yet unknown to them!  But lest we be harsh on these two men, we might recall our own inability to see Jesus present among us and our failures in recognizing the full reality of Jesus’ identity.  And these disciples will provide for us an example worthy to follow.

For Jesus does appear to them and listens to their account of the story about himself.  They provide for Jesus an honest account of what they saw, heard, and believed about Jesus.  Then, these two disciples listen attentively as Jesus, still unknown to them, taught them about the identity of the Messiah through the scriptures.  What is more, these men urge Jesus to stay with them that evening for a meal and to continue the conversation about the true nature of the Messiah and the meaning of these recent events of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Their openness and receptivity to the word of God is rewarded in coming to know the full identity of Jesus – present to them this entire time – in the sacramental action of the breaking of the bread.  Jesus, whom had been unrecognizable to them, now becomes fully known at table.  Their receptivity to the word of God enabled them to recognize the Lord Jesus in the present moment, and at once their previous conversation and debate is put aside.  Jesus has brought resolution to them through word and sacrament so that all conflict has been set aside.

What is more, these disciples then embark on a missionary endeavor to tell the others about how they came to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread.  It is not enough for us to merely come to a personal knowledge of Jesus’ identity and presence among us.  We must share this joy with others and make it known how the risen Jesus has appeared to us in our lives.

Many people today lament the conflicts that exist within the Church – whether these conflicts are local in the parish and diocese, or whether these conflicts are more global in nature.  Perhaps today’s Gospel text can provide for us a means of finding peace and resolution.  If we imitate these two disciples and listen attentively to the word of God, invite Jesus to remain with us, and gather together around the table of the Lord, we too can come to recognize the presence of Christ among us.  For what is essential to our lives is the living word of God and the sacramental action of the Church.  Through constant meditation on the word of God, through fervent prayer and receptivity to Christ in our lives, and in the celebration of the sacraments together we can resolve any difficulty and conflict.  In addition, we can go through life with the joy of the presence of Jesus, making known to others the great work He has begun in us.

The resurrection of Jesus means that conflict need not lead to a sealed tomb as the final resting place for ourselves and that conflict.  Instead, it means that the solutions lie beyond the tomb in the light of God’s presence.  As we gather together, we pray for the grace we need to be like these two disciples on the road to Emmaus so that peace may reign over conflict in all aspects of our lives:  “Father in heaven, author of all truth, a people once in darkness has listened to your Word and followed your Son as he rose from the tomb.  Hear the prayer of this newborn people and strengthen your Church to answer your call.  May we rise and come forth into the life of day to stand in your presence until eternity dawns.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.”