Present In Us and Through Us

Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord May 20, 2012 (Mk 16:15-20)

He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." 

So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Lord's Ascension. After appearing to His disciples during forty days after His resurrection, Jesus finally ascends, returning to the Father and taking His seat at God's right hand. But before He ascended, Jesus commissioned His disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all, assuring them that great signs will accompany them as He Himself will work with them.

The Lord's Ascension marks the end of His physical presence here on earth. But His presence does not end there. He continues to be with His Church; He is present in the community of those who believe in Him. And He wills that this community of believers grow in number. Jesus is present in every place where His Word is preached. He is present where His believers are. He is present in us. And because of His presence, we, His believers experience signs and wonders as a confirmation that Jesus is working in us.

Since we have become members of the community of believers who enjoy the special presence of Jesus, we also inherit the commandment that our Lord gave His disciples: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." As Jesus' disciples, it is our duty to spread the Word of God in everything we say and do. We must not speak nor act in a way that opposes the Word. Jesus is present in us. Therefore, we must also make Jesus present to others through us, in our words and deeds. By a faithful witnessing to the Word, we can make the people around us disciples of Jesus.

In Jesus' Ascension, we Christians draw hope and strength as we continue to obey His mandate to evangelize. As we live our faith and share the same faith to others, we are assured that the Christian way of life leads to heaven because Christ already went before us. As true Christians, our goals in life go far beyond worldly achievements, beyond a good career and even beyond earning a great deal of money. Our Solemnity today reminds us to look up to heaven as the disciples did. To be with Jesus in heaven is our ultimate goal as Christians.

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Lord's Ascension into heaven, may we strive to be obedient to the Lord's command of evangelizing in everything we do, assured of Jesus' abiding presence and hopeful that we may one day merit to be in heaven with Him and with the people we have evangelized. May the Lord be present in us and through us!

Jesus' Presence: An Assurance and A Mission

Solemnity of the Lord's Ascension
May 24, 2009 (Mk 16:15-20)

Jesus said to his disciples: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Lord's Ascension, we remember two things that the Lord said before He was brought up to the Father. He told us to proclaim the Gospel to every creature (cf. Mk 16:15). He also told us that He is always with us, until the end of time (cf. Mt 28:20).

The words Jesus spoke during His Ascension are usually referred to as the "Great Commission". He commissioned His disciples to make the whole world his followers, to baptize and to teach them to obey His commandments. In our Gospel today, we read many signs that shall accompany those who believe. Indeed, these signs confirm that the disciples' mission was mandated by heaven, God's own work.

These signs are also God's gifts in order to help the growth of His Church. Indeed, Jesus does not just command His disciples, He also equips them with things they would need in their mission. As was said in our Second Reading today, "Grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.... And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ..." (Eph 4:7, 11-12).

The greatest assurance He gave His disciples was His own presence. Yes, just before He was taken up into heaven, Jesus said He is with us always. It's quite ironic, if we think about it. But this is true. When He ascended, He became more present than ever.

Saying that He is always with His disciples is not just an assurance. It is also part of the commission. Jesus is now commissioning His disciples to make Him present all over the world. They are given the task to repeat Jesus' great wonders. Most importantly, they are charged to become "Jesus" for others.

We, as disciples of Christ, also receive this commission. By virtue of our baptism, we take part in this heavenly mandate. We may not be able to reach many places and preach as theologians do. But Jesus is with us. And He challenges us to live our lives as a testimony to His greatness. He wants us to drive out demons, speak in different languages, and to heal the sick (cf. Mk 16:17-18). We may not be able to do these literally. But since Jesus is with us, we have the power to drive away sin, to speak about God's love and to heal those who are spiritually ill. Jesus is with us, and He will protect us from any harm. So we need not be afraid to preach by words and by the witness of our lives that Jesus is with us always, even to the end of time!

Little Missionaries of the Gospel

Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul Jan. 25, 2009 (Mk 16:15-18)

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul is celebrated on a Sunday this year. Usually, the Sunday liturgy takes precedence over the feasts and solemnities. Nevertheless, since we celebrate the bi-millennium of St. Paul's birth this year, we celebrate this feast even on a Sunday.

The Gospel today narrates to us how Jesus commissioned His remaining Eleven Apostles to proclaim the Gospel. Jesus spoke about the importance of faith and baptism in order to be saved. He even added that special "signs" will accompany those who will believe.

Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, becomes a model for us Christians. Paul is someone who "believed and was baptized" and who proclaimed the Gospel to everyone. He was able to spread the Good News of the Kingdom to many nations and the "signs of those who believe" was with him. His zeal for the Gospel was very strong that it led him to face many obstacles and dangers.

Jesus' words were originally addressed to His Apostles. Nevertheless, all of us are called to become little missionaries of Christ. These words are passed on to us. In Baptism, we have received Jesus' mission to proclaim the Gospel. We can be missionaries of Christ even if we do not go house to house to hold Bible studies, even if we have not memorized all the important passages of the Bible nor studied Theology for how many years. Yes, even if we are not priests, we can proclaim the Word of God. As Christians, we must.

Our actions can be a means of spreading God's Word. Loving our neighbors and helping them in their time of need is the best way to tell them that there is a God who cares for them and who loves them. Inserting God in everyday conversations, even if it is not in theological terms, can remind people of the presence of God in their lives and of the importance of spiritual life.

The Gospel today gives us a list of the signs that will accompany the believers of Christ. These supernatural signs are still present in us. We cast out demons when we bring back to God those who have been living in sin, and when we ourselves turn away from sin. We speak different languages if we allow God's Word to inspire our very speech, even if we do not speak odd things. We can heal if we try our best to understand the problems of our neighbor. Our words also have the power to heal those who are ill in spirit.

We will not be harmed even if we drink poison or pick up serpents. This may not necessarily be literally true. What is certain is that God's protection is with us always. Even if we put our lives in danger, God is with us and will not let us be harmed because we are doing His work. He gives us everything we will ever need in order for us to fulfill the mission He gave us. He guides us and never leaves us.

Like Paul, may our zeal for the Gospel be renewed. And may this renewed zeal lead us to proclaim the Good News of salvation as much as our strength allows us. We may not be able to spread God's Word to the furthest ends of the world, but we are asked to proclaim it to the best of our abilities, to the furthest extent of our capacities.