DEACON JERRY FRANZEN
Cathedral May 17, 2015
Acts 1: 1-11 Ephesians
4: 1-13 Mark 16:15-20
We just heard two accounts of the Ascension
one at the
very beginning of the Acts of the Apostles,
and the other
in the very last verses of St. Mark’s Gospel,
the
beginning of one book and the end of another.
The Ascension certainly represents a pivotal point in Christianity.
After Jesus ascended in the account we heard from
Acts,
two
angels ask the disciples,
“Why are you standing there looking up
at the sky?”
I
We are not privileged like the disciples
to
see Jesus’ ankles rising from the earth.
But, like the disciples in
Acts, we also have an “upward” vision.
We know that heaven is not a place “up there;”
it is
the state of our soul
in the eternal presence of our ever-loving
God.
But we do have a definite focus on the “place” to which Jesus went.
We are used to praying that Jesus would come from that place”
down to us,
that he
might be with us during a test or exam, during surgery,
as
we drive to work, as we buy that lottery ticket.
Jesus has gone before us, and
we
pray that he might come back to be with us.
We pray that Christ might come to be with us as we
worship.
We have
this “upward look”
and
we call Christ “down” to be with us,
we
ask for his blessing to come “down” upon us.
The feast of the Ascension reminds us to look
“upward,”
toward
that place to which Jesus went, heaven.
We, being here on earth, may have a tendency
to
think of our being with Christ only here on earth.
Our hope, however,
is not only that Christ will return to dwell on
earth.
Our hope is also that we will ultimately be with the
Lord in heaven.
In the second coming, Christ will return to take us,
body
and soul, to be with him.
This “upward” view, this reminding us of that “other
place,” heaven, to which we must
be aiming,
should stir our imagination and expand our
capacities
to
see, to feel and to hope.
It keeps fresh in our minds the ultimate purpose of
life –
to get
to heaven, to attain eternal salvation,
to
be eternally in God’s presence.
Maintaining our “upward” perspective,
keeping
this goal in view, is extremely important.
On clear days,
when mountain climbers can see
that
breathtaking peak of snow-capped rocks,
when
their goal is in clear view,
they make great progress.
They walk briskly, cooperate unselfishly; they climb
as one,
all
working toward the same summit.
On days when the summit is shrouded in clouds and out
of view,
when
the goal is not in clear sight
the climbing is tougher, eyes are
downward,
thoughts are inward, tempers may be
short.
Weariness is an uninvited companion.
The same is true of our spiritual journeys.
If the risen Christ, who calls us from the
mountaintop,
is not
clearly in view,
one
can hear the groans of the travelers
as
they stop on the spiritual trail.
Why continue if there is no goal in
sight?
Without the clear vision of heaven
we
become pilgrims without a promised land; we set up camp.
We trade our hiking boots for loafers
and our
staffs and climbing equipment for new recliners.
We become spiritual couch potatoes.
We must keep that “upward” look,
keep
eternal salvation as our clear and ultimate goal.
II
In St. Mark’s account there is no mention of disciples
looking up.
Jesus ascended.
Jesus just took his seat at the right hand of God, and
the
disciples, “went forth and preached everywhere,
while
the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying
signs.”
Recall that in the Acts account,
the angels posed that question to the
apostles:
"Why are you standing there looking up
at the sky?”
because
our focus on joining Jesus in heaven
must
go well beyond our standing around and looking up.
There
is another dimension.
There
is also a “downward” perspective to the Ascension,
and
we see this expressed in the Gospel account
and
in today’s second reading.
The “downward” view directs us to our
discipleship here on earth.
It is the means by which we will attain the
everlasting life of heaven.
It is by our going forth and preaching everywhere,
by our working
with the Lord,
by
our bringing the signs of salvation to the world,
that we, too, will be lifted to the
eternal kingdom.
What Jesus has accomplished must be brought to
mankind.
Jesus has suffered, has died, has risen from the dead
and has ascended.
The Church’s extension of the mission of Jesus
began
with his Ascension.
This is our work as the Church.
In that second reading from the letter to the
Ephesians
St. Paul
described how we as the Church can bring
the
mission of Jesus to all.
He first calls for unity in the Church -
humility
in remembering our own faults,
gentleness
in our treatment of others,
patience
with the actions of others,
willingness
to bear with other’s faults,
and eagerness
to preserve the peace
that
is a gift of the Spirit.
These are the qualities that keep us together,
that lead
to Church unity, to oneness in the life of Christ.
These are the kinds of behaviors
that
are in accord with our Christian vocation.
Secondly, St. Paul reminds us of the diversity
of the
kinds of gifts and the degree of gifts
that
Christ gives to members of his Body.
He said to the Ephesians, and to us, that the Lord
“gave
some as apostles, others as prophets,
others
as evangelists, others as pastors
and
(still others as) teachers.
to
equip the holy ones for the work of ministry.”
We are those holy ones;
each of
us has been equipped for the work of ministry,
to
build up the Body of Christ.
This is all part of the “downward”
or
earthly perspective of the Ascension.
The Son who came from heaven to earth,
has now
returned to heaven
in
order to exercise divine generosity
by
giving these gifts to all humankind.
III
The Ascension is not just the historical event of the
past.
It is not bon
voyage to Jesus.
It is also not just about the future of our eternal
salvation
or just about the second coming of Christ.
It has a downward earthly dimension, where
we play a part.
Jesus ascended so that we could get on with his and
our work,
the
work of bringing ourselves back to him
and
the work of bringing others to him.
So let’s get on with it.
Let’s be humble, be the person God meant you to be,
That could be as a member of the parish council,
a volunteer
in the St. Vincent de Paul Society,
or
maybe a greeter at the Rose Garden Mission.
Let’s be gentle in our words and in our actions,
as we
deal with children, with the infirm, with the elderly.
Let’s be patient with those who may repeatedly annoy us.
Let’s be willing to extend God’s mercy
to even
the most terrible sinner.
Let’s be eager to spread the Good News
that
God loves us unconditionally.
For among us now are the apostles who administer the
Church,
the prophets
who bring special messages from God to us,
the evangelists
who invite others to join us,
the
pastors who care for the members of the flock,
and the teachers who pass on the teachings of our
faith.
By our baptism, we are equipped for Christ’s ministry.
Christ has left the spotlight at the center of the
earthly stage
on
which he played out the redeeming events of
his earthly life.
And He continues to influence,
from
the timeless sanctuary of heaven,
the
action of this drama which we call salvation.
With the gifts that He has given each of us,
with
the power of the Holy Spirit working in each of us,
it is time for each of us to now
step into that spotlight.
