|
Ascension Year B: Read: Acts 1: 1-11; Eph 4: 1-7, 11-13; Mark 16:15-20
Many people today, including
Catholics, accuse the Roman Catholic Church of still standing looking into the sky -of idealism, if you will- in Her teaching
and understanding of the world, especially in the area of morality and social doctrine. But the Angels who stood beside the
Apostles at the Ascension of Jesus reminded them of Jesus’ own admonition: “No, you are not to look into the sky,
but to wait in Jerusalem until you receive power from on high to be my witnesses here and to the ends of the earth”:
i.e., not just to the geographical extremities of the earth, but also into all dimensions of earthly existence. And if you
take a look at the history of the Catholic Church you will find her not only geographically far-flung but involved in every
field of human activity: from health, education and manifold social care, to the spiritual and sacramental care of Her own
children. So, the Catholic religion is not a sky or a star-gazing religion. We don’t need horoscopes. Ours is not a
religion preoccupied with apocalyptics and the “end of the world”, letting ourselves get paralyzed by fear, or
interpreting every earthquake or outbreak of disease as a sign of the end. It is not for us to know the “when”
of the end – Jesus Himself said that not even He knew that!- but to know and apply ourselves to the here and the
now in the “power” sent to us by Him who has reached the end … and will return.
To “receive power from
on high” means simply to receive the Holy Spirit. The Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost are like the three sides
of a trilateral diamond, filled with the splendor of God’s victorious Light, the Light of the Paschal Candle, of victory
over sin and death. Jesus dies that He might rise and we with Him; He ascends that the Spirit might come and that Jesus might
be with us in a new and unheard of manner; the Spirit comes that the world might see and believe in Jesus now present, not
in His physical body, but in the Body of His Church; and on the last day, the Church and all who have believed in Jesus because
of Her, will rise and ascend in the power of the Spirit to the Father’s house. The return of Jesus to the Father somehow
makes the Spirit of the Father embrace not just the flesh of the Ascended Son but the flesh of all humanity. Many Old Testament
prophecies speak and long for the day when God will pour out his Spirit on all flesh, when “our young men will see visions
and our old men dream dreams” (cf. Joel). But as the Word tells us today, this Spirit is not given that we might dis-engage
ourselves from the world but, rather, that we might be more involved in it: “some as apostles, others as prophets, others
as evangelists, pastors, teachers to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until
we attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ”
(Eph 4).
In other words, our engagement
in the world in all its dimensions must be directed, indeed driven, by the Holy Spirit given to us. This is what it means
to be “light to the world” and “salt to the earth” (Mt. 5). On the flip side it means we can’t
allow ourselves to be driven by values or principles which are at odds with the Spirit which the Ascended Lord pours out upon
all flesh. Non-spiritual principles of whatever kind may seem to favor the flesh, but in fact they destroy it, because they
do not open the flesh to the Spirit that will make the flesh eternal. And we all long to be eternal in our flesh. Jesus teaches
that, of itself, the flesh has nothing to offer: “what is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is
Spirit” (Jn 3). If we want to sanctify our work, our homes, our relationships, it means we need to think and pray hard,
long and deeply about how we are allowing the Ascended Lord to work with us through His Spirit in our daily lives. Of course,
it means recognizing the struggles, often painful and exasperating, to do so. Yet, my friends, what kind of love for Christ
is it to give up that very struggle through which He desires to gain victory for us, for God in us? When Jesus was so disfigured
and bloodied in His passion that he “seemed no longer human” (Isaiah), had the Spirit abandoned Him? On the contrary! It was the Spirit who drove Him to surrender Himself in selfless love for
our sake. In the midst of our struggles, we may not see or feel the Spirit – but He never abandons us. Take that as
Gospel and as your strength to keep going.
There should be no doubt
that our spiritual outlook must affect the way we think about our entire lives and motivate all our work and activity, be
it educational, health-care, musical, theatrical, legal, juridical or political. If the Spirit of Christ is in you, there
is no way you can hide Him, and there is no way He will allow Himself to be hidden. The Ascension of the Lord is not the biblical
justification for the separation of heaven from earth, Church from State, religion from politics. It is just the opposite.
Let me explain. Because of the Ascension of Christ, our flesh in Him is with God and God’s Spirit in Him is with us.
This not only justifies, but demands from believers that they seek to contribute a truly Christian and spiritual inspiration
in all fields of human activity. Let me also state clearly: while no-one can impose religion on social or political questions,
neither should those who subscribe to atheism or some other world-view be permitted to impose their system of priorities
on society. Why should religion be banished and secular philosophies be exalted? Religion is oft detested for the simple reason
that it challenges our self-centered inclinations to reach beyond, to see what is true and good in and of itself, and not
just “what suits me or us”. The human being is a unit of body and soul, and that is reflected, because it has
to be reflected, in all human realities. Of course we can distinguish body
and soul, but we cannot separate them. The soul usually inspires the body, and
sometimes the body inspires or weighs down the soul. But we don’t live all week just in our bodies and meet up with
our souls on Sunday to come to Church! There is, if you will, a dependent autonomy between body and soul. That is how the
Creator has made us. We are neither all soul (for then we would be angels or
devils) nor all body (then we would be animals): we are human beings, “incarnate spirits”. No human philosophy
can fly in the face of that fact: indeed, every human thought system, if it is to be realistic, must deal with the individual
and with society simultaneously in their flesh and in their soul.
To make this point another
way, I want to read to you a quote from Vatican II –the Council often referred to, but frequently unread- in one of
its lesser known documents, but one of its best (“Gaudium et Spes” – Joy and Hope), speaks of the just
autonomy of human activity. I will quote this wise and long-debated text
by the 2000 bishops of Vatican II, because it is so important in the present climate:
“There seems to be some apprehension today that a close association between human activity and religion will
endanger the autonomy of man, or organizations and of science. If by the autonomy of earthly affairs is meant the gradual
discovery, exploitation, and ordering of the laws of matter and society, then the demand for autonomy is perfectly in order:
it is at once the claim of modern man and the desire of the creator. … Consequently, methodical research in all branches
of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict
with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God.
However, if by the term ‘the autonomy of earthly affairs’ is meant that material being does not depend on
God and that man can use it as if it had no relation to its creator, then the falsity of such a claim will be obvious to anyone
who believes in God. Without a Creator there can be no creature. In any case, believers, no matter what their religion, have
always recognized the voice and revelation of God in the language of creatures. Besides, once God is forgotten, the creature
is lost sight of as well.” (Gaudium et Spes, 36)
Christ did not ascend into
heaven either to be forgotten or to forget us. His physical absence in the flesh was to permit His physical presence to pass
into the sacraments and into the Mystical Body of the Church, not just in one spot, but all over the world, in every corner
and stratum of human activity. As the Hound of Heaven, Christ pursues us with the overwhelming combination of his truth and
mercy so that we may grow up into Him, mature into Him, evolve as His Mystical Body in the world into the full maturity of
Him, in whom and for whom, all things were created. Herein lies the astounding mission of the Church: to be the ferment, the
leaven, the sacrament of the unity of the entire human race. Certainly the UN has a great vision of world unity, and there
have been, are and hopefully will be, great statesmen who perceive the common grounds and values upon which the unity of the
human family can be based and achieved. But let’s say it as it is. They all pale into insignificance in comparison with
the vision of Christ, the desire of Christ, the plan of Christ, or what we call so glibly the “plan of salvation”,
without realizing the astounding greatness of what we’re talking about. Indeed, all that is truly good in all human
endeavor is simply the willing response of man to the Christ who beckons him in the depths of his own heart. Here lies the
splendor of the truth, here reason finds fulfillment in faith.
In sum, if we wish to see
the Ascended Lord standing at the right hand of the Father, interceding and pleading for us, all we need do is look carefully
and compassionately into our own hearts and the hearts of our neighbors. For, if you will believe me, that is where heaven
will ultimately be - by the immense and unspeakable goodness of our great and glorious God, Who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen
Msgr. Peter Magee,
St. Matthew’s Cathedral, Washington,
10.00 am; St. Raphael’s, Rockville, 6.00
pm
Sunday,
June 1st, 2003
|
