Fr Marco Lazzaron
oday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. We, here on earth, are called, then, to continue the mission He began: to make the Father’s love known to everyone. To begin our own ascent to heaven (which does not mean leaving this earth, but living in Christ Jesus), He gives us some guidance.
First of all, the disciples go to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had indicated to them. This tells us that there are places where we can encounter the Risen Lord, but often we do not cultivate and safeguard these places with good habits. The frenzy of this world and all the things we have to do often take away the time we should dedicate to God: going to Mass, praying — we always find reasons to postpone them.
Yet the disciples go to the place Jesus had shown them. The encounter is remarkable: they see Him, they bow before Him, but they still doubt! How often this happens to us as well: we pray, we say we believe in God, but when certain things do not happen, when suffering, disappointment, and despair seem to take over, we begin to doubt.
And it is here that Jesus tells His disciples that all authority belongs to Him; not the kind of power the world seeks, the power of possession, but the power of one who gives, who knows how to step aside so that another may live.
The conclusion of the Gospel is splendid: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the world.” Jesus ascends, but He does not leave us alone! He is always with us, no longer physically, but spiritually. Therefore, He is close to everyone, present through the Spirit whom the Father will send so that we may accomplish the mission He entrusts to us. He could do everything Himself, but He leaves room for us. “To draw a parallel, a father is truly a father when his son no longer needs him. When the son is capable of doing things on his own, then the father has fulfilled his mission. A good father is not the one who solves problems, but the one who helps his son learn to do so”. (Don Fabio Rosini).
This is what the Lord Jesus does with us: He has so much to teach us, yet He knows how to give us space. He entrusts us with a mission: to make disciples, to baptize, to immerse people in God’s love, to bring them into the wonder of God’s fatherhood. How beautiful it is to lead people to God.
Prayer
Let us therefore make our own this famous prayer by an anonymous 14th-century Flemish
writer:
Christ has no hands now but our hands to do His work today.
Christ has no feet now but our feet to lead people along His path.
Christ has no voice now but our voice to tell people today about Him.
Christ has no strength now but our help to bring people to Himself.
We are the only Bible that people still read;
we are the only message from God written in deeds and words.
Lord, sustain me on my life’s journey so that I may fulfill the mission You have entrusted
to me. Amen.