Ascension of the Lord, Sunday – 16th May 2021 — Gospel: Mk 16,15-20
Called and Empowered
The Ascension of Christ marks the definitive entrance of Jesus’s humanity into God’s heavenly sphere. As the head of the Church, Jesus Christ precedes us into the Father’s glorious kingdom so that we, the members of his body, are to live in the hope of being with him forever one day. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face (1 Cor 13,12). However, the Ascension does not point to Jesus’s absence, but tells us that he is alive in our midst in a new way. We are never alone, we have this Advocate who awaits and defends us always.
In today’s gospel, Jesus empowers His disciples in order to continue the work of building His Kingdom. He commissions his disciples with a great mission: ‘to go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation’. He strengthens them with the power to forgive sins and cast out demons in His name. He gives them the gift of new tongues to proclaim the good news. To all those who believe in the good news, Jesus empowers them with the grace to perform miracles and healings. Therefore the name of Christ Jesus strengthens his followers in times of great fear, when confronted by the unknown, by danger or by evil. However this commission and empowerment is more subjective and always demands personal response. St. Paul was entrusted with the same mission: to preach and to bear witness to Jesus Christ. He took up this challenging task by letting himself be molded and strengthened by God’s will (1Cor 9,16-17).
