Ascension Sunday
24 May 2009
First reading: Acts 1:1-11
In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. ‘It is’ he had said ‘what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’
Now having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth.’
As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky when suddenly two men in white were standing near them and they said, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.’
Psalm or canticle: Psalm 46:2-3,6-9
Second reading: Ephesians 4:1-13
I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.
Each one of us, however, has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. It was said that he would:
When he ascended to the height, he captured prisoners,
he gave gifts to men.
When it says, ‘he ascended’, what can it mean if not that he descended right down to the lower regions of the earth? The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all things is none other than the one who descended. And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.
Gospel: Mark 16:15-20
Jesus showed himself to the Eleven, and said to them: ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’
And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.
Reflection
by Grace Madrinan
When I joined our local parish choir, my initial intention was to serve the community through music. But through the years, I got more than what I bargained for. My appreciation for the living Eucharist deepened while at the same time, found a second family with the choir. We became brothers and sisters -- one family as they call it. We are solid as a group and has kept to heart our service to the parish that we even volunteered to assist in the on-going church projects.
But as much as there are people who admired our service, there are also people who are not as ecstatic. We were treated with indifference and even discredited our good intentions. But despite all of that, our group remained humble and faithful to our service, and even fired up with more motivation to extend our service beyond music.
Recalling one of the lines in the Gospel today, where Jesus prayed to the Father, “I gave them Your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, any more than I belong to the world.” When we stood firm to remain true servants of the Church, those with worldly motives may not understand, or may even hate us. We may be shaken at times, but recalling the Good Shepherd’s prayer in today’s Gospel, who should we fear? His prayer for protection is always present, the kind of protection that does not necessarily restrict or completely hide us from the world -- but the kind that guide us so that we will not swerve away from our true calling as servants of God and disciples of His words.
Each of us is called to remain and be bearers of the truth. And in doing so, it is almost definite that there will be attempts to bring us down. But we can be assured that God will protect us and keep us equipped to surpass each trial with flying colors.
Father, we are indeed privileged to be given the opportunity to serve You. Keep us consecrated in Your truth so that we can continue to be bearers of Your light. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Tell us what you feel...