Father Thomas Welbers' Homily	Jump back to Homily Index
Solemnity of the Ascension, June 1, 2003 Acts 1:1-11 Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 Mark 16:15-20	Listen to Audio

Jesus has no other plan except for us to carry on his work. That’s you and me – nobody else.

When you and I stand before him in eternity, fully aware of his great love for us, what will we hear him say? Will he tell us, sadly, “I loved you so much, but you were busy about so many other things. I depended on you to show my love to the people who came into your life, but you concentrated on just a few and excluded the rest. I gave you my word in the Scriptures and the tradition of my church, but you were full of excuses as to why you did not have time to pray and to learn about me and my love for you?"

Will he show us the good we could have accomplished, if only we had paid better attention to him and his mission rather than our own business? Will the people we failed to touch because we didn’t even notice them join Jesus in looking at us sadly? Will we be aware of so many missed opportunities because we placed our trust in things that pass away rather than the things that endure into eternity?

The meaning of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven is simply that we continue his presence and his mission on earth, here and now. And that we do so in the power of the Holy Spirit.

What is the mission of Jesus that we are both given the command and the power to continue to do? It’s found in the Scripture we have just heard.

In the Act of the Apostles, our first reading today, the last thing Jesus is quoted as saying to his followers is: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses . . . to the ends of the earth.”

In Mark’s Gospel, which we just heard, Jesus says that his followers will witness to him by “proclaiming the gospel to every creature.” The word “gospel” means good news – not the kind of news, even good news, that you read in the newspaper or see on TV, but the kind of good news that you are just brimming over with excitement to tell, the kind of good news that you can’t hold inside, you’ve got to find someone else to share your joy.

What is the news that can make us this excited? Only the awareness of how deeply and generously we are loved! Nothing else. And this powerful awareness is the work of the Holy Spirit. That’s why, when we realize that Jesus has trusted us to continue his mission, our first response must be to pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Next Sunday, Pentecost, we celebrate this gift in a special way, but we experience this gift of the Holy Spirit every moment of our lives that we are open to receiving him.

© Thomas Welbers, 2003