BE HIS DISCIPLE TO PROCLAIM THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND TO LIVE IN SPIRIT


We are in the Seventh Sunday of the Easter, celebrating the feast of the Ascension of the Lord. Christ did not leave us by ascending to the Father. He ascended to the Father so that we may receive the Holy Spirit. For He said, “Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (Jn 16:7). By receiving the Holy Spirit in us we are making Jesus present in our lives. He has promised us that he will be with us until the end of time (Mt 28:20). He lives in us through the Holy Spirit – third person of Trinity. There are three major themes that run through in today’s readings; The discipleship, the proclamation and the life in spirit.
The Discipleship
The Ascension of Christ Painting by Gustave DoreJesus, during his ministry on earth taught His disciples the way to live one’s life. That way of life is not one of many kinds, rather that was the only way, the best way and the most appropriate way to live one’s life meaningfully. Jesus taught His disciples through His words and deeds. In words; he told them to love their enemies (Lk 6:27), to welcome the strangers (Mt 25:35), to live poor in spirit (Mt 5:8) – just to mention a few. In deed; He showed them to be humble, meek, kind and most importantly to be servants to all which He manifested by washing of the feet of His disciples on the Last supper (Jn 13:14). Jesus’ life is an example for us to live our life. For he said, “I have set you an example” (Jn 13:15).
When we observe all that Jesus had said and did we become sons and daughters of our God, the father. To be a disciple of Jesus this is not suffice, it is only a beginning. We need to follow the footsteps of Jesus – the crucified, dead and risen. Jesus told St. Peter, “Get behind me” (Mt 16:23) meaning to say, come behind me peter, learn from me and follow me. Our discipleship completes only when we follow Jesus. We need to be like the blind beggar Bartimaeus in Mk 10:46-52 who was on the road side earlier and got into a road to follow Jesus after getting healed by Him. It is good to recall also the story of young rich man who observed all the commandments of God yet lacked one thing: hesitating to follow Jesus (Mt 19:16–30). In today’s gospel Jesus commissioned the apostles to make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19). Thus, our call to follow Jesus is to become His disciples.
The Proclamation
Jesus before ascending to the father commissioned His disciples to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). They are to teach the world what they have learned and observed from their master Jesus (Mt 28:20). The proclamation is part of their discipleship. And it is part of every Christian too. God’s love is selfless. He loved the world so much and expressed that Love by sending His only son Jesus into the world (Jn 3:16). Jesus, revealed the love of the Father on the Cross; Jesus, the Godly creature, the second person of Trinity instead of remaining in His nature as God – that is above the nature of human being, - became human being, he took our nature (Phil 2:7) and became one among us, and lived just like anyone of us. What was the necessity for Jesus (God) to become like one of us and suffer? It is only to show that God loves us; He even was ready to come down to our level and indeed He humbled Himself and came down to our level by becoming man like us. Jesus, the son of God, becoming human being is the first proclamation of God’s selfless love to humanity. We the beneficiaries of that love ought to share that love with others. Thus, the proclamation of Kingdom of God; the love of God, to live like Him and to allow god’s rein in us are part of our life. We need to proclaim that love through our words and deeds just like Jesus.
The Life in Spirit
To be a follower of Jesus is not that easy, especially in a time when the world embraces all that is opposite to Jesus preaching as values. We are in a world where the word ‘sin’ is substituted with the word ‘mistake.’ We have lost the sense of Sin. To be a disciple of Jesus in this world we need the help of the divine. We need the help of the Spirit to know the sings of times and respond to it concretely. The apostles and saints throughout the ages sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit to discern their way of life. We need to be imbibed by the spirit to fight against the evils of the world. We need to be possessed by the Holy Spirit to confront the wicked way that the enemy of the world is trying to infuse in each of us.
As we celebrate the feast of the ascension of our Lord, let us ask Lord Jesus to send down the Holy Spirit upon us, to fill us with His gift, so that, we His disciples be strengthened to proclaim His kingdom. Above all let us believe that even in this world affected by covid-19 pandemic Jesus lives in each of us, especially in the sick and the dying through the spirit. He has not abandoned us. For Jesus says, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Mt 28: 20).

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