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
Jesus, 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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