22-May-2017 Dear Friend, Life is full of moments of transitions, moments when things have to come to an end, moments when we have to begin anew. Yet, generally we don’t like transitions. We get used to the way things are and we don’t want to move on. The Christian is called to be on the move, to be in transition, for we are a pilgrim people, journeying in faith. Jesus had to leave the earth and leave his disciples. The disciples had to move to complete His mission. May His word confront us in our complacency and comfort us in our doubts and distress. Have an uplifting weekend! -Fr. Jude Sun. Ref: Ascension. Jesus was taken into heaven. “I am with you always till the end!” 28-May-2017Acts: 1: 1-11; Ephesians 1: 17-23; Matt. 28: 16-20;
The first reading establishes a link between Jesus’ going and the coming of the Holy Spirit, and it also establishes the connection between Jesus and the founding of the Church. The disciples were not ready to cope with the transition, they wanted to know when and how things would take place. “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?” Jesus responds by telling them that it is not important to know the exact time and date, or the shape of things to come. What is of prime importance is to believe and let the Spirit take possession of us and guide our every step. Yes, Jesus will not be with them but He will be in them. Jesus will remain the same and yet he will be differently present to us after his ascension to the right hand of his Father. Solar PowerOne of the national coordinators of Sun Day held early in May every year is Denis Hayes. He worked as researcher at a Washington D.C. ‘think-tank’ and has written a book on solar energy entitled Rays of Hope: The Transition to a Post-Petroleum World. Hayes claims that we are at the crossroads of making a critical choice for mankind –the choice between going solar or going nuclear. Hayes opts for the sun because it is “the world’s only inexhaustible, predictable, egalitarian, non-polluting, safe, terrorist-resistant and free energy source.” We’ve already learned to use the power of the sun to grow food, make wine and operate green houses. All we need to do is develop better technology to harness solar energy to heat houses, drive our cars and run our industry. People like Hayes are looking at the sky with its sun as the main source of our future energy supply. Today we turn our attention to the sky for another reason –to commemorate our Lord’s Ascension into heaven. In the first reading from the Acts Jesus makes a promise: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you.” That Spirit is the power source that can give all the energy we need to live our lives to the full.Albert Cylwicki in ‘His Word Resounds’ The gospel of Matthew links the end of the ministry of Jesus to the beginning of the new ministry of the Spirit in the Church. Interestingly, Matthew seems to lead us to the point of the ascension and then is deliberately silent about it. He does not mention the ascension of Jesus. Jesus is not departing. He is with us always. Matthew prefers to discuss the mission of the disciples. They are told that they will receive His power and will act in His name. We who are caught in these ‘in-between’ times have to make a start and yet not any start will do. For the disciples had to wait till the Lord had ascended into heaven; they had to wait for the Spirit to descend on them; they had to wait to be filled with his power. For this to happen they waited in prayer, they waited together, and they waited in hope. Their waiting was rewarded by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in whose name they went forth to the ends of the earth. We are often caught on the horns of a dilemma: do we stay put and let things happen? Or do we busy ourselves in a flurry of activity? The temptation is to just keep waiting for something to happen that pushes us or to do anything that will keep our mind off the things that worry us. We are empowered in our mission only when we discover that God is with us in our innermost being. “And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.” “The Gospel of the Ascension calls us and challenges us to move beyond the boundaries that are set by our own fear and weakness and sinfulness. The story of Jesus’ ascension reminds us that Jesus is beyond us –sitting at the right hand of the Father, yet at the same time the same story reminds us that the Lord was working with the apostles by confirming their word by the signs that accompanied it. He is beyond us yet very much within us! Our stories are not finished, the last word has not yet been written, and the final scenes are still open-ended.”Denis McBride. Where to look for God’s image?You may have heard the ancient tale of God’s original problem: where to conceal his most precious possession, his own image. He called three wise counselors to listen to their suggestions. The first advised God to put his image on the top of the highest mountain on earth, where it would be safe forever; God however declined the suggestion. The second wise man proposed that God put his image in the depth of the deepest sea: but God saw submarines in his mind’s eye and said no. The third suggested that God hide his image on the far side of the moon; but God smiled to himself and said even there man could reach it. Then God had his original idea: “I know where to conceal my image,” he said. “I will put it where people would never think of looking; I will put it into their hearts. There it will never be discovered.” And the three wise men nodded in agreement; they knew that God was right indeed right.Denis McBride in ‘Seasons of the Heart’ The same yet differentLech Walesa worked for years as an electrician in the Gdansk shipyards. During those years he and his fellow workers founded the movement which came to be known as ‘Solidarity.’ Walesa became its leader. This brought them into open conflict with the communist leaders. Eventually the workers won out. The communist regime collapsed and democracy returned to Poland. Then on December 9, 1990 something happened which a few years prior would have been unthinkable. Walesa, the shipyard worker, was elected first president of a free and democratic Poland. His fellow workers were delighted. They felt honoured because of their association with him. However there was sadness too. They knew that it would change forever the way they related to him. They knew they were losing him. However they were hoping that he would not forget them and that he would help them from his new and more influential position. -The illustration may go some way in helping us to understand what we are celebrating on this great feast of Ascension.Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’ The Divine FoolThe coach of a high school swimming team asked a senior member of the team to pay special attention to a gifted newcomer who the coach felt could become a national champion. He gave the senior full authority over the young man to set his training schedule, monitor his eating and sleeping habits, direct his swimming exercises. The senior himself was a skillful athlete, reliable and well-versed in all the best of training methods. He was placed in some events, occasionally won an event, but was not considered to be champion material. He worked faithfully with the talented youngster for months, taught him everything he knew, demonstrated every move with fine precision, and practiced side by side with him. The time for the big meet finally arrives. Was the extraordinary youngster ready to climb to the top and win big races? The steady senior, by working so hard to train the gifted young man, so refined his own skills that he himself won five major events at the meet. He went on to become a national champion. He was ‘the divine fool.’ – There is nothing contrary to the spirit of Christ in seeking and using great amounts of authority and power. Jesus teaches us that our use of authority must be service, that in using our authority to serve the human community, we discover the divine dimension that lies deep within each of us.Eugene Lauer in ‘Sunday Morning Insights’ The Russian IconThere is a beautiful Russian icon of the Blessed Trinity painted by a monk by the name of Rublev. It depicts the three Divine Persons sitting at the table. A dish of food lies on the table for this feast: But the thing that immediately strikes you is the fact that at the front of the table there is a vacant space. The vacant space is meant to convey openness, hospitality and welcome towards the stranger and the outsider. That vacant place is meant for each of us, and for all the human family. It signifies God’s invitation to us to share his life with us - In the words of the Gospel “God loved the world so much that he gave his only son…”Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’ Passing the BatonThe critical moment in a relay race is the passing of the baton from one runner to another. More relays are won or lost at that moment than at any other. The feast of the ascension might be compared to the passing of the baton in a relay race. On this day over 2,000 years ago, Jesus passed the baton of responsibility for the Kingdom of God to his followers. Jesus commissioned them to complete the work he had begun. Practically, what does this mean? How do you and I, in the 21st century, carry out Jesus’ commission to be his witnesses to the world and his teachers to the nations? There are as many ways to do this as there are Christians. We can do what two 25-year-old university graduates did recently. After completing their degrees, one from Georgetown and the other from Marquette, they entered the Seminary. We can do what Albert Schweitzer did. At the age of 30 he abandoned his music career to study medicine and became a missionary doctor in Africa. We can do what the baseball coach of Spring Hill College, Alabama, did a few years back. At the age of 35 he resigned his position and began his studies for the priesthood. We can do what Mother Angelica did. In her 50s she began a religious television channel.Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’ May our lives reflect the mystery that God is beyond us yet within us! Fr. Jude [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
