Ascension of the Lord
In Sunday's readings, we hear two versions of the risen Jesus's departure and return to His and our Father. He tells His followers that they are to continue His work, to preach in word and example His Good News that God is our loving and forgiving Father. They are to be His witnesses that the Kingdom of God has been established here and now on our earth.
In the Spiritual Exercises St. Ignatius has us pray the Meditation on the Two Standards. He encourages us to compare and contrast the instructions that Satan and Jesus speak to their followers. Satan sends out demons and I would expect Jesus to send angels but He doesn't. He sends His disciples, He sends us. Like the apostles at His ascension, He tells us to continue His work, His mission of proclaiming and living out the Kingdom of God in our daily lives. He wants others to recognize Him in us, in our love and compassion, our forgiveness and reconciling, our peacefulness and efforts to foster justice.
Let us take consolation and confidence from Mark's description of their experience: "But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs."
-Fr. Ralph Huse, SJ
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