Fr Luke Macnamara osb
Some time ago, when on a train, I sat opposite a young woman. She was giving a final farewell through the window to her boyfriend on the platform. As the train pulled away she kept her eyes on him, stretching and squinting until he eventually faded from view. At that precise moment she rested back in her seat and closed her eyes for a good five minutes. She wanted to treasure and savour the memory. When she opened her eyes, she smiled broadly – happy to engage again with the world. Although her boyfriend was no longer present, she was fully conscious of his love for her.
How must the disciples have felt when the Lord was taken up into heaven? They were looking all the time that Jesus was being taken up into heaven and even after he has disappeared from view. Two angels direct their gaze back to earth with the promise that Jesus will return. The angels’ words confirm that their longing will be satisfied – Jesus will be with them again.
The disciples had grown accustomed to Jesus’ physical presence among
them. As we all know when we lose someone dear to us, a spouse or child, a grandparent, parent, or sibling, or a close friend, it is very hard to adjust to their absence. The more we love someone, the more we miss them. The special love shared between Jesus and the disciples must have made his absence all the harder. However, love has a way of bridging the gap.
Jesus, before his ascension, in his final instructions to his disciples sends them out to proclaim the Good News. As a caring parent gives instruction to a child when starting school, university, or perhaps a first job, so Jesus gives instruction to his disciples. Those who believe are to be baptised. Believers will be recognised as they will speak and act with the same power with which Jesus spoke and acted when he was with them.
Jesus reassures the disciples that they do not go out alone but that, wherever they go, he the Lord will be working with them and in them. The Lord is no longer a companion on the road as he was on the way to Emmaus. Through belief and baptism, Jesus is in and with each disciple every moment of every day. The relationship with Jesus is not broken by his ascension. It becomes closer than we could possibly imagine. We need not worry about the booming message of the train station loudspeaker “mind the gap.” Jesus’ love for us bridges every gap. Through faith and baptism Jesus’ love for us finds its full flourishing. The words of St Patrick’s prayer, on the wall in in his chapel on your left, are fulfilled – Críost liom, Críost romham, Críost i mo dhiaidh, Críost ionam, Críost fúm, Críost os mo chionn – Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.
The words of the Lord in this Gospel are taken up in the final words that conclude the Mass: “Go out and proclaim the Good News.” We leave not only with this task but also equipped with the power of Christ to complete it. In a world so in need of the Gospel, may that power come to expression in our lives.
May this Good News find a home through us in our families, communities, the newly arrived immigrants, and in the people whose lives have been torn apart by war in Gaza and Ukraine. Go out and proclaim the Good News.