May 24, 2020

Homily – Feast of the Ascension

Father Peter Gideon

“May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you.”

Spring days are such a relief after the cold and wet of winter. They create the opportunity for a time when we sit and pause to look around us. The green shoots of the new life by which we are surrounded is encouraging and we might even feel the heat of the sun on our faces. Such signs of Easter have been with us since we celebrated that wonderful feast. Forty days later, the feast of the Ascension of the Lord is a time when it is good, perhaps, to sit in a graveyard and reflect on those we have loved and who have gone before us. There we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. In a local churchyard we see the graves and rediscover the memories of families, friends, other members of the parish community and those we have known and loved. All have influenced our lives in different ways. Some memories may be joyful and evoke memories of love, care and friendship. Others might be more painful as we recall friction, arguments and breakdowns of relationships. Yet all are part of our lives and many belong to the great cloud of Christian witnesses who have lived their faith as best they can amidst all the vagaries and crooked lines which make up daily life.

All these lives can be entrusted to God who redeems the world and promises the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. This feast is full of hope and joy. The Ascension of the Lord is a feast on which to pray for them because God promises an eternal future in heaven. Jesus’ ascension is the promise of an inheritance which is given to those who believe in him, whether throughout their lives or only at the very end. We can enter into the mystery of Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father.

When Jesus ascends into heaven, there is the temptation to think that he has left us. We might then think of absence rather than presence. The mystery of this feast is that it is more about presence than absence. Jesus ascends into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. The Holy Spirit is sent into our hearts so that we can respond to the invitation of God and follow Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life. Christ remains ever present to us through the Holy Spirit and walks with us on our pilgrimage of life. He is closer to us than ourselves. Christ remains present in his body which is the Church. He gives us his word in the scriptures and tradition of the Church and is close to us whenever we read the Bible. He is most closely present to us in his body and blood in Holy Communion. Today we can rejoice in his presence rather than lament his absence. His final command to his disciples is to go forth and spread the Gospel to the ends of the world. At baptism we become members of the Church, members of his body and are promised an inheritance with the saints in heaven.

This feast gives hope to those who are dying or bereaved. It reveals to us the promise of life in heaven. It promises the mercy of God and the forgiveness of sins when we recognise them and repent. It promises that God will never abandon us, even though we may abandon God. We can trust that God remains open to our change and conversion unless we finally refuse this gift.

This feast also looks forward and prepares us for the feast of Pentecost when we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We can look towards heaven and see the way in which the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son to draw us into the Father’s love. The Holy Spirit prompts us into finding ways to spread the Gospel. Often this will be through the witness of love lived out in families and small steps that build better relationships. In this way we become missionary disciples of Christ. We are asked to proclaim our faith. A word of hope, a word of encouragement, the small steps of love all give hope and speak of the promise we believe. Truly, the Ascension of the Lord is a feast when we can rejoice with the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us.