The Ascension of the Lord

CONTINUING THE WORK OF THE MASTER

Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23 or Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:19-23; Luke 24:46-53

Readings for the Solemnity of the Ascension

The great Italian composer Giacomo Puccini wrote his final opera “Turandot” when he was stricken with throat cancer. Puccini seemed to have had an inkling of the seriousness of his condition. Before leaving for Brussels for treatment, he visited his favourite student—Auturo Toscanini—and begged him: “Don’t let my ‘Turandot’ die.” He died a few days later. After his death, his disciples studied the score carefully and completed the opera. 

On 25 April 1926, Toscanini directed the world premiere of “Turandot” in Milan’s La Scala opera house. When the opera reached the point at which Puccini was forced to stop, Toscanini put down his baton, and tearfully told the audience: “Here the opera ends, because at this point the maestro died.” There was silence throughout the opera house. After a few minutes, Toscanini picked up the baton, smiled through his tears and said: “But his disciples finished his work.”

The story of “Turandot” is like the story of Christianity! Before Jesus completed his work of establishing the kingdom on earth, he died. But he rose again and before his ascension, asked his disciples to continue his work. 

The first verses of the first reading connect the Acts of the Apostles with the Gospel according to Luke: Jesus commissioned his disciples to be his witnesses and to continue the work of the Master.  

Right through the Acts of the Apostles, Luke will describe the way in which the disciples continue the work of the Master. It is a sort of déjà vu experience! The life of the disciples in the Acts mirrors—in striking ways—the public life of Jesus.

The Solemnity of the Ascension reminds us that Jesus calls us, like he called the disciples, to continue the work of the Master.

To continue our Master’s work, we—like Puccini’s disciples—must understand the score: the life and ministry of Jesus, as it has been handed down to us through scripture and tradition. 

However, unlike Puccini’s disciples, we are called to perform our Master’s opera not occasionally, but to live it every day; not in auditoriums, but in our families, work places, communities, churches, and society. 

Unlike Puccini’s disciples, we cannot say that we have finished the work of the Master; we can only continue it as best we can. The Master will finish it when he comes again. Until that day, “the disciples continue his work”!

Will I make the effort to understand the work of the Master? How will I continue the work of the Master?

VI Sunday of Easter

PEACE AMID STORMS

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23; John 14:23-29

Readings for the VI Sunday of Easter

A wealthy man commissioned an artist to paint a picture of peace. 

The artist painted a beautiful country scene: green fields with cattle; birds in a blue sky; a quaint village in the distance. The patron was disappointed and asked the artist to try again.

The artist returned to his studio, thought for several hours, and then painted a beautiful woman smiling lovingly at her sleeping child. “Surely this is true peace,” he thought and took the picture to the patron, who refused the painting.

The artist was discouraged, tired, angry. He thought and prayed. Then, he had a “eureka” moment and began painting. When he finished, he hurried to give the patron the painting. The patron studied it for several minutes and exclaimed: “Now this is a picture of true peace.”

What was this picture? It showed a stormy sea pounding against a cliff. In a crook in the cliff, was a small bird, safe and dry in her nest snuggled safely in the rocks. The bird was at peace amid the storm that raged about her.

This is the kind of peace that Jesus gives: not the peace of a spot in nature – beautiful and serene; not the peace of a mother and child – tender and gentle; but the peace of knowing that amid turmoil there is a rock which shelters us, a power that keeps us safe.

We yearn and pray for peace. But we look for peace as an end to things that disturb us, as an absence of turmoil and conflict.  

The Hebrew “shalom” is not the absence of things that disturb us but the removal of the cause of the disturbance! Peace is linked with wholeness: being “at one” with God, neighbour, self, and nature. This peace comes through a presence, here and now, that comforts us: the presence of the Spirit.

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles is a good example of the way in which the Spirit brings peace. The text details one of the first controversies in the Church: “Must a gentile become Jewish first to become a Christian?” The Jerusalem Council, under the direction of the Spirit, decided that gentiles would not have to become Jews to be members of the Church. Peace is not the absence of conflict but the resolution of conflict through the presence of the Spirit.

Is there conflict, turmoil, storms in my life? Let me surrender myself to the Spirit and allow his peace to fill my heart, a peace that comes from being “at one” with God, neighbour, self, and nature.

V Sunday of Easter

THE MARK OF A CHRISTIAN

Acts 14:21-27; Revelation 21:1-5a; John 13:31-33a, 34-35

Readings for the V Sunday of Easter

The renowned artist Paul Gustave Dore once lost his passport while travelling. When he came to a border crossing, he hoped the guard would recognize him and allow him to pass. The guard, however, said that many made false claims. Dore insisted that he was the man he claimed to be. The official said: “We’ll give you a test, and if you pass it, we’ll allow you to go through.” Handing him a pencil and a sheet of paper, he told the artist to sketch several peasants standing nearby. Dore did it so quickly and skilfully that the guard was convinced he was indeed the artist he claimed to be. Dore’s action confirmed his identity.

What is the identification mark of a Christian? 

For Jesus the identification mark of Christians is not the way we dress, not uniforms and habits, but the way we live: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples…” (John 13:34-5). Love is the Christian identification mark. 

Two things to note: 

First, Jesus’ command is not that we like one another. To like or not to like is rooted in our emotions; emotions do not respond to commands. The love of which Jesus speaks is a way of acting towards another that wills his/her good. Love is a decision and an action.

Second, Jesus gives us a standard to measure this love: “as I have loved you.” That is a lofty standard indeed! 

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles recounts how Paul and Barnabas lived this command: they travelled extensively to strengthen the spirit of the disciples. The result: they made a considerable number of disciples. 

It is up to us now to love like Jesus and to encourage one another as Paul and Barnabas did. May we live in such a way that through us people begin to have a glimpse of the unbounded and unconditional love that God has shown us in Christ.

Do I bear the Christian identification mark? What am I going to do to love those around me—in my family, in my community—as Jesus loved me?

IV Sunday of Easter

LED BY THE SHEPHERD

Acts 13:14, 43-52; Revelation 7:9, 14b-17; John 10:27-30 

Readings for the IV Sunday of Easter

Barbara Taylor narrates a conversation she had with a friend who grew up on a sheep farm. He contends that sheep are not dumb: “The cattle ranchers are responsible for spreading that ugly rumour, and all because sheep do not behave like cows. Cows are herded from the rear by hooting cowboys with cracking whips, but that will not work with sheep. Stand behind them making loud noises and all they will do is run around behind you, because they prefer to be led. You push cows, but you lead sheep, and they will not go anywhere that someone else does not go first—namely, their shepherd—who goes ahead of them to show them that everything is all right.”

Jesus knew what he was saying when he used the shepherd-sheep analogy! 

Shepherds have names for their sheep and know their personality. Isolated for days with his herd, the shepherd talks and sings to them, and sleeps among them. Shepherds may place several flocks in one sheepfold. But when the shepherd calls out, the sheep of his flock will sort themselves and follow him; they follow their shepherd only. Shepherds do not need brands to recognize their sheep!

When Jesus uses the shepherd-sheep analogy, it’s consoling; it’s a wonderful and loving image of care and protection! Our shepherd knows us: he knows us personally. 

He calls out to us. But in this sheepfold called the world, many voices call out to us: materialism and consumerism, regionalism and communalism. False shepherds make promises of love, happiness, and security, if only I follow one path or another. 

If you and I are his sheep, we will listen to his voice and follow him. We will not let the hooting and loud noises of the world and its values drive us; we will not let our passions and fears drive us.

How do we discern the voice of the shepherd? We form and listen to our conscience, the voice of our shepherd within us! Pope Francis calls it “the most secret core and sanctuary of a person. There each one is alone with God, whose voice echoes in the depths of the heart.” We need to rediscover this secret core!

What happens when we follow our shepherd? We have eternal life; we shall never perish—through sorrow and suffering, we will survive; we will always be in the hands of Jesus and the Father! What more can we want? What more do we need?

Will I listen to my shepherd’s voice and follow him?