Just imagine the state of the disciples as Jesus was lifted up and a cloud took him from their sight. They can't possibly want him to go. Yet, after forty days on earth after the Resurrection, Jesus leaves his
disciples with a legacy: to embody his
presence here on earth, in the flesh, and to be his witnesses... to the ends of the earth.
Mark’s gospel describes Jesus sending his disciples forth to
proclaim with conviction that Love, the Love that is God, is real, a reality
they themselves are living. We, the
heirs of that legacy, are called to live that love fully, for if we enter
deeply enough into Love, nothing – not serpents, or deadly poison, or illness,
or death – will frighten us. The only
thing that opens us up, that coaxes us out of our fear, out of our darkness,
drawing us to union, is Love. This is
the Good News, the Gospel Jesus
instructs the disciples to proclaim.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is grounded in his
understanding of this Good News. In this
letter, to know God is to be in intimate relationship with God, a relationship from which we
gain understanding. Knowledge of God pulls us from
darkness, from our spiritual blindness, such that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened. This is possible because we know the hope that belongs to his call, which is God’s love for
us. Insofar as we are capable of
grounding ourselves in this Love, we are asked to do something radical: to live in community, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one
another through love…. one body and
one Spirit.
It is no longer time to stand
there looking at the sky – Jesus is risen, he has ascended, and we are now called to go forth, to build up the body of Christ as we, too, proclaim the Good News!
No comments:
Post a Comment