The Ascension Of The Lord Reflection
Franciscan Reflections From The Hermitage – The Ascension Of The Lord – (Matthew 28:16-20)
Having put into their hands a summary of Christian teaching, which is expressed in the form of baptism, the risen Lord commanded the disciples to go forth into the whole world. With Jesus’ resurrection, his own proper glory is again restored, following his humiliation. Jesus reminded his disciples of the consummation of all things, so that they would not look at the present dangers only but also at the good things to come that last forever. He promised to be not only with these disciples but also with all who would subsequently believe after them (Chrysostom).
Today’s gospel reading from Matthew was coined in the 17th Century as the ‘great commission’.
(1) Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.”
(2) Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
(3) Luke 24:45, “repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations.”
(4) Acts 1:8, “…and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
There is a long-standing and often bitter debate regarding the exegesis, hermeneutics and the polemics that have been used, or … depending on your view … abused, by the proponents of missionary activity coupled to slavery, conquest and colonisation… the terror of gunboats escorting missionary zeal.
In Mark, this great commission commands the disciples of Jesus to go and proclaim the good news to ALL of creation. As Franciscans, we see this as a reflection of God’s love that extends to all of creation and all life … all life.
The Great Commission and the Ascension … Now is the Universal Christ present in every space and time, close to each one of us. In our lives we are never alone… we have this Advocate who awaits us and defends us.
We are never alone. In Jesus the Christ, risen and ascended into Heaven, we have an Advocate in every corner of space and time as we have the hope of our own destiny … a destiny coupled with ALL creation.
What is this relationship or interdependence between our destiny and that of the creation, of the nature in which we live? Is there a connection of interdependence between our destiny and that of the creation?
The basis of the solidarity between our destiny and that of creation is found in the Creator Logos, and later within the embodied Word of God. God has placed a sense and a reason of being within every reality, and the reasons of all things are closely connected to the supreme Reason, the Word or Logos of the Source of Being.
Pope Francis’s encyclical – Laudato Si’ – (“Be praised” or “Praise be to you”) titled on a line from the Canticle of the Creatures by St. Francis of Assisi, is addressed to every person on the planet. The challenge to all humanity is to discover anew the truth that God’s love and liberation are for all of Creation, not just for humanity, and to seek new ways of living that restore balance, justice and hope to our endangered planet.
“Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will; or, even less, is the property of only a few. Creation is a wonderful gift that God has given us, so that we care for it and we use it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude… “When we exploit Creation we destroy the sign of God’s love for us, in destroying Creation we are saying to God: ‘I don’t like it! This is not good!’ ‘So what do you like?’ ‘I like myself!’ – Here, this is sin! Do you see?” POPE FRANCIS
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