Today would have been my father’s 87th birthday. But as many of you know, he left this world last November. Tomorrow, it will be the six month anniversary of his death. I’ll be honest with you, I miss him dearly. I miss the talks we had, both in person and on the phone. I miss his advice. And I miss his warm embrace when we hugged. And I’ll never forget the last words he said to me the night before he died. When we were done talking on the phone, he said, “So long.” It was his way of saying goodbye. How ironic that these were his final words to me.
He didn’t deliver a farewell discourse or any profound words like Jesus did before his ascension, but he did want me to move on by living a good and faithful life and to take care of my mother. I’m also trying to walk in my dad’s footsteps – which is an awesome responsibility. (I hope I’m doing ok, dad?)
Jesus gave us an awesome responsibility as well, and that is to move on with the mission. In his final earthly words, he was commissioning his disciples. And if we listen closely, we hear that he is speaking to us as well – because we too are his disciples! Let me break down his final words to us.
- Jesus wants to keep us in God’s name. In the Jewish tradition, the divine creator’s name was too sacred to say out loud. It was written YHWH or Adonai, which means “the Lord.” But Jesus revealed “the Lord” as Father and invited his disciples to remain in an intimate relationship between Father and Son. We too are invited into this intimate relationship. And for us, this happens through prayer. When we pray, we strengthen and deepen our relationship with God so that God the Father remains in us (just like my Father remains in me). And in this intimate relationship, God’s love is brought to perfection in us. When we pray, talk, and listen to God, amazing things begin to happen!
- Jesus wants to keep us away from the evil one. Jesus said, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” The devil thrives on hatred and doubt, false doctrine and evil deeds. When we gossip, use slanderous words, cheat, lie, bully, discriminate, lose our temper, etc., we are dancing with the devil. Let’s dare to be different. Let’s stand-up for what’s right and what we believe in! Like my dad told me: it’s about living a good and faithful life. If we can love one another, respect one another and treat others the way we want to be treated, we will send the evil one away with his tail between his legs.
- Lastly, Jesus calls us to move on with the mission. Jesus is the Word, and the Word is truth. Every time we read or hear the scriptures, we receive the truth. But what we do with this truth is what really matters. We just cannot stand around looking at the sky waiting for something to happen. Each of us is called to go out and evangelize to the world. But how? By following our baptismal calling by serving God by serving others. By placing the needs of other’s before our own. By doing the little things that make a difference in the lives of others. By spreading joy, peace, and love to a world that is in desperate need of these. It’s about living the Gospel and spreading the Good News by the way we live our lives.
The Ascension marks the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry; but our mission is just beginning. Each one of us has been hand-selected by God to be his disciple; and that’s an awesome responsibility and not always an easy thing to do. Sometimes, it’s frightening to carry on when a piece of our lives is missing. But that’s when we are reminded that God is always with us – with the help of the Holy Spirit – comforting us and guiding us every step of the way. May each of us be gifted with wisdom and understanding to hear our calling and then have the strength and courage to follow that calling so that we can move on with the mission.
