My nephew Cesar and niece Paula, who I went to visit in January in Germany, are the two younger children of my oldest sister Cecilia. The oldest sibling is my niece, Julie. When Julie was about to leave town for college, Cesar, who is the middle child, saw an opportunity. Without his oldest sister home, he was looking forward to doing then what he was prevented from doing with Julie in town. He put it in these terms, “I become now the king of the house”.
I recalled this story from my nephew this week as I reflected on the readings for today’s solemnity. In the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Luke wrote, “While they (the disciples) were looking intently at the sky as he (the Lord) was going, suddenly two men in white garments stood beside them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus…will return in the same way as you have seeing him going into heaven’” (Acts 1: 10-11). The two men in white garments were angels who came to deliver the message. Theologians say the words “why are you standing there looking at the sky?” are the same as saying, “there is no time to lose; get busy doing what the Lord told you to do”.
During those three years the Lord spent in his public life, in the company of the disciples, he was the leader, he was the one who was at the center of the stage, performing the play, if you will, in theater terms. Once the Lord ascended back to heaven, the stage became open for others to take the center place. Like my nephew, without his older sister at home who would take the center place, the disciples also took the center place in the drama of salvation history at the beginning of the Church. Acts of the Apostles is the remarkable narration of the way the Apostles went preaching and performing miracles in the name of the Lord.
The fact that God entrusted the most important mission on earth, namely, the salvation of souls, to a group of humble men from Galilee, most of them fishermen by trait, is something that always makes people wonder. God’s wisdom confounds the clever. God’s trust in humanity is immense. God’s election of the humble is a pattern throughout history. Pope Saint John XXIII, for example, was born in a family of humble peasants in Italy. By God’s design, he became one of the most influential persons of the church in the 20th century. God has called you, has called me, too, to be the Lord’s disciples of today and entrusted to us the continuation of the Church mission here at this parish.
Theologians tell us that after the Lord’s Ascension the stage is open for us to perform. The greatest performers in history have been the saints. They give us an example in fulfilling the Lord’s mandate. The Word of God challenges us today to do our part in the drama of salvation history with humility and faithfulness as the disciples and the saints did.
Acts of the Apostles tells us that after the Lord’s Ascension, the disciples return to Jerusalem to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Prayer, focused on the action and gifts of the Holy Spirit in us, is the first step of the mission of the Church. The Risen Lord through the action of the Holy Spirit is who refreshes our spirits and renews us in our ministries.
Let us humbly ask the Lord to grant us the gift of prayer in anticipation of our mission. Let us also ask him to strengthen us to fulfil the mission entrusted to us.