You can do this

Homily for May 28, 2017 (Ascension of the Lord)
Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20

            “Where do I start?”  That’s a question that people often ask when given a new job, task or mission.  I recently had a conversation with someone who had been appointed to a leadership position at a ministry in which he had served for several years.  Even though he was familiar with the ministry and the role he had been asked to assume, he now found himself in the position of being “the man” and he could feel the weight of responsibility that carried.

            I suspect that Jesus’ disciples felt something similar as he prepared to leave them and ascend to heaven.  Sure, they had been around him for years.  They had seen what he had done, heard what he preached, reflected on what he had taught; and they had supported him.  They also had to admit that when the proverbial chips were down and he was arrested, tortured and executed, almost all of them had run away.  Now he was handing on his mission to them and sending them forth. Even as he assured them of his continued support and presence, they had mixed feelings.  As St. Matthew aptly put it, “they worshipped, but they doubted.”

            Most of us can relate to that ambivalence.  We, too, know what Jesus said and did; and we trust that the Holy Spirit he promised to give to his disciples is still active.  We gather to worship and we are strengthened in the Eucharist.  Yet as we consider the challenges of discipleship and how we live day-to-day, and as we recall how we can often come up short as followers of the Lord, we can doubt.

            Our celebration of the Ascension of the Lord is his assurance that, “You can do this.”  In St. Luke’s recollection of the Ascension in Acts 1, as Jesus told the disciples to be his witnesses “to the ends of the earth,” he didn’t demand that they do it all right away.  Instead they could keep it simple and start where they were:  Jerusalem and then Judea and Samaria.  We can also start close to home.  Indeed, our own homes and communities are the first place to start—and often the most challenging!  

            The good news is that we don’t do this alone.  The Spirit is with us and, as church, we are with each other.  One of the most important ways we express this is through the gift of prayer.  Today’s second reading is a beautiful prayer that the author of the Letter to the Ephesians offered for the church.  As we move toward our celebration of Pentecost in the coming week, spend some time with that prayer.  Reflect and give thanks for how you have already seen it fulfilled, and ask God to continue to send the gifts of hope, wisdom, knowledge and faith to carry out the mission you’ve been given.

            You can do this.  We all can—with the help of the Lord. +