Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Osmond Anike

Readings:

First Reading: Acts 1:12-14 – The apostles all joined in continuous prayer.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 26(27):1, 4, 7-8 – I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

Second Reading:1 Peter 4:13-16 – It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ.

Gospel: John 17:1-11 – Father, it is time for you to glorify me.

The ascension of Christ must have been particularly difficult for his disciples. It is true that it didn’t come to them as a surprise because Jesus not only told them of it severally, but equally gradually prepared them for it in the series of his appearances to them after the resurrection. Yet, when the reality dawned on them, they appeared at a loss about what next. In today’s first reading, fresh from the Mount of Olives from where Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles appeared like chicks whose mother had been killed. They were overwhelmed by the realization that their leader was no longer physically with them. As their father and the head of their family, they had always leaned on Jesus for practically everything. Despite the violence and persecution they witnessed in the days leading to his passion, they felt secure and protected with his presence. But with him “gone”, they were exposed to even more violent persecution. However, they were certain of one thing: their chance of survival depended on their togetherness. For this reason, instead of dispersing to their different homes as they did after his crucifixion, they headed back to Jerusalem, to the upper room as a body and stayed together. It is interesting that the names of the apostles were mentioned again one by one, to show that none of them was missing except the one who betrayed him and subsequently hung himself – Judas Iscariot. Every single one of the remaining apostles joined in prayers in the upper room, together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus. Mention is made of Jesus’ brothers. But this has to be understood not in the modern English restricted concept of people from the same father and mother, but rather in the broader Jewish concept of relations where both close and distant relations (uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.) are all referred to as brothers and sisters.

Why did they go back to Jerusalem to stay in the upper room? Perhaps they did not understand the mandatum magnum that Jesus gave them as a parting instruction in Mt. 28:16-20 to go make disciples of all the nations and to proclaim the good news to the whole world. On the contrary, the mandate was very clear to them. But before starting that mandate, they needed to solidify themselves with prayer. Jesus started his own ministry with prayer and fasting, and they wanted to follow in the footstep of their master. Moreover, Jesus also told them not to leave Jerusalem until they had received what the Father had promised. It was within this period of solidification with prayer that the Holy Spirit descended on them. And with the gift of the Holy Spirit that he bequeathed on them, Jesus has taught them that a father isn’t necessarily someone you lean on but rather someone who rids you of your tendency to lean. They leaned on Jesus for practically everything. Even when Jesus had given them power to do many things, they still couldn’t tap into that power because of their tendency to lean. Now that this tendency had been ridded through his physical withdrawal, they discovered the potentials hidden in them. From then on, it was time to fulfil that great mandate of going into the whole world to proclaim the good news.

In our zeal as Christians to proclaim the good news to the whole world, we sometimes forget that two things are essential for efficacy of our mission: first, we have to wait in prayer for the Holy Spirit of God to descend on us before we venture into the world. Secondly, we have to stay united with the rest of our “brothers and sisters” and not pretend to do our things our own way. Any person who is pretending to preach the good news and is not first filled with the Holy Spirit is a fake preacher and a danger to the whole church. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is not to auto proclaim oneself as the true “messenger” of God. In fact, the more one proclaims oneself as a “prophet”, the less prophetic and less credible that person becomes. The world is sick and tired of the so-called “men of God” and “women of God” who seek to proclaim themselves by touting their own “spiritual powers” and “prophetic” prowess. Such people can be of better use to humanity by channeling their energy to companies and parastatals as advertising and sales agents, not as preachers of the gospel. What the world needs are people who, as St. Peter indicated in the second reading, can have some share in the sufferings of Christ. He stated that “it is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you”. This is exactly what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It has nothing to do with the abracadabra type of advertisement that hoodwinks people into worshiping the so-called “prophets” and “men of God” as cult personalities. All that many of these cult personalities seek is their own glory, not suffering.

But as we have learnt from the second reading, the greatest joy is joy gotten through suffering. This is why if you didn’t suffer for a thing, you won’t enjoy it. The concept of Christianity includes suffering. To bear Christ’s name is to accept suffering. The symbol of Christianity is the symbol of the cross; and sign of cross symbolizes suffering. He who refuses to suffer cannot be glorified because Christ first suffered, leaving us an example. When Jesus said in the gospel of today, “Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son”, he was not talking of the hour of his ascending into the glory of God; he was talking of the hour of his suffering. He was talking of his passion. It is through that suffering that he would be ultimately glorified. Unfortunately when we Christians state today that the hour has come, we quickly cast our minds to the so-called “hour of prosperity”, “hour of breakthrough”, “hour of miracle”, etc. Hardly do we ever think of the “hour of suffering” as Jesus was thinking of in the gospel. The reason is obvious: we erroneously associate suffering with “lack of spiritual power” (whatever that means). We have not come to associate suffering with the raison d’être of Christianity. The day we are ready to accept suffering as an intrinsic part of our faith, that day we shall have been filled with the Holy Spirit. And when we are filled with the Spirit, we shall realize that in Christian evangelization, the “we” takes precedence over the “me”.