Ascension, May 4, 2008
04/05/08 21:59
Ascension
May 4, 2008
Mission: Possible – Looking Out, Not Just Up
Today, on this Ascension Thursday, we have a special treat. Several of our teen-agers have prepared a skit for us today. Let’s give them a big applause! [Skit – text of skit is at the end of this homily]
On the screen, it says “Mission: Possible.” How many here have seen the movie, “Mission Impossible”? It’s an adventure/spy movie, and it always begins with a tape recorded message in which our hero spy – Tom Cruise, in the movie – receives instructions for a seemingly impossible mission, which he must choose to accept or not. Today, on the Feast of the Ascension, Jesus gives us a mission – but unlike in the movie, it is not an impossible mission. Our gospel today tells us, “Go, make disciples of all nations.” But we do it with God’s help – “I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Here’s how: Look out, not just up. And that’s what our skit was about. Juan was just looking up, waiting for God’s phone call, but not really following God, not looking out. So he missed God when he knocked.
How many Christians miss God’s knock? They don’t embrace God’s mission and plan and purpose for their lives. They are spectators, not participators. The Lord wants us to be missionaries, not spiritual couch potatoes!
Next week is Pentecost Sunday, our yearly celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Don’t forget to dress in red – the color of the Holy Spirit. But more important than the externals, than our clothing – let your life be filled with the Holy Spirit, with God’s power and energy. Next week we’ll talk about that, about living life passionately, as God wants us to do. Today, on this feast of the Ascension, we’re given a prelude to Pentecost, a foretaste. And I want us to ponder a simple but profound question: What if you had only a month to live?
Let’s start with some good news: You’re all here, alive and well. You’re not dead yet! But now: Some bad news. Not everyone is here. On in any given week in our church, we lose two, three, four people who were here last Sunday, but not this Sunday. Two, three, four funerals a week. Just today, I received a call from a woman whose husband has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He’s 52, just a year older than me. He’s not yet baptized, hasn’t made his first communion, isn’t confirmed, and they aren’t yet married in church – so she asked if we could get all that done quickly, in the next few weeks.
I have some really good news: It’s never too late, for God. Think of the thief on the cross next to Jesus. He asked Jesus’ forgiveness, and the Lord told him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” For God, it’s never too late, as long as we still are alive on this earth, even to the last few seconds. For God, it’s never too late until it really is too late. Thank goodness! But I have another question: Why wait? Why postpone? Why take a chance on waiting until the very last moment?
Time is the most precious commodity God gives us. It’s more valuable than gold. Once time has past, it can never be recovered. It rushes on, so use it wisely. What needs to change in your life? And more importantly, when?
Last week, I heard another preacher talking about time. He was laughing at how our measurement of time changes as the years go by. Now that I’m 51, it seems like the years just zip by, a lot faster than when I was 14 or 15 or 21. Anyone here a parent of an infant or a toddler? How do you measure time? He’s 1 ½. She’s 2 and 3 months. But then we get older: “I’m almost 16.” Well, in truth, you’re only 14, but still, “I’m almost 16.” We want to get older. We want to get that driver’s license. Then: I’m “becoming 21.” Old enough to buy a beer, go to a bar. But notice what comes next: I’ve just turned 30. It sounds like sour milk – I just turned 30. Then, time starts to speed up: I’m pushing 40, I’ve reached 50, I’ve made it to 60, I’ve hit 70. Sounds like some sort of crash into a brick wall! After that, it’s just survival mode – “I’ve hit Wednesday; I’ve hit the bathroom.” And after 80 – “I’ve reached bedtime, Hallelujah!” For those who make it past 80, time starts to go in reverse again – “I was just 90.” And then, for those lucky few who make it past 100, we’re back to being like small children again – “I’m 100 ½!”
We laugh, but time is our most precious commodity. Fr. John lent me a video last week. Watch it with me. [Show the video of the Dash – the dash when we die between our birth date and our death date]
How are you using your dash? Are you looking out, or just up. Let’s look at the Bible, at the example that Jesus himself gave to us. In Luke’s gospel, we hear this: As the time drew near for his return to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. – Luke 9:51, NLT. Notice: Jesus knew he was about to leave, to ascend back to heaven and be with his Father, but where was his attention focused? Horizontally, looking out, not up, resolutely heading back to Jerusalem and his disciples.
In our first reading today, the story of the Ascension in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles: Read this with me. Jesus is speaking: “You will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Two key points here: First, we have God’s power with us and in us; but second, we are called to a Mission – Mission possible, not impossible – to be witnesses of Jesus.
Where? Jerusalem. That’s where the disciples lived. That was home. How are we witnesses for Jesus in our homes – to our spouses, with our kids? What spiritual legacy are we leaving them? Are we training our kids in the path of God’s righteousness? Are we leaving them a lasting and eternal legacy of faith?
But not just Jerusalem – also Judea. That’s the area, the region. Are we witnesses for Jesus at our workplaces, at our schools, when we are shopping, with our neighbors?
And then – Samaria. That’s the next area out. Maybe that’s here in our church, or in our community. Am I serving? Am I giving? Or am I just a sponge, a taker?
Finally – “to the ends of the earth.” Our Mini-Retreat 401 is entitled “Alive in the World!” and we begin the retreat with a prayer, entitled “We are World Christians!” Not all of us are called to go across the globe as missionaries, but all of us are called to care about the world, to educate ourselves, to vote, to defend Christian values in the marketplace and in the political arena. What about abortion, or immigrant rights, or the war in Iraq, or just wages, or universal health care, or ending racism, or global warming? As Christians, we are called to care – and to work, as best we can, for the Reign of God, not the Reign of the Almighty Dollar!
Let’s keep reading in Acts: When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem.” – Acts 1:8-12, NAB
The disciples were caught, figuratively speaking, with their pants down -- looking up, not out. Don’t get me wrong: We need to look up to God. We need to pray, read the Bible, go to church, attend our small faith communities. But that’s not all! Our looking up is meant to help us to look out, to see the needs of the world, and as Christians, to start to meet those needs and to become living witnesses for Jesus and contagious Christians in the world.
What are the obstacles? On your handouts, I’ve mentioned three:
♣ First, the myth of “someday.” You know it: “Someday” I’ll volunteer for a church ministry; “someday” I’ll join a Bible study group; “someday” I’ll start tithing; “someday” I’ll attend the mini-retreats. And not just with church things: “Someday” I’ll slow down and quite that second job so I can spend more time with my spouse and kids; “someday” I’ll work to curb my anger, or that drinking problem; “someday” I’ll spend less and become more responsible financially; “someday”… My friend, “someday” usually never comes, unless you make your “someday” today. We tell ourselves: The time isn’t right. There will never, ever, ever, be a perfect time in the future. The only “perfect” time is now.
♣ Second obstacle: Fear. We’re in an economic recession, which makes fear even worse: Will I have enough to provide for my family, keep up on the house payments, pay for the gas for the car? Jesus tells us not to fear, but to trust in him. That does not mean we won’t have problems. Christians get sick, lose their jobs, have their houses repossessed, face bankruptcy, just like anyone else. But there is a big difference: They are not alone. They have God on their side, and God’s family, the church. They have Jesus’ promise not to abandon them. They can rest easier, less stress, less worry. Last week, I heard about a Christian family that did lose their home. You would think they would be completely at wit’s end – but no! They wrote: “It was no fun losing our home. I would not wish that on anyone. But another family in our church offered us a home to rent, and we can now afford our payments. We’re less stressed than before. We still have our marriage, our children, our faith intact. We’re making it, and God is with us.”
♣ A third obstacle: The Lure of Comfort. We live in a society where we become too complacent, too accustomed to our creature comforts, unwilling to take a chance, to risk, to venture out and try something new and different.
Here’s the antidote, from our gospel today.
♣ First: Trust in God’s power. Jesus tells us: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” … Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20, NAB)
♣ Second: Go! This passage from the Bible is called “the Great Commission.” Repeat with me: “The Great Commission.” It means Jesus is “commissioning” or “sending us out” on mission – mission possible, not impossible: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-20, NAB)
Now, let’s get really practical – some concrete ways to become active in our faith – to look out, not just up:
♣ Today, we have Mini-Retreat 301, “Alive and Gifted!” Sometimes we don’t know where to turn to get involved, but Mini-Retreat 301 is designed to help us. This retreat helps us look at our gifts, talents, skills, interests – our unique SHAPE, how God has shaped and made us – and how to match that shape with opportunities for ministry. It’s from 3 to 8 p.m. in the rooms behind the church.
♣ Our pick up a bulletin. On the front cover is a list of many ministries here in our church, and the contact phone numbers for the coordinators of those ministries.
♣ Or, finally, on your handout, I’ve listed some new ministries that are just getting started, along with contact phone numbers: A new program to promote healthy living in our parish; tutoring of kids after school; a new program for middle school kids; visiting prisons; visiting juvenile hall; our Sunday’s children’s ministry program; a new program to help those who’ve experienced a divorce; a follow up team for our campaign to build a new church; a new program for spiritual direction and counseling; and a new team to promote vocations to the priesthood and to religious life.
The bottom line is this: Live as if you only have a month to live. Don’t waste your dash. Get involved. Get moving. Embrace God’s mission “possible” in your life. Time won’t stand still.
Maybe you caught the movie just recently with Jack Nicholson, “The Bucket List.” Nicholson is dying, so he creates a “bucket list” – a list of things he wants to do before he dies. But in the movie, the most important thing is not a “thing” at all – it’s restoring the broken relationship he has with his daughter.
For us, too, the most important things in life are not “things” at all, but rather, our relationships – with God, with others. Look up, not just out. God is calling, but are we listening?
SKIT:
Characters: God
Juan
Teen #1
Beggar
Teen #2
Props: Table Tape Player
Chair CD or cassette of rap music
Bed or Sofa CD or cassette of Christian music
Microphones Girlie poster
Text books Christian Poster or Crucifix
Bible Girlie magazine
Wad of Money Coin
Telephone Kleenex
Teen is sitting in his room. Rap music is playing. He is bouncing to the beat of the music. Phone rings.
Juan: Hello.
God: Juan, this is God calling. Can I speak with you for a few moments.
Juan: Sure . . . But who is this, really?
God: I told you. This is God.
Juan: God who?
God: God, the almighty, the creator of heaven and earth. I’m calling to let you know that I will be visiting you today at your house.
Juan: At my house? Today? – Is this for real?
God: Yes, Juan. This is very real. I will see you sometime later today. Be ready. Goodbye.
Juan: Goodbye.
Juan hangs up the phone. He looks panicked. He gets up and starts to make changes. First, he changes the rap music to Christian music. Then he takes down the girlie poster and replaces it with a crucifix or a Christian poster. Then he tosses a girlie magazine under the table or bed or desk. Then he starts rummaging for a Bible, looking under table and chair and saying in low voice, “I know I have a Bible here somewhere. Where did I put it?” Finally, when he finds it under a table or chair, he blows the dust off of it in dramatic fashion, places it prominently on a table, then breathes a sigh of relief, sits down and says in a loud voice, “Ready!” He sits down impatiently, drumming his fingers, looking at his watch, waiting and waiting . . . but nothing happens.
After a minute, someone knocks on the door. He answers it.
Teen #1: Juan, Juan, help me! I have a big math test tomorrow, and I’m flunking math. I heard you were good at
math. This is a real emergency. Could you help me?
Juan: Not now, Isabel. I’m expecting someone real important. Come back some other day.
Juan almost pushes her out the door, slamming the door behind her. He again sits down, impatiently tapping his fingers and looking at his watch. Again, there is a knock at the door.
Juan: Who is it? [Opens door] . . . What do YOU want?
Beggar: Sir, I’m down on my luck and haven’t eaten for three days. Would you be so kind as to give me some food, or some money to buy something to eat?
Juan: Not now! I’m busy. Here . . . [Juan reaches into his pocket, pulls out a stack of bills, prominently waves them in front of the man, then puts them back in his pocket, pulls out a small coin and gives it to the man in an angry way]
Now get going. Hurry up – I have things to do!
[Juan slams door, goes back to waiting until there is another knock]
Juan: What now? Maybe this is God . . . finally!
[Juan opens door. Teen #2 is almost in tears]
Teen #2: Juan, can you help me? My boyfriend just broke up with me, and I don’t know what to do. You’re my only friend in the whole world. Do you have a few moments so we can talk.
Juan: Sure, sure, Anita. Don’t worry. Here’s a Kleenex. [Juan gives her a quick pat on the back, then starts to push her out the door]
Don’t you feel better now? Everything will work out. Just hang in there!
[Juan goes back to waiting. Time goes by. He is impatient. He starts muttering to himself: Where is God? \
Finally, the phone rings again and he lunges for it]
Juan: Hello, hello! Who is it?
God: It’s me, God.
Juan: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I CLEANED MY ROOM! I’VE BEEN WAITING ALL DAY FOR YOU. WHEN ARE YOU COMING?
God: But Juan . . . I visited you three times today. But each time, you shut the door on me.
++ END ++