“And I am with you always until the end of the age.”
Fr. Ron Rolheiser, the great Catholic theologian and priest from Canada,
shares a reflection on the Ascension
that is particularly powerful and insightful.
He says that the Ascension is more than a feast day or an event
but rather an introduction to a new, a new theology, a new spirituality,
a new mindset of how to be a disciple in the world.
Rolheiser says that Jesus introduces a way in which
we enter into a paradoxical interplay in our lives
between the things that happen, to live with the paradox of life.
The paradox of life and death;
of presence and absence;
of love and loss.
Jesus is trying to teach the disciples this new way,
this new way to be a disciple;
a new mindset or spirituality of how to be a disciple.
Bear in mind, Jesus has risen from the dead at this point
and he has been with them now for 40 days;
this is the Ascension and he is lifted up into heaven,
departing from them but he will return
with the gift of the Holy Spirit in 10 more days,
which we will celebrate next Sunday on Pentecost.
In this week in between, we are called to do
what the disciples are called to do,
which is to ponder this new way;
to ponder it more deeply in our heart;
let it soak in and marinate in our soul;
and what it means for us in our own life as the disciples had to do.
The gift of the Spirit is very real in our life
but we sometimes get distracted with so many things in our life.
These last two nights, we hosted this powerful musical called
“Job: The Now Testament” by John Angotti
with a whole cast from all over the country.
The story is about why bad things happen to good people;
and where is God in the midst of all the suffering in the world,
and most particularly in our lives?
Where is God in that suffering?
It goes through the story of Job
relating it to a more-modern day story of Aaron.
In the end, it assures us that in those difficult times;
it deals with the very paradox of life:
what do we do in the midst of suffering and pain
and lack of understanding as to why it all happens
whether it be to others or even to us.
The ultimate message is to hold on, hold onto love.
Because it is love that gets us through.
Love of each other.
Love of God.
Ultimately that is the message of Jesus
that he brings powerful focus to today in this feast of the Ascension.
As I was reflecting on both the musical these last few nights
and this feast day today, I had to reflect on my own life;
and the losses in my own life.
You know the way on our phones work, we have favorites or fast dials.
I realized over these last 18 months,
there are four people on that list that are now dead.
And I’m going “Wow!
Maybe this Job musical is touching me in a way I wasn’t figuring on.”
With the death of the Bishop Emeritus McGrath this week,
my brother, my spiritual director and a friend,
Four people are gone from my list. Yikes!
I actually have not taken their names off that list yet.
When I go to dial someone on my list,
I’m going “Hmmm maybe I need to take that name off.”
And it is sort of that interesting interplay of paradox
that I feel the loss but I also can feel the love.
I can feel their absence and yet I yearn for their presence.
I acknowledge that they are dead but somehow,
I feel they are very much alive in spirit.
We all end up dealing with it in our own way.
The only way any of us is able
to plumb the message of this Ascension
is to enter into that paradox of our own lives;
to enter into that both/and and not the either/or;
to enter into the paradox
and acknowledge that God is in the midst of all of it.
God never abandons us.
That is the whole story of the musical last night.
It was all about that, that God never, ever abandons us.
And he is always with us through the gift of his advocate, his Holy Spirit.
What are we to do?
We are called to hold on.
And at the same time, we have to sit with the pain;
the pain of not understanding;
the pain and discomfort of suffering
whether it be for ourselves or for those loved ones who are suffering
and not being able to have the answers;
to not be able to say, “Hey, I’m here.”
To be able to just sit with them and to hold on with them;
to hold on to love.
Fundamentally, that is what we do
every time we come around the table.
When we gather at table here,
we gather in love for God and for one another
to acknowledge his presence here and yet his absence;
his death and his resurrection to new life;
his loss but his love that remains with us.
And that is why we hold onto love.
Because that is the power that transforms us.
It doesn’t take away the pain or the suffering
but what it does is set it into context
and says there is something more;
there is something greater beyond this pain;
something greater beyond this absence, this loss, this death;
that there really is a God and we have to trust in that message,
that power of the message.
What are we to do for us today?
It is not enough that we come to the table.
It is great that we come.
Don’t get me wrong.
I want us all here.
But it is not enough for us to come here
and to feel vindicated ourselves here.
We have to take that love that we have held onto here
and we bring it to those most especially
those who are finding it hard to hold on;
those who are in the midst of their suffering;
in the midst of their pain;
in the midst of their loss and their absence
that we give witness to God’s love to them.
We make a phone call.
We call them up.
We go and see them;
or at the very least, we hold them in our hearts in prayer
and we lift them up to God.
Today, as we come to the table to celebrate and hold onto love,
we do so, so that we can be the messengers to others;
so that we can give that love to others.
So that the message, the feast,
no, the spirituality of the Ascension
lives on in you and me.
That is why we hold onto love.
“And I am with you always until the end of the age.”
