16/05/2010 - ASCENSION OF THE LORD - C
1Reading Act 1,1-11 Psalm 46 2Reading Heb 9,24-28;10,19-23 Gospel Lk 24,46-53
"I don't ask you to remove them from the world, but to guard them from the
evil one". After having said that the disciples will be hated because they
don't belong to the world, hence they are not a property of the evil one, Jesus
continues to pray for them. What does he wants that the Father do for them? "I
don't ask you to remove them from the world, but to guard them from the evil one".
Jesus came to save the world, therefore the sign and gift of his presence is to
remain in the world, and this can happen thanks to the presence of the disciples
in the world. There he does not ask the Father to take them away from the world:
if so, there won't be the ten just persons because of who the world can be saved.
We certainly remember the story that the Book of Genesis tells us of the prayer
of Abraham: if in the cities of Sodom and Gomorr there would be ten just people,
those were would have been spared from the fire. The true 'just' are those who love
Jesus and follow him, those who do the work of God, that is, believing in the one
he sent. A group of Christians can be the salvation of every city and place. Jesus
doesn't want to remove them, because he wants the salvation of every place and every
city. They will be hated, laughed at, set apart, persecuted, or even killed: still
that's their place. In such a way is the deep meaning of their lives fulfilled.
As the love of Jesus saved the world and humanity, so the love of the Christians
lived where they are persecuted and laughed at, take part in the mystery of salvation.
We are not to defend ourselves or even the Church or the same members of the Church
from lies or waves of hatred against her, because we might find ourselves using
the spade and be hear Jesus saying: "Put back the spade in its pocket".
Jesus asks the Father to guard us from the evil one. This is the true enemy that
can harm us.
"He was taken into heaven and a cloud covered him from their eyes". These
are the words which introduce the story of a mystery of faith that accompanies us
continually: Jesus is not seen anymore, he does not enter any more into the experimental
reality of our senses. But he is always with us, as promised, every day of our lives
until the end of the world, and is always active in his Church to feed her, to protect
her and guide her, because he is "the First and the Last, the Living One".
We don't see him because he is "on high", "in heaven", "at
the right hand side of the Father". He is one with the earth, where he accompanies
us, and is in heaven where we await to join him. From the moment he fills heaven,
he is our sure reference for life and for ever. Without him, we cannot do nothing,
we cannot think anything apart of his life, and say nothing sensible for the story
of every person and of all humanity if we ignore him. Who tries to do something
without him, emptiness is the result, fruitless is his work, and his thoughts remain
without meaning. He, without leaving us alone, goes before us where we are to go
and be judged. And judgment will be done upon his words and upon his love, already
given to us.
Today's mystery will be fulfilled at Pentecost. To send us the Holy Spirit, Jesus
needed to go back to heaven, needed to hide his face. He is not absent, but hidden
like. We are to start doing as if we are alone, without him, but with his love as
the source of all thoughts and fulfillment of all actions. This change in us is
not a immediate one or automatic: the Holy Spirit needs to intervene with his powerful
and transforming action. He needs to renew our desires which, usually, start from
our Ego and keep our person at the center with it's true of invented needs. Instead,
the Holy Spirit, puts at the center of our desires the Kingdom of God with it's
king, Jesus, the Christ: of whom he makes us witnesses. Thanks to the Holy Spirit
we can go to Jesus and open our hearts for the love of the Father. For the Holy
Spirit to renew us, we need to remove our eyes from upon ourselves and look at him.
Jesus returned to the Father, he commissioned us to continue his mission of freeing
the world from the power of the enemy and to bring every man to the love of the
Father. Let us prepare ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit: how? Prayer is the
key word. This is what the apostles did: "they were always at the temple praising
God". Next week should be an intense week of prayer, asking the Father to give
us his Spirit. Let us trust ourselves to God to use us for his kingdom, knowing
that we are not capable and that we need his intervention: we ask this for ourselves
and for all our brothers and sisters in the faith.