Today we celebrate the wonderful Feast of the Ascension of the Lord into heaven.
In many ways, this feast brings the Easter season to a close – it will be followed by the Feast of Pentecost – and it represents, if you like, the closing of the earthly / public ministries of Jesus which began with the Annunciation and Christmas. After Christ ascends to the right hand of the Father, the Advocate – the Holy Spirit – descends upon the disciples. Today we anticipate this sanctifying presence of the Spirit at Pentecost.
In my experience, when there is a change in good leadership, fear exists. ‘Will the new leader live up to the standards of the former leader?’ When Jesus left, the disciples were scared, ran away again and, in hiding, waited for the promise of Jesus to be fulfilled. In commissioning them, Jesus was very clear and provided them the gifts needed to complete their mission.
Reflecting on the experience of the disciples I think of my experience working with teenagers and children. Ideally, teenagers are hope-filled, having been raised in a family that supports and nurtures their gifts. In reality, they are frequently burdened with hopelessness and have been scarred by life. Our school communities and indeed the Church can re-kindle that hope and reassure them that they are valued, loved and needed in the Church.
Teens know the difference between working on their own and when their parents or teachers are looking over their shoulders. Maturity is the ability to do a good job without supervision. The disciples stuck with Jesus while they could see Him; would they do so once He was gone?
The Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to continue to preach the good news; the same Holy Spirit will guide teenagers we work with to grow into mature Christians. Teenagers know what it is like to say goodbye to people they love. As the end of the school year approaches, they will be saying goodbye to friends, perhaps forever. As for children, they relate God to their experience of adults. They trust that they will be protected and loved. It is easy for them to believe that Jesus promises these things to those who believe in him. I am always amazed at the optimism of children. They look for the best in people, it takes a long time before they give up on others. They still see with the eyes of God. Their love is, for the most part, unconditional. They want the world to be a beautiful place, filled with God’s love. They see it; why can’t everyone else?
It is in this way that children evangelize when they try to share their vision of God’s creation and goodness. Children believe that because Jesus promised to be with the world, he will keep his promises; and I trust that.
Lastly, children will always be fascinated with the ascension of Jesus into heaven. ‘Where did he go?’ ‘Did he ride a cloud?’ ‘Is he looking down on me / us?’ ‘Is there an invisible elevator I don’t know about?’ ‘What kind of special effects is this?’
Most children can accept the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ as a mystery if it is presented that way. May God hear the prayers of children, teenagers and us all, and may we experience, as promised, the abiding presence of our Lord Jesus Christ among us. Amen.
Image by Thanasis Papazacharias from Pixabay
Augustine Bangalie C.S.Sp.
