GO

Feast of the Ascension Mark 16:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension and next Sunday we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost. Today we remember Jesus Ascenion into heaven and next Sunday the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples. Two feasts, but they really need to be understood together. The absence of Jesus: Jesus is no longer physically here amongst us as he was to the 12 after the Resurrection and the presence of the Holy Spirit. We remember that Jesus is not here physically but his spirit is here among us. The operative word for me in the Gospel for today is “GO!” Jesus is sending us on a mission. He is no longer here and so we are sent, we are sent to continue his mission in the world today to be his presence but we do this with the gift of the Holy Spirit that is present in us, that is present in the Church. And what are we sent to do? Well Mark outlines it quite clearly in the Gospel for today: We are to drive out demons, speak new languages, pick up serpents, drink poison and cure the sick. Well, I have learned new languages but the other four I haven’t done, so I am one for five or only 20%. I do not know, I do not think that this is the message of Jesus. I do not think I have to handle snakes to show that I have faith; I do not have to drink poison. So what does Jesus mean by today's gospel? I believe we have to read the gospel with more care. Jesus does not say, you, nor me. He says my disciples. So it's not what I'm going to do, it's what we are going to do. Jesus was speaking not of the signs of Patrick, but of the signs of the church. This is our mission; it is the mission of all of us. Not one of us, but all of us. So what are we sent to do? Drive out demons! I don’t think that this necessarily refers to exorcisms, but rather it means recognize that there are many demons in the world today, demons of alcoholism, abuse of many kinds, selfishness and the list goes on. Driving out demons means first we ask the Holy Spirit to drive them out of ourselves but then as a Church we help others to overcome their demons. So many times it isn’t about doing away with the bad stuff but it is about allowing the good stuff room to grow. I think of weeding a garden, we pull out the weeds so the innate goodness of the plant may grow. Speak new languages. It is true that in the church there are missionaries who speak many languages. In many parts of the world the person who wrote the first dictionaries were Catholic missionaries. They were missionaries who went to distant countries and learned the culture and the language. Cure the sick; the church has hospitals all over the world, orphanages, nursing homes, and homeless shelters. Ways in which we help the sick. As Catholic Christians we should be rightly proud of the missionary and apostolic works of the church. The way that we have preached and lived the Gospel. Handling snakes and poison. What can this mean? I’ve heard of missionaries and preachers who have taken this literally. They have handled poisonous snakes and they drank poison. And you know what? They got bite and they got sick. I do not think Jesus is saying we should do this, what I believe Jesus is saying we should be is a force against evil in the world. It is important to remember that during our 2 thousand years history. The church has tried to be on the side of the poor and against the forces of the evil. Always? No! The conquest of America and the Inquisition are two bad examples the clergy sex abuse crisis among others, but we also have people like Oscar Romero in El Salvador who stood up against the military junta or the Bishops of the United States in their stance in favor of immigrants. They are examples of catching snakes and drinking poison. Today's Gospel begins with Jesus saying "Go!" is very clear, it is not "You, Patrick go!" but "you, DISCIPLES go!" Jesus is sending us, not some, but all of us to the world to preach the gospel. We are called to speak new languages. Not Spanish or English or Chinese. No, the new language that we are sent to proclaim is the language of the word of God. The word of God has power, power to change hearts. It is the word that is most needed today. It is difficult what Jesus is asking from us; it is more difficult than handling an 8-foot snake in the jungle and harder than drinking poison. But Christ is sending us not as individuals, but as a community. Let us go then, let us go proclaim the good news. Let us go everywhere, so that everyone can know Jesus and knowing Jesus they and we as well will be saved.