Go! I am with you Always, until the end of the ages!

The Ascension of the Lord Matthew 28:16-20 The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Go! Go is the operative word in today’s Gospel. Jesus is sending his disciples out telling them to baptize everyone in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The disciples are being sent out; we are being sent out. To baptize, to share the Good News. To be Good News. Today’s Gospel is the very end of the Gospel of Matthew. The 11 disciples had gone back to Galilee, the place where it all started, they worship Jesus even though they have doubts, even though they don’t understand. And despite their doubts Jesus still sends them out, Jesus still sends us out. The first reading tells the story of the feast of the Ascension. It is in Jerusalem, another mountain top and here Jesus again is sending out the 11 to be his witnesses. Jesus is taking up into heaven and the disciples stand around looking up to sky and the Angels appear to the 11 and chastise them. Why are you standing there looking up to the sky? The Angels tell the 11 to Go! Jesus tells the 11 to Go! The Angels tell us to Go! Jesus tells us to Go! Go be my witnesses, Go baptize all nations! Go and bring the good news! Who is being sent today? Who is being sent to be witnesses to Jesus? Who is sent to baptize all nations? Who is sent to bring the Good News? Today we celebrate first communion Sunday, these children who are receiving Jesus for the first time, they are being sent! A week from this Wednesday we will confirm 100 young people, they are being sent! In June 8 men will be ordained priests for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, others will be ordained deacons; in July the Redemptorists of Denver will ordain one young man; in August the Redemptorists of Mexico will ordain 3! These men are being sent! These past few months several couples have been married here at St. Mary’s; they are being sent! But the definitive sacrament for disciples isn’t confirmation or Eucharist; as important as it is it isn’t the Sacrament of Orders either. No! The Key sacrament for disciples is the same sacrament we are being sent to administer. Baptism! Baptism is the sacrament that makes us disciples for Christ. Confirmation simply strengthens that call; eucharist nourishes that call, marriage and Holy Orders are the way some of us are called to live out that call, but it is in Baptism that we become disciples of Jesus! Missionary Disciples as St. John Paul II liked to call us. We are aware of so many problems in the world today! Children afraid to go to school or families afraid to go to the mall because of gun violence. There are problems with immigration and global warming. Even in our own community: the unhoused - working families unable to pay high rents; children who suffer from divorce and division in families; folks unable to buy groceries to put food on the table; the sick in PIH and nursing homes and the list goes. We bring these cares to Jesus in prayer and what does Jesus say to us: Go! Go and baptize more disciples! Go and be my witnesses! We see so many needs and not just in the world, but in our community and homes and we wonder how we can possibly make a difference. How can we heal broken families; feed the hungry; visit the sick; do something meaningful to provide decent shelter for folks on the street? How can we possibly respond to any of these needs? We need to remember the last words of Jesus in today’s Gospel. We need to remember the last words of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, we need to remember the last words of Jesus before he Ascended into heaven. “I am with you always, until the end of the ages!” The great gift of baptism that we are meant to share involves not only a commission but also a promise, Jesus will be with us to the end of the ages! So Go! Let’s get to work. There are so wounds we are meant to heal, so many suffering we are meant to console. So go! But never let us forget that Jesus is with us, until the end of the ages!