7th Sunday of Easter C – 12th May 2013

This week we have celebrated the feast of Ascension. Unfortunately this feast falls on a Thursday so our celebrations only occur at our retirement homes so, as a parish, we tend to skip it and miss its significance.

On the day of his ascension Jesus had completed his physical work on earth and passed on the baton to the disciples and, eventually, through their efforts, to us. The disciples were commissioned with the responsibility of sharing the good news with the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, freeing the captives and caring for the homeless. We are also “sent out” to do the same.

You may reply… I am too young, too weak, too tired, too old, too poor – but those early disciples were all of those things – just like us!

One of my favorite Christian spirituality authors, Anthony de Mello. in his book “The Song of the Bird” He tells the following story which, I believe puts our role amd place in Gods kingdom into perspective.

On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope for a decent meal. I became angry and said to God ‘Why did you permit this?’

For a while god said nothing. That night he replied quite suddenly, ‘I certainly did something about it. I made you.’”

The feast of Ascension marks, not the end of Jesus work on earth, but his letting go and releasing of gifts so that we might carry it forward.

Many Blessings

Reverend Shan