A DIFFERENT WAY OF BEING NEAR

 

The Gospel of Mission Sunday & The Ascension of the Lord is the same.

 

Gospel: Mark 16:15-20

¹⁵ And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.¹⁶ The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned. ¹⁷ These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;¹⁸ they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

¹⁹ So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰ And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.]]

 

In the life of every individual, there are decisive stages, delicate moments of transition in which we perceivethat the future is at stake. These are moments of crisis, sometimes of distressing uncertainty, of inner confusion and often also of pain, as  happens at every birth.

In church history, there have been momentous events that have marked turning points, but none has been as decisive as that in which the change of Jesus’ presence occurred. Before Easter, he lived physically in this world and the disciples were led by him step by step. After Easter, he continued to be present, but not soperceptible to the senses. The disciples felt lonely and hesitant. They had the feeling of being in front of a not well-defined mission and one that appeared to be certainly beyond their strength.

How to carry on the work of the Master? Was it not presumptuous to deem themselves capable ofbeginning a new world? It was hard to adjust to the idea that such an undertaking was entrusted to a group ofpoor Galilean fishermen.

Decisive moments in life demand greater clarity. Most notably, Jesus’ passage from a tangible presence toan invisible one required a particularly intense light, and the evangelists have tried to clarify it in various ways.

The light that is offered to us today comes from the last page of the Mark’s Gospel.

The passage opens with a great scene (vv. 15-16). The Risen Christ appears to the Eleven and indicatesthe mission they are called upon to perform: “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation.”

It is surprising that the good news should be announced: “to every creature.” The expression certainlymeans “every person,” but also contains an invitation to open their horizons and to contemplate salvation as embracing the whole universe. Every creature, in fact, is the subject of God’s affectionate fondness (Prov 8:22-31).

Because of sin, the human being – the human family – has often lived in a wrong relationship with creation.

Driven by insatiable covetousness and greed, people misunderstood or betrayed God’s intentions. Instead of acting as a gardener and caretaker of the world, they became despots and predators. They did not usescience and technology in line with the creator’s plan but in a reckless and an arbitrary way. Man manipulatednature at will, bending it to his own selfish interests or perverse designs. By doing so, they reintroduced chaos.

For this reason—as Paul grasped the situation—all creatures are waiting for the beneficial effects of salvation: “All creation is eagerly expecting the birth, in glory, of the children of God…. For even the created world will be freed from this fate of death” (Rom 8:19-21).

The proclamation of the Gospel frees man from the delusion of being the absolute master of creation. It makes him realize that he has no right to impose his will on nature and to seek to establish a different relationship, not only with others but also with the environment, plants, and animals.

Salvation and condemnation depend on the acceptance or rejection of the message of the Gospel and baptism (v. 16).

The Church, with the means of salvation that she offers, cannot be culpably ignored. In the Word of God it announces, it is Christ who reveals Himself; in administering the sacraments, it is Christ who, through sensibleand effective signs, communicates his life. To refuse these gifts amounts to enacting one’s downfall, which is not eternal damnation, but a foolish choice, made today, to exclude oneself from God’s plan.

Matthew recalls the last words of the Risen Lord: “I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Mt 28:20). Jesus did not leave us a souvenir photo, a memorial statue, a relic. He planned to stay foreveralongside the disciples, though no longer in a way perceptible to the senses.

In the second part of the passage (vv. 17-18) Mark lists five signs through which the Risen Christ manifests his presence: “Those who have believed: in my name they will cast out demons and speak new languages; they will pick up snakes and if they drink anything poisonous, they will be unharmed; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

The most immediate impression is that of very unusual wonders: they seem strange and difficult to seebecause, even if they exist, they are extremely rare. Nevertheless, it is clear that Jesus promised signs thatwould continuously validate the proclamation of the Gospel.

He always resolutely opposed the request for demonstrative signs (Lk 11:29-32), and yet, at the end of the second century A.D., the apologetic concept of the miraculous prevailed and we too inherited it. If we are not careful, we run the risk of misunderstanding the meaning of the words of the Risen Lord.

It is true that the preaching of the Gospel is accompanied by even extraordinary signs, but these do not constitute evidence. It is a proclamation, the good news. They proclaim that salvation is in place and that, despite all opposition, the Kingdom of God will reach its fullness. The apostles realized then that they were notto compete with magicians and soothsayers, but to bear witness that the Risen Lord continued to operate in the world.

The extraordinary signs listed by Mark should be read and interpreted in the light of biblical symbolism. The prophets used these and other images to describe the messianic times and the new world. It is enough to remember the famous prophecy: “The wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will rest beside the kid. …By the cobra’s den, the infant will play” (Is 11:6-8). Isaiah did not intend to announce a phenomenal change of the aggressive and dangerous nature of animals. He promised the end of the struggles and enmities that exist in the world. Through the image of the animals he foretold that, in the Kingdom of God, there would be no placefor hostility, rivalry, or aggression between people.

The words of the Risen Lord must be interpreted in the light of this biblical language.

The demons represent all the forces of death found in the human person. They lead him to make choicescontrary to the Gospel: pride, greed for money, hatred, selfish impulses. These demons are not defeated with exorcisms, but with the power of the word of Christ, and with the Holy Spirit. It is the proclamation of theGospel that drives them away. The Eucharist and the other sacraments communicate the divine power thatallows the faithful to resist their attacks. If these forces of death are now being overcome, it means that the Risen Christ is alive and present in the world.

The “new languages” refer to an ecstatic phenomenon, extremely popular in the early church. In a different way, the miracle must be repeated in our Christian communities: humanity needs a whole new language;insult, arrogance, violence has already been heard too often. People now want to hear about love, forgiveness,free and unconditional service, and the disciples of Christ must be able to speak them.

The snakes and the poisons are often referred to in the Bible as symbols of the enemies of humans and of life. It is not easy to immediately identify them because they are so sly and devious, and even deadly poisonsmay seem only intoxicating drinks. The faithful person is invited not to fear snakes (Ps 91:13), and the disciples must not be afraid. The strength they received from Christ, in fact, makes them invulnerable, “You see, I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the Enemy, so that nothing will harm you” (Lk 10:19).

The healings are the sign that Jesus also often gave. If the Word of the Gospel is accompanied byinexplicable and miraculous recoveries, it will be apparent to all that the Christian community is the bearer of adivine power capable of recreating the world.

In verse 19, the theme of today’s feast is summed up: “So then, after speaking to them, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and took his place at the right hand of God.”

It is a theological statement. In fact, God has neither right nor left hand in heaven, and he does not sit. The image recalls the rituals of ancient oriental courts where the subjects who had shown heroic fidelity to their lords were summoned to the palace. In front of all the dignitaries, they were invited by the king to sit on his right. The words of the psalmist allude to a new king, on the day of his enthronement: “Sit at my right hand till I make your foes your footstool” (Ps 110:1). The gospel phrase refers to this use.

The evangelist wants to tell us that Jesus, the One who was defeated according to people, has been proclaimed by God, “his faithful servant.” He did not establish the long-awaited earthly dominion of the people of Israel. He did not subdue their enemies with the sword, but ushered in the Kingdom of God, initiating whole new world, by offering his own life and shedding his own blood. Because of his faithfulness, God exalted him(Phil 2:6-11), caused him to ascend to heaven (Eph 4:8-9) and has subjected all creation to him (1 Cor 15:27). Using an image of the enthronement of the Messiah, the authors of the New Testament repeat: God “made him sit at his right hand” (1 Pet 3:18-22).

The concluding sentence of Mark’s Gospel: “The Eleven went forth and preached everywhere, while theLord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it” (v. 20) testifies to the belief that the first disciples were not alone, but always had the Lord Jesus beside them and He worked miracles of salvation through them.