Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
There is some new data that should worrisome for many of us. The Pew Research Center finds that the percentage of adults who describe themselves as Christians has dropped from 78.4% in 2007 to 70.6% in 2014. Over the same period, the percentage of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated – describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” – has jumped more than six points, from 16.1% to 22.8%. The drop in the Christian share of the population is seen mainly among mainline Protestants and Catholics. The evangelical Protestant share of the U.S. population also has dipped, but at a slower rate, falling by about one percentage point since 2007.
What shall we make of this data? Who is to blame? I am not sure about the answer to this question. All I can do is to ask myself if the way I live my faith in Christ is exemplary or not. May be, because of me, Christ will be attractive to other people. Today, instead of focusing on the actual ascension of Jesus into heaven, I would like to focus on the kind of Christians asks his disciples be at the ascension event. I would like to use the second reading to draw this point further. Paul writes to the Ephesians,
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.
May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power…
Paul hopes for three things for Christians: First, that they Have “a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him [Christ] (Eph 1:17). Second, that the “eyes of their hearts be enlightened” that they may “know what is the hope that belongs to his [Christ’s] call (Eph 1:18). Third, that may know “the surpassing greatness of his [Christ’s] power” (Eph 1:19). I would like to focus on these three words – knowledge, heart, and power – because these three words are the key to Christian life after the ascension.
a) “May God give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him (Eph 1:17). Paul prays that the Ephesians have “knowledge of God.” What does Paul mean by “knowledge?” Knowledge, for Paul, is not mere awareness like we are aware of the daily news. Knowledge, for Paul, means strong conviction of the mind. It is like our conviction that there will be a tomorrow. It is like our conviction that 2 + 2 = 4. We may not be passionate about these things but we sure have absolute conviction. As convinced we are about these things, Paul hopes that we are convinced about Godly things – that God is love; that Christ is alive; that Christ lives in each of us; that the Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus. The question we can ask ourselves it simply this – is my conviction about Christ obvious to people?
b) “May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened...” (Eph 1:18). Second, Paul takes us from the mind to the heart. In other words, Paul hopes that the faith convictions of the mind become a passion in our hearts. It is one thing to be convinced that 2 + 2 = 4, but it quite another to be convinced and passionate about it. If Catholics in Dayton were as convinced and passionate about Christ as they were about Ohio State Buckeyes, Dayton would be heaven. In other words, Paul was telling the Ephesians that it is not enough to have the knowledge of Christ, but rather, their conviction much turn into a passion for Christ. Be aware that Paul was not asking his readers to be passionate about a bunch of teachings and doctrines. The person of Christ – his life, his message, his death and his resurrection – that is what Paul focuses on. This reminds me of the centrality of Christ in the writings of Pope Francis. In his very first apostolic letter, he invites all Christians to “encounter Christ daily.” In other words, passion in our hearts comes from strong faith-convictions and our faith-convictions set us on fire for the good news of Christ.
c) May you know “the surpassing greatness of his power” (Eph 1:19). Paul adds a third dimension to his post Easter faith – power. In other words, he was saying that power is the result of our faith convictions and passion. Scripture tells us that after the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples were still fearful and powerless. Doubts, uncertainties, and fears plagued their lives. At the ascension, as they see Jesus depart from them, their faith convictions began to grip them and at Pentecost their hearts were set on fire. Now they felt empowered! They went with power to proclaim the good news. Unfortunately, power has a very violent connotation in our days. Christ’s power lay in his love, mercy, and openness to all. For the first three hundred years after the resurrection, there is not one recorded account of Christians doing violence even when they were the victims of violence. Yet they were filled with power. Yesterday, the Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was handed the death penalty. Would Christ do that? In my opinion, justice may have been served but not mercy. I want to end my third point with a quote from Pope Francis, has he declared the coming year as a Jubilee of Mercy. He says, “Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life. All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness she makes present to believers; nothing in her preaching and in her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy. The Church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love. The Church “has an endless desire to show mercy”. Perhaps we have long since forgotten how to show and live the way of mercy.” (Misericodiae Vultus, 10) It is my conviction that it is Christ-like use of power that will attract people to Christianity. Arrogance, self-righteousness and judgmentalism must give way to love, mercy and understanding.
- Fr. Satish Joseph