Clothed With Power From On High 佩戴上自高天而來的能力

Feast of Ascension of Our Lord, Year C
Theme: Clothed With Power From On High 佩戴上自高天而來的能力

Jesus’ disciples have different understandings of the mission their Lord gave them before His Ascension. For Matthew, it is “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them … teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Though scholars generally believe that Mark is the earliest and one of the sources of the other two Synoptic gospels, the section on the Commission of the Eleven is believed to be appended later. Still, it is the less elaborated one and simply says, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) The Commission story we read today in the gospel of Luke is very much related to mercy, one of the key themes of this gospel. It says, “The Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:46-48)

The perspective of the Evangelists is global. They use wordings such as “all nations”, “the whole world” and “every creature” etc. Without exception, everybody in the Church should be outgoing. They cannot afford to be selfish and keep the salvation to themselves. Yet, each Evangelist is distinctive to meet the needs of their communities.
Mark’s narrative fits the temperance of the Romans. It is ambitious in the sense of being all-inclusive, using wordings such as “the whole world” and “every creature”. It is direct and without ambiguity, reminding the readers of the discipline and power of the Roman Legions. The shorter ending shows the doubts and worries in the shaky beginning of Mark’s community. The Holy Spirit must have done a lot of works to have strengthened them to achieve such confidence. Most likely, some prominent Romans must have joined the community, boasting their confidence.
Matthew’s community must be hungry and thirsty for authoritative teachings. After all, that they managed to sever themselves from the Jewish tradition must have demanded a higher authority more powerful than that of Moses! It is understandable that the teaching office of the Matthew’s church must teach the congregation to observe all the teachings of Jesus!

Luke’s perspective is also global but only Luke is able to spell out the mission in no ambiguous terms. The message of mercy is the gospel: repentance in order to obtain freedom from the bondage of sins. It shows a much more mature theology of salvation. Not only is the message part clear, but the praxis part is also advanced. Not only do Christians proclaim, but they must practice what they preach. A retired athlete can become a coach but you don’t expect him to run, or to jump or to lift weight as before. His experience makes up what he is losing. But being a witness is more demanding. If you do not practise what you preach, you’re a hypocrite and exhibiting counter evidences. You’re doing a disservice to Christianity as a whole.

Had being a Christian been an easy job, Jesus would not have assured His disciples of “power from on high” (Luke 24:49) Bearing witness is a daunting mission. Therefore, Christians must be properly equipped. Otherwise, they would be captured in the battle field by the enemies and sold as slaves again. Their fate would be worse than their previous bondage (11:26). What better weapons, what mightier power can there be other than the power and armoury of God? St. Paul puts it vividly well when he writes, “Put on the armour of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens” (Ephesians 6:11-12) Paul was not writing poems. He was not conjuring up an imagery or an analogy. The Devil is as real as God is. How can we choose to believe in an invisible God but at the same time, brush away the invisible Satan and vice versa? We do not believe what we choose to believe to make ourselves feel good. Such an approach in life is unhealthy and even detrimental to our life.

Without exception, when disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit, they will be empowered, driven, pushed, prompted and urged to pursue God’s will. How unwise it is to resist the Holy Spirit who is the fountain of our spiritual life! Perhaps it’s high time we revised the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. When our awareness is sharpened, the power of the Holy Spirit would be more effective.

Wisdom urges us to love God above all because God alone is constant and everlasting. Understanding humbles us not to play God because God is God and we are not God. Counsel enables us to know what is right from wrong. We are at different stages of understanding. Thus we need to seek humbly the advice of the Church and to consult the writing of Church Fathers to discern the will of God. Fortitude empowers us to weather through perils and persecutions. The world has never been friendly to Christians because they are different and perhaps disruptive. It is far too easy for Christians to try to make life easier by giving up and yielding to the world. The temptation is big. Knowledge is important because false opinions and teachings are rampant today as were in all previous ages. But the gift of knowledge is more than data and information because in the Jewish culture, to know is an intimate action. Thus, to know also means to live out what we know. We know the truth and we cannot compromise the truth by not following the knowledge of truth. To quote Bishop Boyea of the Diocese of Lansing, piety is a gift to live a right relationship with God, with others and with ourselves. We need piety to lead a life compatible to our call as Christians. Lastly, the Fear of the Lord is the only proper reaction we have before God. We stand in awe before a greatness beyond our knowledge and understanding. And with the Fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom (Psalms 111:10, Proverbs 9:10), we are able to connect the seven gifts as a unity.

Brethren! These gifts are not brute forces that bring destruction but gentile and meek persuasions that edify. This is the modus operandi of the Father as well as of the Son who says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matthew 11:29-30)
God bless!
2016 Reflection
Picture Credit:catholictradition.org