The television game show “Jeopardy” continues to be popular in many households. Let’s test your knowledge of the Bible category. Remember to put your answer in the form of a question.
In our First Reading today, Luke is writing to his friend Theophilus. This could be another “Jeopardy” clue:
In the first sentence of the Acts of the Apostles, Luke reminds us of the subject matter of his Gospel. “In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day He was taken after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.”
Luke’s Acts of the Apostles, our First Reading today, begins where his Gospel concluded with the Ascension. Notice that the Gospel today, taken from the last verses in Luke, ends with Jesus being taken up to heaven.
Picture this: (whenever I hear that phrase, I think of The Golden Girls and Sophia, who played Dorothy’s mother as she would often say, “Picture this…”) Jesus hand-picked his apostles and then groomed and prepared them for the next three years without any semester break, no spring or fall break, no winter or summer break. They were on an intensive fast track, an extended educational program.
With their own eyes, these first apostles and disciples saw Jesus heal the sick, cure the blind, feed the multitudes and walk on water. With their ears, they heard Jesus engage the crowds with His stories like the Parables of the Prodigal Son, Sower and the Seeds, the Ten Wise Virgins and the Good Samaritan. Towards the end of their studies, Jesus Himself told them that He would have to die but that He would rise in three days and never leave them orphans.
Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He said to his apostles, “You are witnesses of these things.” These original apostles passed on what they learned and witnessed to the first disciples who in turn passed on what they learned and witnessed to the first Christians. This has been going on for over 2,000 years.
This Ascension experience is God having faith and trust in us that just as the apostles, the first disciples, and the first Christians passed on what they saw and heard, so too would we. Jesus is trusting you and me. He has confidence in us to continue passing on His stories of love and forgiveness.
The story is told when God the Father asks Jesus after the Ascension, “What plan have you made for carrying out your mission back on earth?”
Jesus replied, “I have chosen several women and men for this task. One of the men has already failed.”
Then God the Father asked God the Son, “What provision have you made in case the rest of them fail?” Jesus simply replied, “I have no other plan.”
This Ascension experience is God having faith and trust in us that we will pass on the plan of salvation.
Christ had more confidence in these first men and women than they had in themselves. Jesus has so much trust and faith in you and me that He physically removed himself and commissioned us, just as He did the first men and women of faith, to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them…” This passage of Sacred Scripture, as found in Matthew 28, is famously known as The Great Commission.
In Father James Mallon’s inspiring book “Divine Renovation,” he points out that these four responsibilities in Christ’s Great Commission to go, to make, to baptize and to teach, are what make us intentional disciples.
Jesus left us with a clear imperative mission. And it is not a mission impossible.
To be a disciple, according to Mallon, is to be a learner. It means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ we are to literally follow in the footsteps of Christ in every sense of the word. This can be summed up in three statements:
Love God with all your heart, soul and mind.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
And love your enemies.
To achieve this, I must have a personal relationship with Christ.
This Great Commission is the biggest hand-off ever known in the history of humankind. The baton has been turned over to you and me. Think of how important the “pass” is in the Stanley Cup or the NBA Playoffs. Those “passes” pale in comparison to what Christ passed off to us. It is our turn. Jesus has faith and trust in us to be his disciples and to make disciples of others.
To Go and Make disciples means you and I must be a disciple. Jesus trusts us with his mission. He has no other plan.
We can’t just stand here and do nothing.
The story is told of a young army officer and his wife who were stationed in Japan after the end of World War II. The wife was bombarded with unemployed Japanese citizens knocking on their front door looking for work. Her heart went out to an elderly man who spoke little English, but through sign language and drawings she hired him to do the gardening. It became clear that the gardener knew far more about gardening than she did. The garden was magnificent.
Then one day the gardener came with an interpreter, who expressed appreciation for the job, but also his regrets. “He no longer can care for your garden. He must leave. He is returning to his former position as a Professor of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo.”
She stood there for almost an hour gazing at the beauty of the yard and garden until her husband came home from the base. She explained what happened. He said, “Well, we can’t just stand here and do nothing. Now it is our turn to plant, nurture and grow.”
Sounds like our first readings from the Acts of the Apostles, when the Galileans were asked, “Why do you stand looking into the sky?”
The First Reading from Luke’s Acts of the Apostles states very clearly that we can’t just stand around and watch. Instead, we must proclaim by word and deed the good news of salvation.
Our Second Reading reminded us that we have been gifted with the Spirit of Wisdom with enlightened hearts to hear the call.
Our Gospel from Luke emphasizes that we are witnesses and Jesus trusts us enough to leave His ministry of love and forgiveness to us.
It is up to us, our parish and our community to accept the awesome task of continuing the Mission of Jesus Christ.
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