Solemnity of the Ascension, B May 12, 2024
Fr. Alexander Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
St. Paul tells us that Jesus “ascended on high; he gave gifts to men.” What gifts? The power of the Holy Spirit to become witnesses of Jesus to the whole world. Power for exorcisms, healings, miraculous communications and survival. And not just to the Apostles long ago. To this day, these signs happen throughout the world in conjunction with the proclamation of the gospel by laity and clergy alike.
Neither does this power to bear witness only come in the form of miracles. Indeed, when St. Paul describes the roles that people play in the Church, only prophecy seems overtly miraculous. He lists pastors and teachers as gifts of God just as important – more important, actually, than walking on water or raising the dead. These gifts and more all belong to what the Church has traditionally called the “charisms.”
Every baptized Christian and especially those who have been confirmed have been given gifts by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses to Jesus Christ. There are no exceptions to this. You have a charism. Perhaps it is subtle, perhaps you’ve never recognized, perhaps it isn’t something flashy, but it does exist. And if we are to carry on the mission entrusted to us – to proclaim the gospel to every creature – then we ought to recognize and make use of these gifts. You have an obligation to proclaim the gospel. It essential to the very meaning of being Christian. To be a Catholic who refuses to proclaim the gospel is to be a hypocrite. A hypocrite isn’t someone who tries and fails to do the right thing. It is someone who claims to believe but never actually tries.
Now, proclaiming the gospel takes many forms. To unbelievers, it is the message that God exists and that he redeems us. To the lukewarm, it is the call to fervor. To the active disciple, it is the call to ever greater intimacy. This is done with words, actions, and persevering prayer. It is done in ordinary tasks done for God’s glory and the love of neighbor. It is done in as many ways are there are human beings in existence. And that variety is why it’s so important to recognize God’s gifts to you.
This is why the Called and Gifted program is so beneficial. It is not the only way to discern your charisms, but it is a good one. There are several people in this community who can tell you that that program wasn’t just nice, it was transformative. To accept that God loves you enough to make you his child is immense. To accept that he loves you enough as his child to give you gifts is wondrous. To accept that you and your gifts actually matter and really do proclaim the gospel to the world is tremendous. In this life, none of us have yet fully understood just how magnificent and necessary these steps are.
Whether it’s hospitality or organization or intercession, whether it’s words of wisdom or acts of faith or redemptive suffering, your charism is a gift to be cherished. Yet, not every gift God gives us is something he adds. Indeed, this grand festival of the Ascension that we celebrate today is about Jesus taking something away. Yes, he sends the Holy Spirit and the charisms that come with him… but the first gift he gives to his disciples is that he goes away.
You see, it’s easy for us to see how God giving us something is a gift. Yet, there is a greater faith required of us, a faith that sees everything God does as a gift. It is this perspective, this faith-infused wisdom that sees suffering as a gift, that faces even the greatest of tragedies and evils with confidence that God is doing good all the while. Job expresses this when he says “the Lord has given and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the Lord.”
The Apostles stand on the mountain and gawk at the sky when Jesus leaves because they don’t yet get it. They see him going away, not realizing that his departure is a gift. Even on Easter morning, Jesus tells Mary Magdalene “do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended.” As great as it would be to hug Jesus – and I for one do look forward to the day I can literally do that – it is even better that we cannot.
How? Because his absence is necessary for us to learn to become him. Yes, we depend on Jesus for everything. Without him, we can do nothing. Yet, if we only see him as that one guy in one time and place, we go too far in the other direction and end up doing nothing even though we do have him.
And this is something you can see in your own situation right now as I am being taken from you. I am not Jesus… and yet I am. The thing is, so are you. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is at work in this parish not just in me, but in each of you… if you’re willing. Most of the works that have borne the most fruit in this parish weren’t actually done by me.
Come Lord Jesus has transformed lives. I simply brought it here. I never led a single class. Called and Gifted? Taught by others, but actually it was the simple fact that people took the time to learn, reflect, pray, and act. Aftercare? It’s the volunteers and the kids themselves who make it a place of joy. The Light of the World retreat? Run entirely by people of this parish. To be honest, half a dozen other retreats could have worked just as well. What mattered was that you said yes. I just lit a match, but the fire is yours.
All the real growth in this parish comes down to the same thing: that people in this parish showed up and let Jesus in. My being taken from you is a chance for you, like the apostles, to step more fully into your own gifts and mission only to discover that it’s been Jesus working in you all along. Even with a different pastor, whether he’s the same, worse, or better, you still have Jesus.
And if my departure makes you glad, that’s good too. That’s just it. Whichever way you slice it, God is at work. If you respond to each turn of providence with faith, then everything is a gift. “Everything is grace” as St. Therese of Lisieux put it. Whether that grace is something given – like a charism – or something taken away – like a familiar friend or pastor – God is at work for those who love and trust him. So, this is the first and most important piece of parting advice I can give: love and trust God in all things. I am grateful you have seen him at work in me, through me, or perhaps despite me. I hope now that you can see him at work without me for that is the only thing I really want you to gain from me: not myself, but Jesus Christ.