TO BE LIFTED UP, GET TO WORK

A story is told: After His Ascension, Jesus met the angels in heaven. They asked, “Who will continue your work on earth now?” Jesus replied, “I gathered a group of followers who believe in me. They will spread the Gospel and carry on the work of the Church.” Gabriel was surprised. “You mean Peter, who denied you? The other ones who ran away at the Cross? And what if they fail? What’s your Plan B?” Jesus said, “I have no other plan. It must work.”

Truly, we are the plan. Jesus entrusts His mission to ordinary people like us. Today we celebrate Jesus’ exaltation and the end of His earthly life. But His Ascension is not Him leaving us. He promised, “I am with you always, to the end of time” (Mt 28:20). He is present in a new way through the Holy Spirit. That Spirit gives us power to preach the Good News and live His word. Ascension and Pentecost together mark the birth of the Church. The Church is a community “in mission,” guided by the Spirit and confident in God’s protection.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to all believers, not just the Twelve: “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15). To be Christian is to proclaim. We preach with words, but we proclaim with our lives. As we celebrate His return to the Father, we are commissioned to be witnesses to life, love, hope, and peace. Start where you are: in your family, your parish, your workplace. “Live in a manner worthy of the call you have received” (Eph 4:1).

St. Augustine reminds us: “Christ is now exalted above the heavens, but He still suffers on earth in the members of His Body. He said, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’ While in heaven, He is with us. While on earth, we are with Him” (Eph 4:1-6). Jesus is present by His divinity, power, and love. We may not be in heaven as He is, but in Him, we can be there by love.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them... and teaching them to observe all I have commanded you” (Mt 28:18-20). This task feels huge. But it rests on Jesus’ authority, not ours. He gives us the grace to do it. We live in the final phase of salvation history. Like St. John Henry Newman prayed: “God has created me to do Him some definite service. I have my mission. I am a link in a chain.”

Each of us has a role. Remove your eyes from your weakness. Fix them on His presence in Scripture and the Sacraments. Step out in faith, and you’ll see abundance begin—in your life and in those around you. The disciples returned to Jerusalem “with great joy” (Lk 24:52). May we do the same.