ASCENSION OF OUR LORD (B)

Ascension Day (Thursday 9 May or Sunday 12 May 2024)
Mk 16:15-20

”And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover’. So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.” (Mk 16:15-20)
(Mc 16,15-20)

Forty days after His Resurrection, Jesus is ready to ascend to Heaven, and with His final words (one phrase), He concludes and completes His Testament: Go… proclaim… in all the world and to the whole of creation.

And while He is addressing these words to the Eleven, this message is valid for each believer. As part of the Church, we also must hear and feel the urgency to go, to move ourselves, to leave our own private sphere and proclaim the Gospel in the context of our world and our relationships: in one word, be witnesses. Today, more than ever, it is necessary for every Christian to take their place and play their part by bearing witness and giving testimony, and not to content ourselves by delegating responsibility to others. Our relational world, no matter how small it might be, awaits the testimony of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and witness to His living presence in our life.

When we take the command to go and proclaim seriously, we show and demonstrate our faith and trust in the Lord. And it is this faith which Jesus promises will be accompanied by “signs”: healings, liberations… Be careful here: the Good News doesn’t promise that our life will be free from problems, difficulties, sickness, etc. but that these situations will not have the final word, which belongs solely to the Risen One!

The final verse, which closes Mark’s Gospel and opens my gospel and yours, says this: “the Lord worked with them“. contempo apre il mio, il tuo vangelo: «Il Signore operava insieme con loro». May each one of us conquer our world with the explicit proclamation of the Risen Jesus alive in our midst!

Fr. Giuseppe