First reading: Acts 1: 1-11
“In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus
did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through
the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them by many
proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking
about the kingdom of God. While meeting
with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for ‘the
promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized
with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
They asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore
the kingdom to Israel?’ He answered
them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has
established by his own authority. But you
will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth.’ When he had said this, as they
were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky
as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside
them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why
are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the
same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
Second reading: Eph. 1: 17-23
“Brothers and sisters: May the God of our lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of you hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.”
Gospel reading: Mt. 28: 16-20
“The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to
which Jesus had ordered them. When they
saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them, ‘All power in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Go,
therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
that I have commanded you. And behold, I
am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Introductory theme summary:
The common theme of today’s readings in on the anticipation
of the great event to come, Pentecost.
Reflection:
In the first reading we have Jesus instructing the apostles
to not be concerned with “when” the kingdom will be restored, or even
specifically “how” that will be accomplished.
Rather, Jesus redirects their attention to the power and responsibility
they will receive when they become baptized with fire as John had told them
Jesus would do for them – Receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
In the second reading we have Paul instructing us on what we
are all to look for as a result of receiving the Holy Spirit, each of us in our
own turn. His prayer is for us all to
receive the Spirit in the fullest possible measure, even to the extent of fully
participating in the oneness of the body of Christ, thereby sharing in the
fullness of Christ himself.
There is a slightly different specification in the gospel
reading, however. While addressing the
apostles specifically, Jesus commands them to, “Go, therefore, and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you.” The contention is that this
command Jesus gave to the apostles he also gives to all of us. However, only the apostles knew first-hand
what Jesus had commanded them, therefore this statement could only apply to the
apostles specifically. From this we
gather that there is a specific responsibility charged to the apostles
exclusively: that being keeping the Church faithful to Jesus’ original
message.
If you recall, on the second Sunday of Easter the gospel
reading describes a specific encounter the apostles had with Jesus after Jesus’
resurrection, which goes, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on
them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and
whose sins you retain are retained.’ This
account informs us very clearly that the apostles received something unique in
relationship to everyone’s reception of the Holy Spirit. In this reading we have the declaration that
the apostles receive Jesus’ power to remove sin.
Returning to today’s gospel reading we learn of an
additional power Jesus charges to the apostles: the governance of the
Church. By the words of today’s gospel,
they received in addition to the power of governance, also a charge of
responsibility. In fact it is in view of
their responsibility to safeguard the authenticity of Jesus’ original message
that they are given this power, for all power is given to serve a specific function. Furthermore this power and responsibility was
to continue until the end of the age.
As life continued, and the apostles began to die, it become
obvious that the Second coming was going to be delayed beyond what they originally
anticipated. This led to the realization
that there was an inescapable need for the responsibility Jesus charged the
apostles with to continue to be carried out.
Thus we have what in now known as the apostolic succession. The apostles appointed specific men to carry
out their responsibilities in their stead after they became deceased. There remains only twelve apostles. Those who have been entrusted with the
succession of their ministry are in fact fulfilling the same ministry of those
original twelve apostles, thought their numbers have necessarily grown to accommodate
the present size of the Church.
The descent of the Holy Spirit we celebrate on Pentecost is
rightly considered the birthday of the Church, but equally important is accepting
the apostolic succession as an intended part of our Lord’s Church. For by it alone can we know what is
consistent with Jesus’ original message, because the Lord assured us of that
very thing when he said, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it
now. But when he comes, the Spirit of
truth, he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will
declare to you the things that are coming.”
(Jn. 16: 12-13)
I know how difficult it is to subject oneself to authority
in this day and age of defiance, but that remains an essential part of true
faith in Christ.
Obedience ... the ignored
virtue!
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