ASCENSCION
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “Ascension.”
In the 1990’s the Catholic Church - as well as other
Christian Churches moved Ascension Thursday to this 7th Sunday after
Easter. Some Catholic dioceses did just that; some dioceses didn’t.
I really don’t know the WHY of all this.
I assume it was to make things easier. I
assume that people were missing out on the feast - so some pushed to have it
moved to this Sunday - so people would reflect upon the Ascension of Christ
into heaven.
Somewhere along the line I found myself saying that I
don’t like the word, “obligation” - as in “Sunday Obligation” - as well as,
“Holy Day of Obligation” and somewhere
along the line I discovered nobody really cares what I think.
Yet when I heard my sister Mary say: “I wish the Catholic Church
would change their wording to “Holy Day of Opportunity,” I said to myself, ‘I
like that!’”
So I cared what someone else said in the halls of public
theology. I also cared when I’ve heard
various people say, “I wouldn’t want to be at something that you had to come to
by obligation or else you’re in trouble. I’d rather be at something I’d want to be at.”
Yet those who skip celebrations or obligations or what
have you - sometimes get looked down upon.
Guilt gets results - obligation works. At Mass, and
family get togethers, there are people there with an unhappy face on. They are there because
they feel a have to - as opposed to a want to.
DOWN SYNDROME
USHER
I once heard a wonderful - and funny - story.
In a parish in some city in the Midwest there was this
neat young man with Down Syndrome. Every
Sunday he went with his parents to Sunday Mass - and in time his dream was to
be an usher.
Finally, he got his wish. The rest of the ushers said,
“Why not? It’s tough getting ushers at times - especially during the summer.”
So this young man was made an usher and he loved it - and
everyone in the parish got to love him.
Surprise! The collection went up - and it was noticeable.
He would push the basket into the benches he
served…. This was before “Faith Direct.”
If someone didn’t put some money into his basket - he would hold it - there - right in front of a
person - and gesture with the basket, “How about some green?” He would also say
at times, “Uh, Uh, Uh” with the basket at the person. It was usually a visitor
or a “once and a whiler” this happened to. The regulars loved it - and would
joke about it outside of church after Mass. And they too added to the
collection.
Shame, shake downs, guilt, works.
Obviously wanting to be generous - to support the church -
to help others - or what have you is a much better attitude and motive and
outlook.
I was at some banquet or fund raiser once and people were going around selling 50-50’s - those
tickets with the numbers on them. One ticket stays with the seller for a later
on drawing. The other ticket with the same number on it goes into the buyer’s
pocket. Felling guilty or I better make a contribution to the cause, I said, “Give me ten.” The seller said, “They
are 100 dollars apiece, Father.” “Ooops,” I said, “Give me one.” I thought they
were a dollar each.
Obligation works…. In public view works….
THE HUMAN
ASCENT
In his book, The
Ascent of Man, Jacob Bronowski in talking about evolution, said, “Among the
multitude of animals which scamper, fly, burrow, and swim around us, man is the
only one who is not locked into his environment.” Bronowski continues, “His imagination, his
reason, his emotional subtlety and toughness make it possible for him not to accept the environment but to
change it. And that series of inventions by which man from age to age has
remade his environment is a different kind of evolution - not biological, but
cultural evolution. I call that brilliant sequence of cultural peaks The Ascent of Man.”
THE DECENSION
AND ASCENSION OF CHRIST
There is a key Christian Life text in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.
As you know some of Paul’s letters were with us before
the gospels.
Philippians is
one of them - dated back to the 50’s.
Philippians 2: 5b-11 gives us an early Christian
hymn - which means it’s even earlier -
which says Christ was God - and he emptied himself of his being God and became
one of us - and he descended even lower and became a slave for us - and then
even lower - he was killed - on a cross
- for us - because of us - us at our lowest - and because of this obedience -
this choice by Christ to lift us from our lowest - God exalted him - raised him
up - Ascension - so that everyone will see him as our savior - redeemer - our
God. That’s the kind of God we have.
And that’s not the way we people are at times. At times
we step on others. We stand on others. We put others down - so we can look
higher - bigger - better than the other guy or gal.
Just look around! We brag. We boast. We want to look
bigger and better than others: with house, with car, with cash, with Botox,
with clothes, with kids with better marks, smarts, looks than your kids.
Life is according to Paul and Christ - is lowering
ourselves so others can rise.
I find myself hearing another tell a story - and I got to
top them - ascend higher than them.
Decension, listening to others, letting them shine in a
conversation is what Christ is about. Hey he didn’t start till he was almost 30
and his mother dragged him into his start - at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.
Isn’t that what Jesus kept saying, “Lessen that ego -
empty that self - wash feet - put out the garbage - empty the dishwasher -
empty yourself of self-importance - help
your neighbor - hold doors - deflate yourself - let your hot air out - and
you’ll sail through the air better like a Tom Brady football - and you’ll win
the Super Bowl of Life.
CONCLUSION
So why come to church? Why pray?
Answer: Become quiet and to learn this evolution.
Or as Octavio Paz - the Mexican poet - put it, “Solitude lies at the lowest depth of
the human condition. Man is the only
being who feels himself to be alone and the only one who is searching for the
Other.”
And Paz capitalizes that word “Other.”
The Other is God - and life is all about our
ascension - our ascent to God the Father - as Christ showed us with his life.
