This morning’s Gospel reading is Mark 16:15–20:
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
Note: Some parishes may use a different set of readings for Sunday, with the Gospel reading from John 17:20-26.
What is the hardest part of a long and potentially dangerous journey? Taking the first step.
This weekend, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord as part of our Easter season and our own part of His mission to spread the Gospel throughout the earth. The Gospel reading is Mark’s parallel to Matthew’s Great Commission, in which Jesus told His disciples to become true apostles and to make His church a missionary church.
This profoundly changed the entire model of salvation, as understood by the Israelites. Until Jesus’ resurrection and Ascension, the model of salvation required all nations to come to Jerusalem to hear the Word and the Law of God, by which the fallen world could be repaired. The Lord commanded Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt to become a nation of priests and prophets for that purpose, and eventually established the Davidic Kingdom for that purpose.
However, even that was a concession, as we read in the first book of Samuel. The Lord scolded the nation for their rejection of his authority (1 Samuel 17-19) after reminding them of all the marvels He had performed for them. Samuel anointed Saul, who became corrupt, and the Lord chose David as Saul’s successor. Both David and Solomon disobeyed the Lord, but at least for a time, their reigns focused on the Lord’s mission to spread the Word and the Law. After that, however, the kings of Israel and then Judea pursued wealthy and worldly ambitions, rejecting the Lord even further.
They did not ascend to the Temple, as prophet after prophet warned; they descended to it as they saw fit. And the nations did not ascend to Jerusalem for enlightenment and salvation, but contended with Jerusalem for the same worldly ambitions and desires.
In the Ascension, we see clearly how the Lord had planned to lead all of the people back to His heart. Jesus had condescended to the world in order to live humbly as one of us, preaching the Father’s love and Word while providing us the model of salvation through His disciples. Jesus sacrificed Himself for our sins, fulfilling the blood oath with Abraham and freeing us of our death penalty for sin if we choose to accept Jesus as our Lord. Jesus then leads the way to Heaven in His bodily ascension, the promise of our own salvation laid out before the eyes of the disciples in one last act.
However, His church now reverses the model of salvation by taking Jerusalem — the eternal Jerusalem of the Word of God — to the people. Jesus ascends and sends His church to condescend (in the sense of dismissing all rank or dignity due) to all of the nations of Earth to bring them salvation and hope. Within a generation, the second temple would be destroyed, a sign of this reversal and the necessity of a pilgrim Church. God had not abandoned the people, but instead provided a new ‘kingdom’ on Earth to serve rather than rule.
Jesus provided a model of this condescension at the Last Supper. Before they sat down to eat the Passover meal, Jesus shocked His disciples by insisting on washing their feet. Peter was so shocked, in fact, that he balked at first at the indignity of this for his Lord. What did Jesus tell Peter in response? He said that there can be no salvation without this act of humility and service (John 13:6-17, NIV):
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.[“]
This is the model of salvation — and it always was the model of salvation. The Lord intended the Israelites to build a nation where the the world could come and Israel could welcome and serve them to teach them the Word of God. Abraham became the father of nations because of the way he welcomed the Lord and recognized His mercy and authority. When Israel and Judea turned their hearts away from this mission and attempted to use the Lord’s authority for their own worldly appetites and ambitions, the Father did not turn His back on the Israelites nor the rest of the world, but instead condescended into our service by sending His Son, the Word Incarnate, to serve us and lead us home. Jesus did not assume royal position or power, but served both the Father and the disciples, while urging them at the Last Supper and the Ascension to do the same to the whole world.
That is how we are to take up His Great Commission. Even now, we are to serve the world by spreading the Gospel in both words and deeds, setting aside our own ambitions and pretensions of rank and dignity. We are called to rescue our brothers and sisters from sin, to the point of washing their feet and if need be to take the dangerous journeys to allow them to see the hope of the Lord in His word.
That is indeed a frightening prospect at times. But the best way to begin is to take that first mission step toward the Ascension and put that step in service to others.
Previous reflections on these readings:
Also: My 2016 reflection on John 17:20-26, an alternate passage in this weekend’s Masses can be found here.
The front page image is “The Ascension of Christ” by Pieter Jozef Verhaghen, 1800. On display at the Museum Leuven in Leuven, Belgium. Via Wikimedia Commons.
“Sunday Reflection” is a regular feature that looks at the specific readings used in today’s Mass in Catholic parishes around the world. The reflection represents only my own point of view, intended to help prepare myself for the Lord’s day and perhaps spark a meaningful discussion. Previous Sunday Reflections from the main page can be found here.
