Jesus commissions his disciples

Today's Reflections 

      

Jesus commissions his disciples

Mt 28:16-20

¹⁶The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. ¹⁸Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

PREACHING IN THE CULTURE OF COMMUNICATION. Matthew does not paint Jesus being taken up to heaven. Rather, he emphasizes Jesus’ presence among the believers—“I am with you always”—even if, in his glorified state, he can no longer be seen, heard, and touched through the physical senses. He is truly Immanuel—“God with us”—until the end of the age.

Ascension Sunday is celebrated by the Church as World Communications Day. This is a reminder to all—the hierarchy, consecrated men and women, and the lay faithful—of the divine command to preach the Gospel to all nations. And to preach the Gospel means to be faithful to certain realities.

The first faithfulness is to Christ and his message. Jesus is not just a historical figure who lived more than two thousand years ago. He is alive and guides the Church through the gift of the Spirit. Jesus is unique and, as John Paul II explains, “It is precisely this uniqueness which gives him an absolute and universal significance, whereby, while belonging to history, he remains history’s center and goal” (Redemptoris Missio, 6).

The second faithfulness is to the life and mission of the Church. The community of faith, evangelized by Christ, in turn becomes an evangelizing community.

The third faithfulness is to men and women of today. The ministers of the Word must take into account who they are, where they are, what their joys and hopes, their griefs and anxieties are. Today’s men and women live in the culture of communication. The Church should therefore evangelize men and women in this culture.