Come O Holy Spirit, O Fount of Life, Come!

 (Homily for Pentecost Sunday Year A)

Without the Holy Spirit, God is distant, Christ is merely a historical figure, the Gospel is a dead letter, the Church is just an organization, authority is domination, mission is propaganda, liturgy is only nostalgia, and the work of Christians is a slave morality. But with the Holy Spirit, Christ is risen and present, the Gospel is a living force, the Church is a communion in the life of the Trinity, authority is a service that sets the people free, mission is Pentecost, the liturgy is commemoration and anticipation, and the work of Christians is divinized (Ignatius of Laodecea).

     The aforementioned assertion of Ignatius of Laodicea sets in motion the vitality and the profundity of today’s Solemnity. Today as we are celebrating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the word of God gives account of this Event, in four different ways, to demonstrate that the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, cannot be locked up in human schemes. The Gospel and the first reading complement each other, as they both talk about the descent of the Holy Spirit; although while in the first the Holy Spirit is a Gift of the Risen Christ to the Church for her mission, in the latter the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles as the life propelling force and opens new horizons for the mission. In the second reading He is the Giver of God’s gifts and the source of unity of the believers. And the fourth account is in today’s responsorial Psalm: “Send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth” (Ps.104:30). All the earth, nothing and nobody is excluded. Indeed, what we are celebrating today is the fulfilment of the promise of the Risen Christ. Several times in his farewell speech, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to the apostles: “I will not leave you orphans… I will send you the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth… and you will receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn. 14). And 50 days after His Resurrection, Jesus maintains his promise, as St. Luke recounts in the Acts of the Apostles. St. John instead, in his Gospel collocates the coming of the Holy Spirit in the evening of the same day of Resurrection (cf. Jn. 20:19-23), as such, he intends to make us understand that the Holy Spirit is the most important Gift of the Risen Christ, the most precious fruit of his gesture of love and obedience to the Father. He is the Gift of God and the Giver of God’s gift to us. The Holy Spirit is a Person, the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity. In the Scripture he is presented with several symbols and images like: cloud (cf. Ex. 16:10); water (cf. Ez. 17:1-6; Jn. 7:37-39); wind or breath (cf. Gn.1:2; Acts. 2:2); fire (cf. Ex. 3:2; 13:21; Is. 4:4; Acts. 2:3); anointing oil (cf. Acts. 10:38); dove (cf. Mk. 1:10; Lk. 3:22); still small voice (cf. 1Kgs. 19:11-13) etc…

     The word Pentecost is from a Greek word “Pentēkostē”, which means fiftieth. The Pentecost was an old Jewish traditional feast that was celebrated 50 days after the Passover, namely the in-gathering of grains. Later on, Judaism transformed it into a feast of salvation history, for it commemorated the arrival of the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, and the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai (cf. Ex. 34:28). This was later introduced into the Christian feast that marked the conclusion of the great fifty days after Christ’s Resurrection. It also refers to the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and others who were present at the Upper room. The grain harvest and the law are now replaced by the gift of the Spirit, from the constitution of the old Israel to the constitution of the new Israel. A gaze into the Old Testament reveals the power and activity of God’s Spirit at work. For instance, God allowed His Spirit to rest on the seventy elders who were appointed to assist Moses (Num. 11:16-17; 25). After his anointing as King, Saul received the Spirit of God and prophesied (1 Sam. 10:10); and when he lost his connection with God the Spirit of God left him (1 Sam. 16:14). Therefore, obedience to God attracts the presence of the Holy Spirit in our life, for it can be seen that when Saul disobeyed God, the Spirit of God that was upon him departed from him (cf. 1Sam. 15:26; 16:14). The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a mark of God’s presence in us. David was a man filled with God’s Spirit and when he sinned he begged God not to take the Holy Spirit away from him (Psalm 51:11). In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is our great teacher and reminder (Jn. 14:26); He is the guarantor and witness of our divine filiation as sons and daughters (Rm. 8:16); he is the great intercessor (Rm. 8:26); He is the great explorer: “for the Spirit explores the depth of everything, even the depths of God” (1Cor. 2:10). He dwells in us, “Do you not realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you and whom you have received from God? (1Cor. 6:19). Particularly, in the book of Revelation the Holy Spirit is portrayed as capable of taking control of a person: “On the Lord’s day the Spirit took control of me” (Rev. 1:10) and again “At once the Spirit took control of me” (Rev. 4:2), The Holy Spirit can possess a person, and his is indeed is a dynamic presence, for whoever he posseses witnesses all round transformation. The Holy Spirit is a great teacher and proclaimer of the divine message. In the book of Revelation “who has ears listen, what the Spirit says to the Church” (Rev. 2:29; 3:6; 3:16; 3:22). His message to the Churches was a message of rediscovering their identity before God and the renewal of their rapport with God. Even for us today, his is a message of repentance, unity, liberation and a rediscovery of who we are before God.

     The Gospel passage (John 20:19-23) instead presents the eleven apostles in the cenacle in the evening of Easter, they were still hiding for fear of the Jews. Jesus on the Easter day, entered even though the doors were shut, he greeted them with peace, for he knows that they were troubled and as such in need of peace, peace that comes from Him. Let us take into consideration the two great gifts that the Risen Christ brought to the first Christian community of the apostles reunited in the cenacle: Jesus gave them the gift of peace: “Peace be with you”. Peace biblically embraces all the divine promises: grace, divine benevolence, interior serenity and salvation. And in order to calm their fear and to console them with his presence, He then: “showed them his hands and his side”, that is, to tell them that he is the Crucified-Risen Lord. And there he inaugurates the mission of the apostles: “as the Father sent me, even so I send you” and immediately after that he gave them the second gift. Secondly, he gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit: “He breathed on them and said: receive the Holy Spirit”. Behold, the Holy Spirit is the most important and precious Gift that the Risen Lord gives to his apostles and to his people.

     In this Gospel narrative the eleven apostles locked themselves up in the cenacle out of fear. Probably, they were thinking that all that was expected of them is to preserve the memory of their Master within themselves, living secluded from the world. But behold, there in the cenacle they experienced the irruption of the Holy Spirit through the presence of the risen Lord. He gave them the Gift of the Holy Spirit and sent them on mission, because the Holy Spirit will not allow the Church to remain only like a warehouse, closed in herself, but it wants her to be an “out-going Church”. The Holy Spirit was sent to the apostles and the Church so that they will continue the mission of Christ: “As the Father sent me, so I send you” (v.21), a mission without limits, neither of space nor of time. The mission is not only a mission of announcing the word, but also of liberating men from the slavery of sin and for the renewal of humanity. Upon this, he equally gave them a mandate: “to those you forgive their sins they are forgiven” (v.23). Through the Holy Spirit, the Church through her ministers receives the mandate of forgiving sins.

     In the first reading (Acts 2:1-11) St. Luke narrates the event of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, unlike in the Gospel, but fifty days after Easter. Therein, we see that the Holy Spirit is the principle of expansion of the Church and the life force. This account of the Pentecost permits us to discover another great thing that the Holy Spirit represents for the Church, the life force that nourishes her in her Mission. There are some vital elements to ponder upon in the passage, ●first, “they were all together”, this entails that the Holy Spirit comes where there is unity. ●Second, “A sound came from heaven like a mighty wind”, this lays credence that it is truly Ruah Adonai, for the Holy Spirit manifests Himself so many times through the wind. In the book of Genesis (1:2) we are told that at the first moment of creation, “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” ●Third, “It rested on each one of them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages.” This is suggestive that the Holy Spirit came on them individually; likewise his gifts are individually given but for the common purpose. The Spirit empowered them to speak different languages, however, other languages here might be considered symbolic. They symbolize a language of love that all understand. ●Fourth, “at this sound the multitude came together”, this gesture of gathering together is the beginning of the Church’s mission to evangelize, because they are gathered in order to be sent. ●Fifth, “we hear them telling in our tongues the mighty works of God”, indeed, the Holy Spirit urges us to proclaim the wonderful works God has wrought for us, and as such, it was the major content of the preaching of the apostles that very day. On the other hand, in the book of Genesis (11:1-9), we see a direct opposite of what happened today in the Acts of the Apostles, the tower of Babel, where people because of pride, presumption and distance from God, were divided and thrown into confusion and incomprehension, language became a source of confusion instead of unity and understanding. That indicates simply the absence of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit is the reversal of babel. Meanwhile, the responsorial psalm talks about the natural and cosmic dimensions of the Spirit’s work (Ps. 104:30). The presence and power of the Spirit creates, recreates and renews.

     In the second reading (1Cor 12:3b-7.12-13) St. Paul tells us that it is through an indwelling experience of the Holy Spirit that we are able to recognize and call Jesus Lord, “nobody is able to say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (v.3b). More so, the Holy Spirit brings unity to the Church, unity and continuity of the Church with Christ. The Holy Spirit is the principle of unity amongst Christians. The Holy Spirit makes the multitude of Christians into “one body”. The Spirit unites and makes us brothers and sisters because it is the Holy Spirit who awakens the consciousness of our filial dignity, and He puts on our lips the language of God’s children: “Abba Father” (Rm. 8:15). St. Paul brings the discourse of the Holy Spirit to an intimate and personal level. The coming of the Holy Spirit concerns not only the Church but every single Christian. The Holy Spirit enriches the single members with charisms, gifts (gratia gratis data). The Holy Spirit is the source of the multitude and inexhaustible riches of charisms in the Church. And these gifts even though individually given are for the benefit and edification of the community. We can as well, talk of the “democracy” of the Spirit, because it is not a gift for only leaders or outstanding persons in the community, neither is He confined to a particular privileged set of people, is for all sons and daughters of God.

     Dear beloved in Christ, the Pentecost experience still continues, like the first Christian community today we are gathered, but unlike the first Christian community we are not waiting for the absent Spirit to come, rather we have to reawaken ourselves to the Spirit who is already present and working in, for and through us since we received Him during our Baptism. We only need to wake up to His presence. We need the Holy Spirit in all that we do. The life of Jesus from conception, birth, public ministry, passion, death and resurrection was marked by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Little wonder, at the beginning of his mission Jesus declared: ‘The Spirit of God is upon me” (Lk. 4:18; cf. Is. 61:1). At the Incarnation, Mary conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit, and at the Eucharist, Bread and Wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, by the power of the same Spirit (epiclesis). The Holy Spirit guarantees and realizes his continuous Incarnation. The Holy Spirit realizes the consecration of Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. During consecration in Eucharistic Prayer II the Priest says: “Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” Above all, the Holy Spirit is at work in and through the Sacraments of the Church.    

     We too need Him in our existential sojourn and weaknesses, for this St. Paul said that “the Spirit comes to help in our weakness, for when we do not know how to pray properly, he intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” (Rm. 8:26). It is the same Spirit that bears witness to our divine identity, as God’s children, “The Spirit himself joins our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God” (Rm. 8:16), He confirms our filial identity. Above all, St. Paul captured the essence of the Pentecost experience when he affirms that “our Hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out His Love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to us” (Rm. 5:5). Today as we receive this outpouring, we join our voices together with that of the Psalmist in saying “Send forth your Spirit Lord and renew the face of the earth” (Ps. 104:30). May He renew us and renew our world battered and engulfed in so many ills and evils. We hereby declare freedom and liberty for all God’s children, because “where there is the Spirit of God there is freedom” (2Cor. 3:17). Come o Holy Spirit and fill our hearts with Love and with a hope that does not disappoint! Be renewed as we receive the outpouring! And as we welcome Him today may the same Spirit liberate us from all that do not allow us to be free sons and daughters of God! May He chase away the powers of darkness in our hearts and in our world with His fire! Amen!!!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)

At Prayer With Mary For the Holy Spirit!

 (Homily for the 7^th Sunday of Easter Year A)

     Truly, as we draw closer to the end of the Marian Month, we are like the apostles, praying together with Mary in the Upper room for the Father’s Gift on Pentecost. Indeed, this Sunday in-between Ascension and Pentecost is a special one, for it looks backward and forward into the Event of Christ and its implication for the disciples (the Church). Little wonder, the liturgy of the Word today is equally replete with the tonality of expectancy, orchestrated in the atmosphere of prayer. Therefore, it is a prayerful waiting and expectation, and we are not alone, we are with Mary the Mother of Jesus. Prayer indeed is the axis of our human existence as Christians, and with that consciousness we can explore the power and importance of prayer in our existential sojourn. As our body needs food to survive so our spirit needs prayer to be alive. Little wonder in Luke 18:1 our Lord asked us to pray and never lose heart. Prayer for Jesus is entering into a sublime intimacy with the Father, for us too prayer becomes a way of dwelling in that union, entering into intimacy with the Father through Jesus. In the words of St. Luigi Guanella, prayer is a heart to heart relation with God, prayer for him is like the breath of our life. Prayer is the way to become and remain part of Jesus’ mission, by drawing people to this intimacy. Prayer is indeed one of the major themes that run through the readings of this Sunday, especially in the first reading and the Gospel. But also in the second reading that is centered on bearing persecution for the sake of Christ’s name, it is equally through prayer that we are enabled to bear witness to his love and message in and out of season.

     The first reading (Acts 1:12-14) presents Luke’s literary scheme whereby, the Ascension, the Resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit are distinct events. In fact, the Ascension and the Pentecost took place forty and fifty days respectively after the Resurrection. In this passage the context is the Upper room where the apostles, with some women and Mary the Mother of Jesus and some other brethren were at prayer in expectation of the Holy Spirit. After the Ascension event the apostles and some believers went back to Jerusalem as the Lord instructed them. They went to the Upper room to pray, the Upper room is a place of concentration, of isolation and of silence, it is a place of prayer. Why were they praying? We can get the answer from the instruction of the Lord: “Do not leave Jerusalem until you receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4). This passage captured the time between the Ascension and the Pentecost, and it is indeed a time of waiting and praying. However, the Church and every single Christian have to continue to pray constantly for the coming of the Holy Spirit; because the gift of the Holy Spirit is not an assured possession once and for all, rather we have to beseech it constantly anew in and through prayer. So they were prayerfully waiting for the Holy Spirit. Here, prayer is seen as an expression of trust in God. Therefore, we are encouraged like them (the disciples, the women and the mother of Jesus) to pray the Holy Spirit in.

     As a matter of fact, in the list of names mentioned by St. Luke, the one of Mary the mother of Jesus stands out, because she was not mentioned or included in the other women as depicted by the author. The name of Mary the mother of Jesus, shows that right from the beginning of the Church, she is honoured. St. Luke decided to accord her an outstanding position in the life of the early Church. In fact, this marks the last appearance of Mary the mother of Jesus in the New Testament. Behold, it is fascinating that our last picture of her is within the context of a praying community, as a member of the community of believers engaged in a prayerful expectation of the Paraclete.

     The Gospel passage (Jn. 17:1-11a) is taken from the famous high Priestly prayer of Jesus, which took place within the context of the Last Supper. Although, some theologians prefer to call it the prayer of consecration, because in this prayer, Jesus consecrates himself in view of his redeeming death. On this seventh Sunday of Easter in the three liturgical years, we always read the passage of the Gospel from the 17^th chapter of St. John’s Gospel. Therein, Jesus is seen praying for different purposes: in the first part Jesus elevates his entreaties and presented his mission report to the Father (vv.1-8); in the second part Jesus prays for his disciples (vv.9-19) and in the third part Jesus prays for us and all future believers (vv.20-26). The prayer in question does not represent only the substance of Jesus prayer at the Last Super according to the fourth Gospel, more than that, it is the prayer that the ascended Christ continues to offer to the Father in heaven. The overriding theme or content of the prayer is “ut omnes unum sint” (that they may be one). The unity that Jesus prays for is a unity founded not on human effort but on the divine union and on the common sharing of the Word and Sacrament. The priestly prayer of Jesus was presented at the time of his departure from the world to the Father. It reveals our Lord’s deep concern for those he was leaving behind. First, we are told that Jesus raised his eyes up and raising his eyes up, was to establish a contact with His Father (we see a similar gesture in John 11:41 at the tomb of Lazarus, here Jesus called God Father). Whenever Jesus raises his eyes up to the Heavens, something great always happens. It is a gesture that is always accompanied with divine intervention, for it is a spiritual cable for divine connection.

     In this payer Jesus offers himself to the Father as a holocaustal sacrifice. In the fourth Gospel the concept of “hour” signifies the hour of his Passion. As Jesus prayed he expresses his obedient desire, that through his death the Father and the Son may be glorified, that is, that through his death the redemptive plan of the Father will be realized through and in the Son. In this passage, this redemptive plan of the Father is defined as the giving of eternal life to those whom the Father has given to the Son. And what is eternal life? The author describes eternal life as the knowledge of the Father and the Son: “eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (v.3). In St. John’s parlance, eternal life is not a matter of duration of life, rather it hinges on the idea of quality, the quality of life, a life in communion with the Father and the Son. Immediately after that emphasis on eternal life, Jesus continued his prayer with theme of glorification. Therein, Jesus brings in his earlier life, prior to the cross, and again he makes further allusion to the glory He received in his pre-existent state: “Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before the world existed” (v.5). In that bid, we see that the glory of the cross cannot be separated from the whole incarnate life and mission of the Son.

     Be that as it may, from the sixth verse the prayer looked back once again to the earthly work of the Son, with emphasis on the revelation that Jesus gave to his disciples. As a matter of fact, the major constituent of the revelation of Jesus is the word, “They have kept your word” (v.6c). The word(s) in question are the words of the Father, which He the Father gave to Him (the Son). As a matter of fact, in receiving those words as the words of Father the disciples demonstrated their faith in Jesus, as One sent by the Father. Thus, we may say that their positive response to the revelation made by Jesus stands out as a Christological confirmation and affirmation of who Jesus is: the One Sent by the Father, the Revelator of the Father (cf. v.8). Here Jesus made a claim on our behalf, that they have kept the word. But have we kept the word? In this episode, we see from afar the relation that co-exists between the Father and the Son. The Father is the Originator and the Initiator of the whole redemptive plan, He is the Sender of the Son, who comes to execute the Father’s will. It is indeed worth reaffirming that prayer of Jesus to the Father does not in any way obscure his divinity or Godliness, rather it reveals something of his divine nature, for as the divine Son He receives everything from the Father and returns everything to the Father.

     This prayer of Jesus is divine in nature and as such, cannot but be eternal. For us who are still here on earth, Jesus continues to pray to the Father on our behalf, for “he has taken his seat at the right of the Father” and there continues to intercede for us. By virtue of his priestly office Jesus is the mediator between God and man, and through his priestly office he sanctifies all that the Father has entrusted to him. Above all, through his obedient sacrifice his priestly ministry is perfected in one hand, and at the other hand, sustained in and through his intercessions, he is our Great Intercessor, the First Advocate of mankind (cf. Jn. 14:16). And this priestly ministry of Jesus does not stop with him, it continues, for along history lane, we see followers of Jesus assuming the priestly ministry in continuation of Jesus priestly work, they (we) continue to sanctify, intercede and offer sacrifices for His people. That is what happened in the first reading after the Ascension of Jesus, his disciples returned to Jerusalem and devoted themselves with one accord to prayer. They entered into prayer, not because the priestly prayer of Jesus is inadequate, but because it is the wish of Jesus for his disciples and followers to share in the divine life.

     And finally, the last part of Jesus’ priestly prayer as contained in this passage moves from the work that Jesus did, his ministry to the fate of his disciples after his departure. Jesus prays for them because the reception of the revelation of Jesus has made them to belong no longer to the world, even though they still live in it. As such, they belong to God’s kingdom. And little wonder, Jesus consecrated himself as he departs from them to enable them participate in the Kingdom of God. Thus the prayer ends with Jesus departure from the world and to the Father: “I am coming to you, Holy Father” (v.11a).

     In the second reading (1Pt.4:13-16) we see rather a warning of imminent persecution in a time when being a Christian was beginning to be considered a crime. At this historical period, Christianity has been recognized as a separate religion from Judaism, although not yet considered a legal religion. It was probably during the persecution of Nerus, when Christians were burnt alive. In this period, Christians have to suffer for the name of Christ. For sure, the participation in the sufferings of Christ leads to participation in his Glory. Here, the apostle advises us not to suffer like thieves or murderers, but for the Christian cause. However, in today’s liturgy, this reading appears to be like a square peg in a round hole as far as the theme of this Sunday is concerned, but on a second thought it is not. St. Peter tried to bring to our consciousness and consideration on how to live when we must have received the Holy Spirit. For we receive the Holy Spirit to become audacious witnesses of Christ. And it is within this framework that we can savour the present passage alongside the themes of expectation, prayer and the Holy Spirit. In fact, in the words of St. Peter: “If you are insulted for bearing Christ’s name, blessed are you, for on you rests the Spirit of God, the Spirit of glory” (v.14). Therefore, the persecution we may experience as witnesses of Christ is a confirmation that the Spirit dwells in us. Thus, there is a knit connection between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness for Christ and suffering persecution for the sake of his name. In Greek the words witness and martyrdom come from the same root word or even the same word: “Martureo.” As such, this passage serves as a reminder to us, that as we await and pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit, we should be ready also to bear witness to Christ by the power of the same Spirit, in and out of season, both in good and in bad times.

     In all, the readings of this Sunday could be seen from the light of a theological succession, for the first reading pictures the disciples in the upper room waiting for the outpouring of the Spirit, which as we have seen in the Gospel passage is the result of Jesus’ departure to the Father and his glorification. As a matter of fact, the events of his departure and that of the outpouring of the Spirit enable his disciples to be in the world, and yet not of the world, but in any case for the world; in the measure they (we) are called to bear witness to His name and even suffer persecutions as Jesus did in his earthly life. Therefore, it is upon consideration of our presence in the world, our belongingness not to the world but to God’s Kingdom and our witnessing in and for the world that we join our minds and hearts together with those of the believers in the Upper room in invoking: “Veni, Creator Spiritus”!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)

The Lord Goes Up With Shouts of Joy!

 (Homily for the Solemnity of Ascension -Year A)

     In my homily last Sunday I did affirmed that: “As Jesus prepares to leave the scene, He prepares the minds of his disciples for the advent of the Paraclete”, and indeed today He finally bids farewell to his disciples and apostles, although his departure is not a definitive separation from his people, but the beginning of a new presence. The Ascension of Jesus to Heaven that we are celebrating today, concludes his earthly life, and yet opens a way for another type of presence. However, narrating this great event the Evangelists seem to do so with discretion. Mathew as we can see in today’s Gospel passage did not talk about it explicitly, he only said that “the eleven went to Galilee on the mountain that Jesus indicated to them.” In his own account Mark says: “And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven; there at the right hand of God he took his place” (Mk. 16:19). Similarly, Luke in his Gospel (Lk. 24:46-53) and in the Acts of the Apostles (first reading) expressed: “He was assumed into heaven, he was elevated on high, before their eyes and a cloud covered him before their gaze” (Acts 1:9). This entails that the visible presence of Jesus on earth has paved way for his presence in another modality. At the celebration of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus into heaven, it is very easy to allow oneself to be carried away by the imagination and fantasy of thinking that it has to do with some sort of levitation or a physical phenomenon. Instead, here we are before a mystery, a truth of faith that we are called to believe, and not a phenomenon to be explained away with the human sciences.

     In today’s Gospel passage (Mt. 28:16-20) Mathew does not present a clear episode of the Ascension event, rather he presents an encounter of the risen Lord with his apostles within a context of his final appearance before the Ascension. Drawing the issue further, it is paramount to underline the fact that in the New Testament, the Ascension event is treated as an integral part of the Easter event. As a matter of fact, the earlier Easter narratives presented the appearances as manifestations of both the already risen and ascended Christ. This theological thread runs through this Mathew’s Gospel passage about the final appearance of the risen One. It is the ascended Christ that said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (v.18).

     In this narrative of St. Mathew the appearance of Jesus took place on a mountain, and this location has some theological importance for our Evangelist. It is a locus of enconter with and revelation of God, since mountains are closer to God who dwells in the heavens. For if we remember vividly well the great sermon (cf. Mt. 5) took place on a mountain; the transfiguration too, in Mathew and other synoptics took place on a mountain (cf. Mt. 17; Mk. 9; Lk. 9). However, it is important to note that the appearances of the risen Lord are revelations, and as such, could be taken to be true or discarded, doubted or believed. Little wonder, those who believed responded in adoration before Him (v.17). Mathew made it clear that upon his appearance they fell down before him in adoration while some hesitated, and after this he spoke to them, as if to confirm that truly it is He. He spoke to them ascertaining his authority from above and then entrusted his mission to them. And we tried to capture them in the following sentences: ● Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations (v.19), ● baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (v.19), ● and teach them to observe all the commands i gave you (v.20). This sublime mission Jesus entrusted to his disciples would have been an impossible mission without the aid and the presence of the Holy Spirit, through whom Jesus perpetuates his presence. Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father and the apostles went to preach to the whole world. And the Church was born and her journey in human history began. Thus, we may well affirm that the declaration of his authority was succeeded by a missionary charge. Interestingly, the last verse of the passage underlines the fact that the interval between the ascension and the second coming is not a period of his temporary absence. Thus after his missionary mandate to them he assured them of his permanent presence from that moment to the parousia. That is to say, even though he ascends to heaven, he is still with us.

     The first reading (Acts 1:1-11) situates the event within the context of encounter (appearances) between the risen Lord and his apostles. Therein, He told them not to leave Jerusalem in view of the Father’s promise: the Holy Spirit. But they showed lack of understanding towards the admonition of Jesus. Then they asked: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). This question reveals their mistaken view of the person and mission of Jesus. In their minds Jesus would do something to drive out the Romans and restore power to Israel. In the same manner, many of us today, do not understand properly His teachings. The question of the apostles was off point, however, Jesus used the opportunity to educate them on what to do after the Ascension, thus in response to their question about restoring the kingdom to Israel, Jesus said to 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” (Acts 1:7-8). Thus, we are not to sit and fold our arms, instead we are to do something: “you will be my witnesses …” In all, Luke’s  version of the Ascension event in the Acts of the Apostles, looks forward to the future, that is, to the inauguration of the mission of the Church and the final return of the One who ascends: “he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight…This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him go to heaven” (vv. 9.11). And after the Ascension the disciples returned to Jerusalem and went to the Upper room, where they remained in prayer with the disciples and some women including Mary the mother of Jesus (cf. 1:12-14). They were in prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

     The second reading (Eph. 1:17-23) recuperated the theme of the Ascension as the enthronement of Christ. It elaborated the theme of the exaltation and Kingship of Christ as another mystery emanating from the mystery of Christ’s Ascension into heaven. For this, the apostle opined: “and how extraordinarily great is the power that he has exercised for us believers; this accords with the strength of his power at work in Christ, the power which he exercised in raising him from the dead and enthroning him at his right hand, in heaven, far above every principality, ruling force, power or sovereignty, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come” (vv. 19-21). Indeed, the event of the Ascension reveals another mystery about the crucified-risen Lord, for St. Paul unlike the Synoptic does not record simply that “he was carried up…”, or that “he parted from them”, but that he was raised above all things: “The one who went down is none other than the one who went up above all the heavens to fill all things” (Eph. 4:10). It is the dominion of Christ over all things. St. Peter equally recorded this thus: “he has entered heaven and is at God’s right hand, with angels, ruling forces and powers subject to him” (1Pt. 3:22). In that bid, the feast of the Ascension is an event of Christ’s enthronement, it celebrates the risen Christ as the One constituted by the Father as Sovereign Lord of all the earth. Little wonder Psalm 47, a psalm of enthronement was used for the responsorial psalm, “God has gone up with shouts of joy. The Lord goes up with trumpet blast” (v.6). It is on this note that St. John declared that “The Kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). The Ascension is indeed the feast of Christ’s enthronement. Therefore, henceforth God exercises his sovereignty over the universe through his crucified-risen and exalted Son.

     Furthermore, reflecting on the event of Christ’s Ascension into heaven, we deem it fit to make three considerations talking about the event in connection to us, thus:

1)      It confirms our faith in Jesus Christ. Christ is truly risen. He is alive. He is with us. In his words: “I will not leave you orphans” (Jn. 14:18), “I am with you always; yes, to the end of time” (Mt. 28:20). He departs physically but to perpetuate his presence spiritually.

2)      It revives our hope, for one day we shall be where the Risen Lord has preceded us to be at the Father’s right hand. “Anyone who proves victorious I will allow to share my throne, just as I have myself overcome and have taken my seat with my Father on his throne” (Rev. 3:21).

3)      It stimulates our Christian sense of duty and responsibility: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations…baptize them...and teach them” (Mt. 28:19-20); “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mk. 16:15); “in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations” (Lk. 24:47); “you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8b), “why are you Galileans standing here looking up to heaven” (Acts 1:11a). We too are not to stand and look!

     The Ascension into heaven is a full participation of Jesus to the life of God, as the God-man. Indeed, the Ascension Event does not inaugurate a period of distance or complete absence of Jesus from his people, rather, it inaugurates a new type of presence. For He says: “I will not leave you orphans, I will return to you” (Jn. 14:18). In fact, he has promised “It is for your own good that I am going, because unless I go, the Paraclete will not come to you” (Jn.16:7). And not by chance that Mathew ended his Gospel with the great and reassuring promise of Jesus: “Look, I am with you, till the end of time” (Mt. 28:20). The new presence that Jesus begins with the Ascension Event entails an invisible but real presence, which he actualizes through the coming of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Ascension Event stimulates us equally to believe that Christ is really present in his Church, for the Holy Spirit continues to work in the Church and in every single Christian. From this moment begins the “time of the Church”, of her mission in the world, a time condensed between two events: the ascent of Jesus at the right hand of God and his return at the end of time, as orchestrated in the first reading: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand and look up to heaven?” (Acts 1:11a). That was the question that “the two men in white” asked the apostles, who were gazing at Jesus as he ascends, as if to call their attention on the need of not wasting time on nostalgic regrets. It is not a time to observe Him like a bystander, rather it is time for and of action, time of realization of the Kingdom of God that Jesus has inaugurated on earth, and as such, time of witnessing!

     Furthermore, the Ascension of Jesus encourages us to look up, towards that sure destination that awaits us, where Christ preceded us to go and prepare a place for us. It helps us to learn that we are with Him on the path to glory, even though we maybe imperfect and limited, but upon consideration that we are members of his Body, the Church, of which He is the Head, and inasmuch as He is enthroned in heaven, we belong there, for where the head is, there the body will be also. Therefore, we cannot but live in hope of going one day to occupy the place Christ has prepared for us with the help of divine grace, for this St. Paul prayed in the second reading: “May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, how rich is the glory of the heritage he offers among his holy people” (Eph.1:18). May the Lord truly illumine our mind, revive our faith and reinforce our hope, so that we may be able to attain this glorious hope. And this gaze towards our glorious destination should not make us to become inactive in the present reality, it should not be a sort of analgesic that will relieve us from the present responsibilities and maybe pains, rather the consciousness of it has to propel us to live as disciples of Christ always and every where. For we will be able to reach our place in Paradise in the measure we engage ourselves in realizing here on earth, deep within us and in the world, the Kingdom of God, which is a Kingdom of peace, justice and love.

          Above all else, however, the first reading and the Gospel bring clearly to light the main message of today that the ascension does not mean that Jesus has gone from us, even though he is no longer visibly present, but he is still with us. It was an end and a beginning at the same time for the disciples. In all, the experience of the Ascension is a confirmation of the promise of Jesus “I will go and prepare a place for you” (Jn. 14:2-3). It is the assurance of the coming of the Holy Spirit “If I do not go away, the advocate will not come to you” (Jn.16:7). Indeed, the Newtonian law of Gravity seems to have relevance within the framework of the Ascension event: “whatever goes up must surely come down”. Applied to the Ascension we believe that He will come down as He ascended as Luke told us (cf. Acts 1:11b). May the Event of His Ascension into Heaven reawaken our faith, our hope and our Christian sense of duty! Amen!!! Happy Ascension to You All!!!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)

Send Down Your Spirit O Lord!

  (Homily for the 6^th Sunday of Easter Year A)

     From this Sunday, attention moves from the risen Christ to the Holy Spirit, from the Risen Lord to His Gift. In fact, we can call it a brief advent in preparation for Pentecost. The departure of Jesus does not mean that he is now absent; rather it entails his ever renewed presence through the coming of the Spirit. Be that as it may, at the verge of the closing of the Easter season we move from the contemplation of the resurrection appearances to the meditation on the continued presence of the exalted Christ in and with his Church through the Spirit. The coming of Christ was prepared for ages, from the proclamation of the prophets and the voice of John the Baptist, the precursor of the Messiah. But for the advent of the Holy Spirit, Jesus himself announces it: “I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you for ever” (v. 16), He is the ‘Precursor of the Paraclete’. Indeed, the first promise that Jesus made to his disciples was the gift of the Spirit, who comes as the Paraclete, the Advocate. As Jesus prepares to leave the scene, He prepares the minds of his disciples for the advent of the Paraclete. This indeed, is one of the greatest promises in the New Testament.

     As a matter of fact, the three readings of today are to prepare us to wait and to desire the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The readings serve as an anticipation of the Pentecoste. The liturgy presents Jesus who promises the Holy Spirit to his disciples (Gospel). St. Luke presents Peter and John “praying for the newly baptized Christians of Samaria, so that they can receive the Holy Spirit” (First reading). And St. Peter in his first letter says “Christ as man suffered death, but was restored to life by the Holy Spirit” (Second reading). The readings help us to understand better the One whom we are expecting. And we may ask: who is the Holy Spirit? We usually say that He is the third Person of the Holy Trinity, and with that it does appear we have said all about Him. He is truly a Person, not simply the creating breath of God as presented in the Old Testament. He is not the breath of man, the divine priniciple in him. Christ says of Him: ‘whom the Father will send in my name’ (Jn.14:26) and ‘He dwells’ (v.17); and St. Paul pointed out that He prays in us with sighs too deep for words (cf. Rm. 8:26). The theologians identify Him as the love of the Father and the Son. The Spirit conveys the presence of the Son, who reveals the Father.  However, it is obvious that we cannot know fully who the Spirit is in se, but we can know who He is for us. As evident in today’s readings He is the Paraclete, He dwells in the life of the baptized and He is the Giver of life.

     In the Gospel of last Sunday the Lord Jesus promises that He was going to leave us, but it was not all about distancing himself from us, rather he precedes us: I am going to prepare a place for you, so that where I am you also will be (cf. Jn. 14:2-3). Therefore, the separation were to be a temporary one. But interestingly, today in the Gospel (Jn. 14:15-21) Jesus promises his disciples something more, not about the future, but about the present time characterized with trials. He promises the Holy Spirit and he presents Him as the “Paraclete” and the “Spirit of Truth”. He is the Paraclete, the Advocate, the Counselor, the third Person of the Holy Trinity. ●Spirit Paraclete, because he has the mandate of sustaining the apostles and disciples in the difficulties they were to confront and conforts us in every tribulation. ●Spirit of Truth because he has the duty to illumine and enwisdomize the apostles and disciples so that they will understand better the Truth announced by Christ.

     In the history of salvation there is a harmonious succession in the manifestation of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, always for the benefit of man’s salvation. The Father is the origin and fount of every salvific initiative. In his love for man, he sent his Son to redeem and restore man to his filial condition, (as sons and daughters). As soon as the Son realized his mission, He sent the Holy Spirit, so that he accompanys man in his pilgrimage on earth towards the Father. Indeed, the liturgy of today presents the promise made by Jesus to his disciples, to send the Holy Spirit, so that he will remain always with them. Why did Jesus make this promise to them? So that the disciples will not feel abandoned like orphans, because Jesus was about to  return to the Father; and he says to them and to us: “I will not leave you orphans, I will return to be with you” (Jn. 14:18), but not personally, rather through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit as he promised is not going to be a momentary Gift, but a stable and permanent one: “I will pray to the Father and he will give you another Paraclete, to be with you forever” (Jn.14:16). The presence of the Paraclete is a real and continuous presence, even though invisible. From the christological standpoint, we may say that this is a realization of Jesus’ promises not to leave us orphans, not to abbandon us, else where He tells us: “I am with you, until the end of time” (Mt. 28:20).

     The promise of Jesus in the Last Supper is for the Church and for every single Christian, as such today’s gospel is also comforting for us. The Spirit that Jesus promises us  is a Spirit of Truth (who will guide us to the comprehension of the entire Truth revealed by Jesus himself), Spirit of divine power (who renders us capable of witnessing to the Gospel), Spirit of consolation (who comforts us in all our tribulations). Our God is a God of consolation, He spoke through the prophets inviting them to consol His people, “Console, console my people” (Is. 40:1). St. Paul captured well this image of God when he invoked God thus: “the Father of mercy and the God of all consolation” (2 Cor. 1:3). This consolation of God was incarnated in Jesus Christ, for He went around consoling every form of suffering and preaching consolation: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be consoled” (Mt.5:5). “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and i will give you rest” (Mt.11:28). And before leaving this world, Jesus prayed to the Father so that he will send the Holy Spirit, who will remain with us for ever. He is not going to be with or to console us from a distance or momentarily, Jesus says: “he is with you, he is in you” (Jn. 14:17). The Eucharist is the sacrament that renews this presence of the Holy Spirit in us, as the Spirit of the risen Christ. In the canon of the Mass, we pray: “to us who are nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ give the fullness of the Holy Spirit”, knowing that with the fullness of the Holy Spirit, he will give us also the fullness of his consolation. He equally wants us to become comforters to those who are in tribulation. The Father through his Son and the Holy Spirt comforts and consoles us; however, we are also called to console others in return: “God consoles us in all our tribulation, we are also to console others with the same consolation we have received from God” (2Cor. 1:4). But today we need to ask ourselves, what are we to do, to have this consolation of the Spirit? We need to stop going to other sources for consolation, in the words of Jeremiah, many a times we abandon the source of living water and go to “cracked water-tanks that hold no water” (Jer. 2:13), those sources maybe riches, pleasure, desires of the flesh and false spirits etc.

     Before this promise, Jesus called his apostles to a more serious commitment: “If you love me you would keep my commandment” (Jn. 14:15). As such, we may well affirm that loving Him and keeping his commandments are the criteria for receiving the Holy Spirit. He further expressed that in the last verse of our passage: “whoever holds to my commandment and keeps them, is the one who loves me; and whoever loves me will be loved by my Father and I shall love him and reveal myself to him” (Jn. 14:21). As we can see, Jesus started his speech to his apostles with the word “if” and ends with “whoever”, He says if you love me, whoever that loves me, He did not say you must love me, for God’s love is a humble, suggestive and a propositive love, never by coersion or imposition, it is love in freedom. However, to love him is not easy, for you cannot love Him without paying the price, and the price is keeping his commandment. Thus, in the parlance of Jesus a Christian is a beloved, who becomes a lover. In this passage, we see for the first time Jesus asks to be loved, prior to this he says that the greated commandment is: “You will love the Lord your God…, and your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:37; Mk. 12:30-31; Lk. 10:27), in the previous chapter of this Gospel, Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment saying: “love one another as I have loved you” (Jn. 13:34). And today he adds himself in the objective of the Christian love. Jesus calls the attention of his apostles to proof that they love him by keeping the commandments. The proof of loving him, is keeping his commandments (“probatio amoris, exhibitio est operis”). The vital question we have to ask ourselves today is this: what does Jesus want from us? He wants us to love him not with words but with facts. That we love each other as he loved us (model and reason), He should be the reason and the model of our love.

     In the first reading (Acts 8:5-8.14-17) we listened to the narrative of the coming of the Holy Spirit on one of the first Christian communities, the one formed in Samaria through the preaching of the apostle Philip. The message therein points to the fact that in order to be the Church of Christ, we have to be in communion with the apostles, because they serve as guarantors of the authenticity of our faith. This is exemplified in this passage, when the apostles in Jerusalem learnt that those in Samaria have accepted the Word of God they sent Peter and John, this was to ascertain the authenticity of their faith and to confer on them the Holy Spirit. More than that, the Acts of the Apostles is organized in such a way that it traces the expansion of the mission of the Church from Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8). As such, one of the theological concerns of the Acts, as reflected in this passage, is to maintain the ties between the expanding mission of the Church and the mother Church at Jerusalem. However, in this passage we see something unfamiliar in the Acts of the Apostles, that is the fact that Baptism does not convey the gifts of the Spirit, as it has been the case in the Acts (cf. Acts 1:4-5; 11:15-16), but in this episode it has to wait for the arrival of Peter and John in order to lay hands on the converts. Peter and John prayed for the Christians of Samaria so that they will receive the Holy Spirit, they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. And we may ask: where does the Spirit come? The first reading tells us that He comes where the Word of God has already been accepted (with a visible sign of conversion).

          In the second reading (1Pt. 3:15-18) instead, this presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church nourishes our Christian and spiritual life with serenity, trust and hope. And this Hope in us, we have to know how to defend it, how to give the reason behind it. St. Peter tells us to do this through a courageous witness to the Word of God, expecially through honest life, learning to suffer like Christ, with unconditional love and with works that conform to the will of God. Therefore we have to be ready always to give reason of the hope in us (v.15). We have to do this with sweetness and respect, with right conscience and good conduct. Behold, we have to understand that the hope we are talking about here, is not just ordinary hope, but hope personified in Jesus and in God. As such, giving reason for the hope in us is paramount to giving reason for the presence of God in us. St. Paul makes this clearer to us in his letter to the Romans where he called God: “God of Hope” (15:13), and in his first letter to Timothy where he proclaimed “Christ Jesus our hope” (1Tm. 1:1). On the other hand, our hope does not make us fold our arms to wait for when manner will fall from heaven, rather it is a hope that propels us to be active and operative, little wonder St. Paul sustained that “we toil and battle because we have put our hope in the living God” (1Tm. 4:10). But the hit track of this epistle reading is found in the last sentence of this passage: “In the body he was put to death, in the Spirit he was raised to life” (v.18). The Spirit, the Paraclete is the Giver of life, the restorer to life.

     Behold, in today’s readings especially in the Goapel passage we see the three divine Persons in action for our love, sanctification and restoration. It is not only that Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to those who love Him and keep his commandment, “whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him” (v.17), but equally promises to make us partakers in the trinitarian union, “you will know that I am in the Father and you are in me and I in you” (v.20). Moreover, the promised Paraclete gives life, it is the Spirit that restored Jesus to life (second reading), and vivifies the Christians like the inhabitants of Samaria (first reading). Above all, while the Gospel and the second reading give us indications on what we can do to in order to welcome the Holy Spirit, the first reading presents a practical example of His decent through imposition of hands. May we therefore, implore the Spirit, who gives life to continually restore us to life, to life in abundance (cf. Jn. 10:10). Let us not be overtaken by panic for Jesus assures us that we shall live because he lives, He is the living God, “you will see that I live and you also will live” (Jn.14:19). May the healing, sanctifying and restoring presence and power of the Holy Spirit renew the face of the earth, renew us as well, and console the sorrowful, the abandoned and the sick. May the Paraclete find a fitting abode in our hearts for His indwelling! Amen!!!

 (Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)