Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR
Ascension Sunday Homily, Year B
St. Joseph Catholic Church, Memphis TN
“Goodbye”, according to music star, Celine Dion “is the saddest word”. All partings are usually difficult. It is not always easy for beloved ones to say goodbye to each other when parting. On the day I left my family and begin my long journey to America, it was painful for me and for my family. Before I finally left my family, I had postponed my travel twice because my mother was yet to come to terms with my departure. On the very day I left, she came to me with tears rolling down her cheeks and said, “So you are leaving?” It was a rhetorical question, but it explains the pains deep inside her. She wanted me to work in Nigeria. As a matter of fact, she had told me to ask my Superiors to reassign me in Nigeria. Parting from beloved ones is always a painful experience.
Today, we celebrate the parting of Jesus from his disciples- The Ascension. The time also came for Jesus risen from the dead to return to heaven from earth. Remember the song:
He came from heaven to earth
To show the way
From the earth to the cross
My debt to pay
From the cross to the grave
From the grave to the sky
Lord I lift your name on high!
After completing his mission on earth, the Lord returned to his Father. But the return of Jesus to heaven is not the end of his mission on earth. Before he was lifted up to the sky, Jesus entrusted his mission to the Church. The beginning of today’s Gospel, taken from Mark 16:15-20, Jesus commanded: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mark 15:15).
In the First Reading of today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard a similar instruction from Jesus saying to his friends: “…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1: 8).
Dearest beloved, two lessons can be derived from today’s celebration. From the three readings we just read and listened to, two lessons came out very strongly:
- Even after his ascension into heaven, Jesus continues his ministry in and through the Church. Today’s gospel reminded us of Jesus’ continual presence in the Church even after his physical absence: “they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs (Mark 16:20). In the Acts of Apostles, we see Jesus guiding the Church and leading the Church. Although he is no longer physically present, but he continues to be present confirming their work with signs and wonders. The Lord himself had promised to be with the Church until the end of time. The ascension of Jesus into heaven therefore is not a withdrawal of Jesus. It is not what some people call a Deus Absconditus. The ascension of the Lord is not a total absence. The Lord is still present, and if you are looking for him, the place to find him is not in the club houses, or stripper joints, or drinking bars. The place to find him is in his Church. During his earthly life, Jesus was present with the Church in one way, and after his ascension, he is present in another way, and that is the Church. Since he is the head of the Church, since he founded the Church, since the Church is the bride of Christ, since the Church is the body of Christ, where else would you expect to find him? Without making any caricature of other places, without demonizing other places, I say to you my brethren, the only place of refuge is the Church. Despite all the imperfections and weaknesses found in the Church, it is still the house of God. The Church is imperfect because the human aspect of the Church is imperfect. In her imperfection, the Church is moving towards perfection. And the Church will get there.
- As I said earlier on, the ascension of Jesus was not the end of his mission on earth. Before saying goodbye to his disciples, he had given them an important injunction: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” The Lord wants each of us to continue the preaching of his gospel. And this brings me to the title of my today’s message “Whose gospel do you proclaim?”
The preaching of the Lord’s gospel can be done by way of words and deeds. By words, it can be done from the pulpit as I am doing right now, or by going round the neighborhood knocking on people doors. In some countries, some preachers preach even in public busses, in market squares, and in any other public gathering. Some cities in Nigeria have early morning preachers who move from one neighborhood to another preaching. In doing that sometimes, some of them become insensitive to the people who live in those places because they disrupt their sleeping time and also disrupt the silence of those early hours some individuals and some families love to use to pray. Here in America, we have so many televangelists and if there is anything like that, radiovangelists (i.e those who preach on radio stations). Of recent, there are YouTube preachers. Of more recent, there are iphone preachers too. I have one in my iphone called Truthcasting. If you want it, go to your App Store and search for it. Without losing track, what I am saying in a nutshell is that our world strictly speaking is not in shortage of word-preachers or preachers of the word. America is not lacking in preachers of the word. Going by what I have observed since I arrived here, America is one of the most “evangelized” nations in the world. Europe has fallen behind in Christianity. Atheism and secular humanism are on the increase in Europe. Europe is speedily becoming a continent of religious difference. Satan seems to be winning the battle in Europe. His sole agenda is to turn men and women away from God, and he is doing quite well in Europe presently.
Dearest beloved, although the gospel is being preached and proclaimed freely here in America, but whose gospel do we proclaim? Whose gospel are we proclaiming? What kind of gospel is being preached about? A gospel that lacks substance? Is it a gospel that lacks the good news? As messengers of Christ, do we still have the Message? What kind of gospel is being heard today in Churches, in Television, in Radio, in YouTube and in iphone? Some Christian preachers spread hatred and bitterness in their preaching. Some support certain human behaviors that are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those Christian preachers that increase racial tension, support homosexuality, or abortion have left the Message- Jesus Christ. Jesus is no longer their message. I have seen preachers who made themselves messengers and the message. I have also seen Christians who do not practice what they preach; they don’t even make effort to practice what they preach. Preaching has become unhealthily competitive; it has become a show-off. The word-preaching of the gospel is not about the preacher. It is not about me, it is about God, it is about Jesus. Remember the story of the monk and the poet. Both were invited in a reading competition. They were to recite Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd). The poet was the first to mount the podium. As soon as he finished reciting Psalm 23, the entire auditorium went wild. He was given a standing ovation due to how he recited the Psalm. Then comes the turn of the monk; by the time the poor monk finished his, the whole place was silent. It was a sharp contrast to what happened before. Everybody in the auditorium had their heads buried in their laps. There was a dead silence. Touched deeply too, the poet stepped forward and said “I know the Psalm, he (pointing to the monk) knows the Shepherd.” He finally said, “I am a star, a star can change an environment, making people clap and shout, but only an apostle can change life.” Preachers of the message are called to be apostles and not celebrities.
Preaching and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus does not entail word-preaching alone. Without sounding negative, our society is not lacking in word-preachers. What is lacking in doers of the Word. There is a very strong Christian presence in Memphis. But Memphis is in shortage of doers of the Word. There are so many preachers of the Message in this city and few doers of the Word.
My people, St. Clement Hofbaur, one of the Redemptorist Saints once said “The gospel must be preached in a new way.” Several holy Redemptorists have given several interpretations to that statement. But today, I tell you that preaching the gospel in a new way means doing what Jesus would do especially when you are most tempted. Preaching the gospel more eloquently in deeds is my interpretation of what St. Clement said. Preach the gospel with your life. Words are not alone. Mother Teresa of Calcutta cared for a dying man for weeks without saying any word about Jesus to him. Finally she said to him “Have you heard about Jesus?” The sick man replied “If that Jesus is like you, I will believe in him”.
People of God, without undermining word preaching which means preaching the word of God verbally, the most profound and concrete way of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ is by deed and action. The most effective way of obeying the Lord’s command “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” is proclaiming that gospel, that good-news with our life. Action, it is said, speaks louder than voice. This is why St. Francis of Assisi once said “Preach the gospel always and if necessary use words.”
Today I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ who has sent us to be heralds of his gospel will continue to help us to live according to the terms of the gospel. Amen
