1 June 2014
The Ascension of the Lord
The Church did not spring forth from a strategic planning meeting. Its genesis cannot be found in a conversation over a few beers in a Jerusalem tavern. As portrayed in the Acts of the Apostles, the Church burst forth upon the world scene in the midst of prayer. The apostles did not impose upon the world a better growth plan than other religious movements of the day. We should pay particular attention to the detail in today’s first reading that Mary the Mother of God prayed with the apostles in the upper room of Jerusalem as they awaited the coming of the Spirit. The apostles did not impose. Like Mary, they received.
These days between the Ascension and Pentecost speak to us of the patient, prayerful waiting that is a necessary component of Christian discipleship. God is working out a plan, but we must await its unfolding in our lives, not in a spirit of slothful complacency, but in watchful, prayerful expectation for the coming Kingdom of God.