Go and Teach All Nations

Three days ago was Ascension Thursday, marking the 40th day after the resurrection. Many will celebrate the Ascension today, Sunday. Either way, you were given an unmistakable—unavoidable—message: “Go, and teach all nations, says the Lord; I am with you always, until the end of the world.” That was the Gospel Acclamation,  a preview of what the Gospel itself would tell us.

In this case, The Gospel message does not tell us a whole lot more. Jesus had asked the 11 to meet him at a certain mountain, and, while they still worshipped him in continuing awe at his resurrection, they doubted.  They did not yet understand how they were to fit in to his resurrection life.

He came over to them, saying, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” And? The 11 must have wanted to ask. But Jesus passes over any explanation of this to his final instruction: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” 

We are not given a picture of their reaction to this mandate. My own reaction might have been the one I experienced in Peace Corps training. I was preparing to teach English to Iranian students. That was a challenge in itself, but I had been an English major, so really I was ready for that job. I was NOT ready for the training assignment we were given at first: Go into the community, from house to house, finding out what families need in the way of assistance. I had no idea how to tackle that assignment. (Fortunately, it was not the assignment I would have at my actual Peace Corps site.)

The apostles were not prepared to go out to the world making disciples. They had been disciples, but now had to make disciples of their own. They had ministered to the lost sheep of Israel; now they would go beyond these safe borders to the world.

We might note from Jesus’ instructions, that he is addressing the Apostles themselves, and utter a relieved, “Whew!” So, their successors, the bishops, are responsible for spreading the Gospel message; I’m off the hook.  But wait until you are dismissed from Mass. That sending might be: “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” Our bishop may guide us in the process, but we are the foot soldiers of evangelization.

Luke clarifies what is to happen in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, reminding us that Jesus had enjoined the apostles to stay in Jerusalem, waiting for the “promise of the Father,” which he had spoken of with them.  This would be the baptizing with the Holy Spirit.   He tells them that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.

I’m not sure this made a whole lot of sense to them, even as they prepared to wait in Jerusalem for the event.  It’s hard enough to picture a future natural event—warm summer weather after a long cold winter, for example. But the apostles were trusting for something they did not understand and could barely hope for.  This was to be a supernatural event, and which of us can believe that we would actually experience something like that? For all we know of Jesus from our 20-20 hindsight understanding of the Gospels and the Church, we still fight the muck and the mire of the natural world that makes us doubt the power of God in our lives.

Like the apostles, we are left staring into the sky straining to see Jesus after he has passed beyond our sight. Two men in white garments come to them telling them, “This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

Normally we interpret this to refer to Jesus’ second coming on the clouds on the last day. But maybe there was something else as well. Going back to the Gospel Acclamation, we heard: “Go and teach all nations, says the Lord; I am with you always, until the end of the world.” Not a full stop between these statements. You must go and teach all nations, AND I am with you always.

Like the Samaritan woman, like the healed blind man, we can run off to our communities shouting the good news. God is real! Jesus is with us! Really! Not just words on a page; not just pious words from a pulpit. We know Jesus is with us, and so we have courage to go and share the good news.

If we open ourselves to the Word of God and the sacramental presence of Jesus in the Eucharist at mass, praying in the presence of Jesus as he joins us there, we will be ready to take on that mission. We will be equipped to go out with Jesus to share the mystery of his love with those we meet outside.

Still asking, but how do I do that? Don’t worry. Jesus will show you the way.