COMMISSIONED TO PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL

THE FEAST OF ASCENSION: Mt 28:16-20

With Jesus’ return (ascension) to the Father, the apostles might be flooded by a sense of loss, as if they were left orphans, with no one to turn to in hard and difficult times. Indeed, many  times, we see Jesus as someone who is very far away in an unreachable place and we may, like the Apostles, remain stuck gazing into heaven and out of touch with the reality in which live, or then we turn back and forget about Jesus and about heaven. But Jesus reassured the Apostles, telling them: “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:20). We need to be constantly reminded that Jesus is with us, and that he never abandons us.

The end of the Gospel of Matthew presents the commissioning of the Apostles. And the solemnity of the occasion befits well a commissioning ceremony. They gathered on the mountain, in the appointed place, then Jesus came in, and the apostles worshipped him. It is as if this commissioning took place in a liturgical assembly.

The group being commissioned was small; they were just eleven, the close group of the Apostles. It was to them that Jesus entrusted his own mission, and he did it with authority, leaving no doubts about it, when he said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Henceforth, the Apostles are the witnesses and the first ones with the responsibility of proclaiming the Gospel. By the authority received from Christ, they would entrust this same mission to others, so that the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ may reach all nations.

The first word of command received from Jesus is: Go! meaning that we are sent. The proclamation of the Gospel is never a personal or individual project; it is the project of Jesus Christ and he is the one who sends those he chooses to proclaim his Good News. Go! means as well that the ones being sent should not sit down and wait for people to come. We must go out to meet them. We must take the initiative, as Jesus always did, giving the first step in moving towards people and meeting them wherever they are.

The Apostles were sent to proclaim the Good News and to give witness to Jesus Christ, so that people may know Jesus and recognise in him the Christ and the Saviour. The proclamation of the Gospel aims at making disciples of Jesus Christ.

Once people believe in Jesus Christ and ready to become his disciples, then they should be baptised in the name of the Holy Trinity, that is in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It is through the baptism, that we become members of the community of disciples, that is the Church, which is the body of Christ.

Once we are members of the community of disciples, then the teaching must go on, so that we may obey everything that the Lord commanded us to do. It is interesting, that the need for this ongoing formation on the faith was already taken into account by Jesus, and that he put it as a responsibility of the Apostles. They were commissioned as the guardians of the faith, being established as teachers of faith, a faith that implies acceptance of Jesus and the decision to follow him, the knowledge of the truths of the mystery of salvation and a way of life that is according to Jesus’ commands.