Homily Ascension Sunday 2023
Franklin Fong, OFM
May 21, 2023
The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles explicitly talks about the ascension of Jesus which signals the completion and perfection of his earthly presence. His mission accomplished. There’s no unfinished agenda. For the apostles, his ascension means standing by until they receive the Holy Spirit. After the Holy Spirit descends on them, their missionary work now begins. They will do exactly what Jesus did through his preaching, healing, and forgiving.
This reading challenges us to focus our attention on our fellow human beings and to invite them to become Jesus’ disciples. We can do our mission better, by being realistic, more concrete, grounded on people’s sufferings and longings, rather than, by looking up in the sky waiting for immediate God’s intervention!. We can do this if we are living in the now: if we accept people considering their present concerns, and not looking for what is non-existent.
For us, Christians, ascension means continuation of the works of the apostles, since we have received the Holy Spirit as well. Do you know your mission? Continue to communicate your faith.
Psalm 47 is all about God the King. Like the psalmist, we must recognize that God is our king. God rules over us, over the earth and nations. In our liturgy, we must be in a high performance level, shouting and singing with joy. We must give the impression that God is not an ordinary king of a little kingdom or nation, but of all the earth. How do you participate in the liturgy in the parish with energy and meaning?
- the second reading from Ephesians, the author wishes well the Christian believers. Jesus is now in heaven since he has ascended. We, Christians, must know what is in store for us as we, too, will join Jesus in his glory. So, the Christ, who we are believing in, is not an ordinary being. Christ is pre-eminent among all beings. So what is that to you today? Are you the only one entitled to a glorious future or are your fellow-parishioners entitled as well?
Christ is a missionary par excellence. As his true witnesses, we can share in his dedication, mission and destiny. Jesus’ ascension signals to us that there is something to hope for, somewhere, after faithfully doing our mission. God worked hard with Jesus to save us. Christ delivered the services expected of him.
We must not trivialize Christ, by being a lazy disciple, without energy and enthusiasm, in front of our loved ones and people of other religions or faith traditions. Let us continue to prepare our liturgies well. A nice liturgy sends a strong message to the world.
Finally in the Gospel of Matthew we hear about how before Jesus goes up to heaven, he commissions his disciples. So, we as Christians of the Chinese Catholic Community, are also sent to make new disciples of Christ. We must not forget two important tasks:
- Baptizing and catechizing the prospects, incorporating them into our Christian communities;
- Teaching and explaining who Christ is and how we believers live faith lives of proper behavior; and
- Disciples must have a strong sense of a faith community, of belongingness to a faith community.
So the unifying themes of today’s readings are as follows:
- The first reading explicitly talks about the ascension of Jesus.
- The psalm talks about taking refuge in God.
- The second reading talks about the greatness of Jesus who has ascended into heaven.
- The gospel reading is about the command of the ascended Jesus to spread the good news and to make new disciples.
We, Christians today are commissioned apostles and missionaries of our own times. We have better facilities now, like the Internet which has grown to replace the newspapers and even television. So, we can do more, if we properly make use of the different avenues on the internet, like FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE, and INSTAGRAM. We have new challenges because of the new situations such as the internet, new cultures as the Central Americans crossing our southern borders, and new mentalities facing our people today as the shifting populations away from California ! Our world is quickly changing ! How has our ministries adapted to this new world?
In our parishes, there should be no place for idle talks, for backbiting, recalling old bad experiences, rather, let us discern on how best we can respond to God’s call. As Christians, who love the Church and Christ, we should waste no time doing nothing, but do our share in God’s work.
The Ascension of Jesus challenges us to do our part as the Chinese Catholic Community, in giving witness to the kingdom of God, to make disciples in today’s world! So take some time to reflect on how we as a faith community build for a future !
• The Eucharist celebrates the Ascension of the Lord.
• The Eucharist is a living memory of Jesus, who ascended into heaven.
• The Eucharist is a celebration that binds us, disciples, together in mission until the end of time.
• If we love the Eucharist, we will feel compelled to encourage others to receive the same.
So brothers and sisters of
the Chinese Catholic Community,
that is the Good NEWs for Ascension Sunday!
Alleluia Alleluia!!
(中文翻譯.原文以英文為準.)
復活期(甲年)耶穌升天節講道 - 05/21/2023
鄺神父主日證道 中譯本
讀經一: 宗徒大事錄 1: 1 - 11
讀經二: 聖保祿宗徒致厄弗所人書 1: 17 - 23
瑪竇福音 28: 16 - 20
宗徒大事錄的第一篇讀經明確地談到了耶穌的升天,這標誌著祂在世上的存在已經完成和完美。祂的使命完成了。沒有未完成的議程。對於宗徒來說,祂的升天意味著等待他們接受聖神。聖神降臨在他們身上之後,他們的傳教工作就開始了。他們會做耶穌通過祂的傳道、醫治和寬恕所做的事情。
這本書挑戰我們將注意力集中在我們的人類同胞身上,並邀請他們成為耶穌的門徒。我們可以更現實、更具體、緊貼於人們的痛苦和渴望,而不是仰望天空等待天主的立即干預,從而更好地完成我們的使命!如果我們活在當下,我們就可以做到這一點:如果我們接受人們考慮他們當前的擔憂,而不是尋找不存在的東西。
對我們基督徒來說,升天意味著繼續使徒的工作,因為我們也領受了聖神。你知道你的使命嗎?繼續傳達你的信仰。
聖詠 47 完全是關於天主君王的。像聖詠作者一樣,我們必須承認神是我們的王。天主掌管著我們,掌管著地球和國家。在我們的禮儀中,我們必須以高水平的表現,歡欣地歡呼歌唱。我們必須給人這樣的印象,即天主不是一個小國度或小國家的普通君王,而是全地的君王。您如何有活力和有意義地參加堂區的禮儀?
在厄弗所書的讀經二中,作者祝願基督信徒一切安好。耶穌升天後現在在天上。我們,基督徒,必須知道等待我們的是什麼,因為我們也將加入耶穌的榮耀。所以,我們所信的基督,不是一個普通的存在。基督在眾生中居首位。那今天對你來說是什麼?你是唯一有權享有光榮未來的人,還是你的教友也有權享有?
基督是一位卓越的傳教士。作為祂的真實見證人,我們可以分享祂的奉獻精神、使命和命運。耶穌的升天向我們發出信號,表明在忠實完成我們的使命後,在某個地方可以有所盼望。天主與耶穌一起努力拯救我們。基督交付了祂所期望的服務。
我們絕不能在我們所愛的人和其他宗教或信仰傳統的人面前做一個懶惰的門徒,沒有精力和熱情,從而貶低基督。讓我們繼續好好準備我們的禮儀。一個好的禮儀向世界發出了一個強烈的信息。
最後,在瑪竇福音中,我們聽到耶穌在升天之前如何吩咐門徒。因此,我們作為華人天主教團體的基督徒,也被差遣去培養基督的新門徒。我們不能忘記兩項重要任務:
· 對潛在信徒施行洗禮和教理傳授,將他們融入我們的基督徒團體;
· 教導和解釋基督是誰,以及我們信徒如何以正確的行為過信仰生活;和
· 門徒必須有強烈的信仰團體意識,對信仰團體的歸屬感。
因此,今天讀經的統一主題如下:
· 讀經一明確談到耶穌的升天。
· 聖詠談到投靠天主。
· 讀經二談及已升天的耶穌的偉大。
· 福音讀經是關於升天的耶穌命令傳播好消息和培養新門徒。
我們今天的基督徒是我們這個時代受委任的宗徒和傳教士。我們現在有更好的設施,比如互聯網已經發展到可以取代報紙甚至電視。所以,如果我們適當地利用互聯網上的不同渠道,比如 FACEBOOK、YOUTUBE 和 INSTAGRAM,我們可以做得更多。由於互聯網等新情況、中美洲人跨越我們南部邊界的新文化,以及今天我們的人民隨著人口從加利福尼亞
州轉移而面臨的新心態,我們面臨著新的挑戰!我們的世界正在迅速改變!我們的事工如何適應這個新世界?
在我們的堂區,不應該有空談、誹謗、回憶過去的糟糕經歷,而是讓我們辨別如何最好地回應天主的呼召。作為熱愛教會和基督的基督徒,我們不應該浪費時間無所事事,而應該參與天主的工作。
耶穌升天挑戰我們作為中國天主教團體儘自己的一份力量,為天國作見證,在當今世界培養門徒!因此,花點時間思考一下我們作為一個信仰團體如何為未來而建設!
• 聖體聖事慶祝主的升天。
• 聖體聖事是對升天的耶穌的活生生的紀念。
• 聖體聖事是將我們門徒團結在一起傳教的慶典,直到時間的盡頭。
• 如果我們熱愛聖體聖事,我們就會覺得有必要鼓勵其他人也接受聖體聖事。
所以天主教華人團體兄弟姐妹們, 這就是耶穌升天主日的好消息!
阿肋路亞,阿肋路亞!!
