If you ever listened to the radio between 1970 and 2004 perhaps you remember Casey Kasem and the musical countdown known as America's Top 40. No show would end until Kasem spoke these trademark words: "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars".
In life that advice often is reality. We may be reaching for the stars, in the form of goals and dreams, but must remain firmly planted in our present moment, in our present reality. Keep reaching for the stars, yes, but be the best you can be now and do the best you are called to do now!
As people of faith, we are called to reach for Heaven while working for the Kingdom right here, right now.
Today we arrive at the important Feast of the Ascension. We remember from Scripture and Tradition that the Ascension occurs 40 days after the Resurrection; some of us may recall when we celebrated the Ascension on a Thursday. Yet here we are today celebrating the Ascension with not one, but two accounts of the Ascension of Jesus. St. Luke, in the reading from Acts of the Apostles, tells us that Jesus was lifted up and St. Mark, in his Gospel tells us that Jesus was taken up. So it's safe to say Jesus went up, all things point up. But why?
Jesus went up to Heaven because the Ascension of the Lord is the logical completion of the Resurrection. After perfectly fulfilling the will of the Father by dying for us in the greatest act of love the world will ever witness, then rising from the dead on the 3rd day, Jesus now returns to the Father. Jesus takes his rightful place at the right hand of the Father, to intercede for us. Jesus, now in Heaven, pleads for all of us!
Jesus also reminds us of the promise of the Holy Spirit. For the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon the Apostles at Pentecost, which we celebrate next week, Jesus must take his rightful place in Heaven, next to the Father; God mounts his throne to shouts of joy!
And of course Jesus shows each of us what we too should do. Heaven must be our destiny. Like Jesus before us, we should set our sights on Heaven as our goal. As we prayed in the opening prayer, where the Head has gone before in glory, the body is called to follow in hope.
Still we are called to work out our salvation here on Earth. Jesus is reminding us to live fully every day we are given. He tells his disciples, which means he is also telling us, go out into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. In the Mass, we know that a Deacon or Priest proclaims the Gospel but all of us are called to proclaim the Gospel daily. We do this by our witness to our faith, our prayer life and those times when we offer service and charity to one another. Yes, we are called to serve our brothers and sisters by proclaiming the Gospel, and if necessary we can use words too.
In the week ahead, can we recall the Ascension of the Lord and be a witness to someone this week? Maybe we can share a prayer or a word from Scripture, or perhaps we can do something for someone who can't do for themselves. This week, our parish prepares for another Family Promise week, can we pray for a faith-filled response to this important program and respond to any needs of the program when notified? Finally, can we be open to the promise of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
We can reach for the stars while our feet on still on the ground; we can strive for Heaven now, while we work for Kingdom, right here, right now.
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