While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,
suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
An interesting picture to be sure; a small band gathered together on a hill in Bethany looking up at the sky.
I can imagine what may have been going through their minds. Maybe they felt amazement, expectation, fear, and wonder. Perhaps they experienced other emotions and thoughts.
Think of what they went through. In the past six months Jesus raised Lazarus, was greeted triumphantly, was arrested, tortured, and killed, rose, appeared to them, and was just taken up into a cloud.
People react to what happens in their lives in differing ways. The events of the past forty-three days saw Judas, so irreconcilable, as to choose death by suicide over forgiveness. They saw Peter, so irreconcilable, that he shed tears for days over his betrayal.
There was a lot going on as we say nowadays.
The angels appeared and said something startling. Somewhat akin to: ‘Hey, you, over here. What are you doing?’ Scripture recounts:
They said, —Men of Galilee,
why are you standing there looking at the sky?—
In other words, you should be doing something else.
On this Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord, we are including the anointing of the sick as part of the Holy Mass.
We are doing that for a very important reason.
Brothers and sisters,
When we are sick or troubled we often turn inward. We may give in to looking at ourselves and lamenting our position, our situation.
Now there is no doubt that sickness is horrible; that sickness is a great cross for us to bear. Nevertheless, sickness in the Christian context is more. It is witness to the world.
The angels are speaking to us now, saying: ‘Hey, you, over here. What are you doing?’
Being a person with a chronic health condition gives me some perspective on the issue. The angels are asking me— —What are you doing?—
I need to respond by my choices; choices that are in keeping with my faith.
The world doesn’t want the yuckiness of sickness, the mess, pain, sorrow, and burden. Everyone hopes that their suffering will be short or better yet, non-existent. The world offers solutions, if suffering lasts. Those solutions reject God.
Well, we don’t want the yuckiness of sickness, the mess, pain, sorrow, and burden either. We don’t wish for it. But we know that it will come. So we must make our choice, and our choice is for God.
We have come here tonight. In faith we come to the healer, Jesus, our physician, and we ask Him for healing, for strength, and that we might be molded to Him in our suffering, and in His cross.
We come in faith, seeking enlightenment, securing our belief in the hope we have been given, and seeking the riches of Christ’s glory and the exercise of His power. As St. Paul reminds us:
May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for us who believe
We bear witness to Him by our faith, faith that overcomes the yuckiness, pain, and sorrow of the world. We bear witness as He asked.
—and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.—
Before He left them, He raised his hands, and blessed them.
May he bless you, secure your hope, and shower the riches of His glory and power upon you.
Amen.