Go Out and Proclaim the Good News

Ascension Day
Today’s Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Ps. 47; Eph. 1:17-23; Mk. 16:15-20 [Link to readings]

You’ve probably heard of Eton College, one of the most famous prep schools in England. It’s the high school that Prince William and Prince Harry both attended, as did quite a few of the future British Prime Ministers of the past several centuries. Needless to say, Eton is steeped in aristocracy and many rich traditions.

One interesting custom is celebrated every Ascension Day—the feast we commemorate today. For more than 500 years on this day, at dawn, the school choir climbs onto the roof of the college chapel and has a special service of hymns and prayers. The boys of Eton College think it’s great fun to run up the long flights of stairs and then get to stand so high up and gaze out across the surrounding countryside, especially at that hour of the day when most people are still asleep.

In case you’re wondering what the significance is of the rooftop service, the original intent was to try to get as close as possible to heaven—the place that Jesus ascended to. In those days, heaven was thought of as a physical place high up in the sky, where God sits on a mighty throne, surrounded by angels with big wings and haloes and dressed in white from head to toe.

While that description of heaven may be beautiful, it’s probably more Hollywood than reality. The Church’s modern interpretation is that heaven is more of a state of being, or a dimension of existence, than a physical place. For example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definite happiness. To live in heaven is ‘to be with Christ’” (Cat. 1024-25).

What this all means is that the real importance of the feast of the Ascension is not so much how or where Jesus returned to his Father, but in the fact that before he did so, he commanded the eleven disciples—the original twelve less Judas, of course—to go out on a lifelong mission to evangelize. Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15).

The gospel, or the good news, is the core and foundation of our faith: that God created the entire world… people sinned and corrupted it… so in his profound love and compassion, God sent his Son into the world to redeem us by taking our sins upon himself and paying the penalty for our transgressions. The resurrection of Christ at Easter is proof of our forgiveness. And what makes the news so good—and the reason why Jesus insisted that his disciples spread the gospel far and wide—is that through our belief and our baptism, each and every one of us can participate first hand in this wonderful gift from God… so Christ wanted as many people as possible to hear about it from people they knew and trusted.

You’d think that giving people news of such a wonderful offer would be an easy sell… but guess what? Human nature being what it is, people can be skeptical… and stubborn… and even feel threatened. Jesus anticipated that, too. That’s why he promised the disciples that they would receive power from the Holy Spirit. This came to pass on Pentecost, the feast we’ll celebrate next Sunday… and most of us tap into this divine power when we receive the sacrament of Confirmation.

Jesus’ command on the feast of the Ascension—to go out into the whole world and proclaim the gospel—is meant for all of us, too. By “us” I mean all people who have been baptized. Christ wants us all to be part of a faith bucket brigade. It is our responsibility and duty to impact other people so they will be drawn to God, too.

Now think about what that means in terms of how we should do this.

A lot of people, unfortunately, think that evangelizing means fire and brimstone. They like to dwell on the negative aspects of our faith. The things that make us better than other people… the reasons why someone shouldn’t dare to take communion… all the ways one can get sent to hell… the terrible judgments we make on other people (in the name of Christ, of course)…

I don’t know about you, but those are not things that come across as “good news”! Those are not things that would make me want to find out more about your God.

Instead, let me recommend the famous approach attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. He said, “Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.”

In other words, live your life in such a way that it reflects the power and goodness and most of all the love of God. Be kind. Be tolerant. Be humble. Be gentle. Be forgiving. Be patient. Be accepting and understanding.

That’s how you plant God’s seeds. That’s what makes people say, “Wow. If that’s what it is to have Jesus Christ in your life, then I want it too.” That’s what it means to go out into the whole world and proclaim the good news. The saints understood this. That’s how another St. Francis—St. Francis de Sales—made another often-quoted remark: “You can catch more flies with a teaspoon of sugar than a whole barrel of vinegar.”

On this wonderful feast day, let our prayer be that the Lord will give us the grace and courage and wisdom to live and proclaim the good news in our daily lives wherever we may be—at home, at work, in school, in our free time—by our words, by the example of our lives, and especially by the kind and loving way we behave towards others.