Homily for Ascension 2009

You are always assured of a good discussion when you ask why a lot of people don't attend Mass these days. The reasons are many and varied. Some are expressed vocally. Other people just disappear from the scene without a word. The demands of modern family life and work pull people away in all directions. The attachment to Church can become tenuous. Sometimes people leave because of a disagreement with the Parish Priest or someone else in a parish. Changes in the liturgy are often given as reasons, too. Then the reason may be as dramatic as that of the wife of the French President who said she did not agree with the Pope's opposition to the use of condoms to prevent the spread of Aids in Africa.

And every time there is publicity, such as the recent report in Ireland, over child abuse by priests or church workers some people become disillusioned and walk away. Every time there is a dispute, such as that between St Mary's South Brisbane and the Archdiocese, some people become disillusioned and walk away. Then there are legions of people who find themselves in irregular marriage situations because of which they see themselves excluded from the Sacraments. One cannot make general statements about the decisions people make in their lives. But we can ask how would Jesus react to these situations?

Certainly, at the Last Supper, Jesus was faced with a motley crew. They were not all singing from the same song sheet. They had very divergent views on what Jesus was on about. And, as we know, around the table that evening there were the betrayer Judas, the denier Peter, and the doubter Thomas, and the upwardly mobile sons of Zebedee who wanted a good position in any new regime. The gathering at that table clearly shows that Jesus came with the intention of giving good news to the sick not the healthy, sinners not just the virtuous. So we should not be surprised that there are failures and sin in the Church today. Disappointed maybe, but not surprised.

So my reflections on the Mass under the headings of faith, hope and love, we come to love. A love that is expressed for vulnerable, wounded, sinful, and often broken people, in the breaking of bread. We begin the Rite of Communion with the Lord's Prayer. "Give us this day our daily bread." My French is pretty well non existent but "Good day" in French is something like "Bonjour". "Jour" is French for "day". And it is the word from which our English word "journey" comes from. This give us a hint of the meaning of this petition of the prayer. So when we are praying or our daily bread we are not just praying that we will not go hungry today in a self centred kind of way. We are praying for our "journey bread". The bread of the People of God on the way to the Kingdom. We pray for the only bread that will be sufficient for the day to sustain us on our journey to God. That bread of course is the bread of life, the wisdom of God, Jesus himself, love incarnate.

The bread is broken for us. Jesus is broken in love for us. It is broken so that it can be shared. The cup is given so it can be shared. Jesus once again identifies himself at table with sinners. St Paul says, "For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The bread and wine that we take, bless, and eat is not a complete meal of course. The actions of the Eucharist are specific parts taken from a Jewish religious meal where there is plenty of food and drink. Our partaking of the host and cup is a token meal of a small piece of bread and wine. However, as a ritual meal it has a great depth of meaning. It is a sacramental meal in which Jesus' sacrificial love on the cross touches us.

Immediately after his gruesome death by crucifixion, Jesus disciples were disillusioned and grief stricken. They were disappointed. They had hoped he would be the one to set Israel free. Or as we heard then ask Jesus in the first reading today, "Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" Even at this point they still misunderstood Jesus' mission. The life to which they had committed themselves had fallen apart. But it is just at that point in their lives that His love is most real. He had to leave them for them to see it. Then they were able to ascend from their despair and live with love.

The Feast of the Ascension celebrates the beginning of the time of the Sacraments. It highlights Jesus absence in the flesh. Jesus departure is necessary so that the disciples will know his who he is in a far richer way. It is just as when a child grows up. It is necessary that the child leave father and mother so that child and parent can begin to relate in a new an adult way. The child is the same but known differently. The sacraments enable us to respond to Jesus' love present in all kinds of ways and in every place and person we meet.

During Mass one way we show that love for one another is by the Sign of Peace. Originally this ritual was placed in the liturgy after the Prayers of the Faithful. It is still in that position in the Anglican Liturgy of Holy Communion. By St Augustine's time, however, Rome was beginning to move it to its present position after the Lord's Prayer. The present Pope is suggesting moving it again back to the original position. There are all kinds of reasons for each placement. But enough to say that it ritually expresses the both the reconciliation we need as we approach the altar and the love that we are celebrating which comes from Christ. For some it is a embarrassing act. Let it be embarrassing because the Eucharist asks us to break down those barriers. Coming to Mass is not just one option amongst a host of other things we could do on a Sunday. The Eucharist is central and points to where we have come from; who we are; and where we are going.

We break the bread as we sing the litany, "Lamb of God..." This is the act which gave the Eucharist one of its earliest names, "The Breaking of Bread". We read in the Easter Season from the Acts of the Apostles how the disciples gathered to do just that as Jesus asked them to (cf. Acts 2:34). Because the Western Church began to use unleavened bread with small hosts for the people in Medieval times, the significance of the rite diminished. Our Mass today tries to highlight the symbolic meaning of it once more. We all share the one loaf and the one cup which is the foretaste of the heavenly banquet when all nations will be united under God.

So saints and sinners alike, we break bread together. We have nothing to hide as we sit here together. We are all vulnerable and prone to sin. But above all we are beloved children of God. The Eucharist is prophetic of what we are to become: united in love in Christ.

Ascension highlights Jesus' absence. The Feast of Pentecost next week highlights Jesus' presence amongst us through the Holy Spirit. I will try to continue reflecting on the Mass and the reception of Holy Communion.

Fr Graham