In this section you can find a daily commentary on the Gospel of the Day.

Sunday 16 May 2021

The Ascension of the Lord – Year B

Word for today
The Gospel of Mark 16,15-20

Launched from the sky

Jesus always has a divine and profound respect and love for mankind as a whole and for every individual. It is wonderful.
But it is equally wonderful that Jesus does not have and has never had human respect for anyone.
Human respect deforms our personality; it distances us from our own true nature and does not allow us to fully realize God’s will. Human respect leaves sovereign power over our actions and thoughts to the judgment of other human beings, disregarding the truth and judgment of God Himself.  Human respect is driven by fear of other people's opinion and it is conditioned by other people's expectations more than by God’s judgment and expectations.
Human respect is a subtle form of idolatry.
It is one thing to love and to help others in their real needs, but trying to match their expectations is the fruit of evil deception. Jesus always loves us with respect and freedom for our choices, but He has never made a move, He has never said a word to satisfy human expectations. Jesus is not interested in pleasing men, He is not afraid to disappoint human expectations. Jesus is not influenced by anyone, He does not take into consideration people's expectations. There is not a single passage in the entire Gospel in which He expresses an opinion or supports someone else's opinion.  When asked an opinion, on any subject, Jesus always responded with the Bible, with the light of the Truth and never with a personal point of view.
From the moment He was born He never attempted to improve His relationship with men by realizing their desires and expectations.
God Jesus was born poor and helpless as no human mind could possibly expect. He unhinged, step by step, every human expectation of power and prestige. In some cases He even disappointed His family’s expectations;  He often shocked and disappointed His disciples and friends and He consistently disappointed the people's religious and political leaders. Even His death on the cross was a terrible disappointment to His disciples, and surely the resurrection did not conform to anyone's  expectations.
Jesus loves us and wants our true good, at the same time He does not try to please us but only to conform to the will of the Father. It is by fulfilling the will of the Father that Jesus truly realizes our true good, although not according to our expectations. Jesus is not interested in becoming the center of our attention by realizing our desires; He is not interested in our opinions about Him. He is not interested in pleasing men, but only God His Father. By pleasing God His Father, Jesus knows he is carrying out our true and real good.
Jesus’ ascension to heaven crowns and permanently illuminates His extraordinary attitude of extreme freedom and truth. Jesus would have certainly made his follower's dream come true if he had remained on on earth, at that time it was their greatest, most vital human expectation.  But even then he did not try to please anyone. Jesus returns to the Father and receives from Him the power over all things.
Then he invited them to go into the whole world, alone, without him - at least physically - and to proclaim the gospel to every creature everywhere in the world. He promised that he will be with us always, every day, every second at every danger, joy, and sorow until the end of the world, but never according to our expectations or human perspectives. Thank goodness!