Acts 1:1-11 / Ephesians 1:17-23 / Matthew 28:16-20
Have we ever had that experience of saying goodbye and knowing that we will not meet that person ever again?
The only occasion that we can probably think of is when death separates us from our loved ones and we know that we will never see that person again, at least not here on earth.
But other than that, it may be quite difficult to imagine a goodbye that is forever.
Especially with the modern means of communication like video calls on our mobile devices, being able to see the other person "live" is not a big problem, even though it may just be an electronically transmitted image.
Yes, it is difficult to imagine a goodbye that is forever. But we can certainly imagine how it feels if we won't be able to see the other person forever.
That was how the disciples felt on that day when Jesus ascended into heaven, which we are celebrating as a feast today.
They already had that traumatic experience of His death on Good Friday when they thought it was all finished.
But Jesus rose from the dead and He continued to be with them for 40 days. And now He is telling them that He is leaving them for good.
Though they might be more prepared this time round, still we can understand how they felt about Jesus leaving them for good.
But this phrase "leaving for good" is quite interesting, isn't it? Obviously it means leaving forever. So what good can come out of that?
The final parting words of Jesus are these: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always, yes, to the end of time.
Those final parting words also come with a promise: Know that I am with you always, yes, to the end of time.
So Jesus is telling us and promising us that He will be with us forever, until the end of time.
Our response can only be this: Yes Lord, I want to be with you forever, till the end of time.
Now if that is what we want, then we will do as Jesus told us - make disciples, baptise them, teach them to observe all the commands that He gave.
Our whole life is to be centered on what Jesus wants us to do if we want to be with Him forever.
And we will be given what we need as Jesus tell us in the 1st reading: you will be receive power from the Holy Spirit.
Through the Holy Spirit, we will be with Jesus, and we will be able to do what Jesus told us to do.
So Jesus ascended into heaven and left the disciples for good. The "good" that He left them with is the Holy Spirit so that He will be with them till the end of time.
That "good" is passed down to us and hence, we must pray to the Holy Spirit in order to receive the power that Jesus wants to give us. A simple way to do it is to meditate on the Descent of the Holy Spirit and offer a decade of the Rosary in prayer.
Then we will remain with Jesus till the end of time, and forever into eternity.