Jesus' Ascension: A Catch 22?
by Fr. Will Schmid | 05/17/2015 | Weekly ReflectionDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
For the longest time I could never understand why the solemnity of the Ascension was an important celebration. Why did Jesus have to ascend to Heaven? Why is this event so important for the Church? Why do the Gospel writers make such a big deal about it? And then one day in prayer, the answer finally dawned on me: the Ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven is similar to the narrative predicament found in the Joseph Heller novel, Catch-22.
For those of you who have never read the novel Catch-22 before, let me give you a little background. In Catch-22, the main character, John Yossarian, a US Army Air Force combat pilot, wants to be grounded from combat flight duty. However, in order to be grounded, he must first be evaluated by the squadron's flight surgeon and then be found "unfit for flying." In order for someone to be found "unfit for flying," they would have to be considered insane. The problem is that to be declared "unfit for flying," the person would first have to submit a request for an evaluation. Such a request could only be submitted by a sane person and would be evidence enough to prove the sanity of the one requesting the evaluation. The message is that anyone who wants to get out of flying, isn't really crazy. Hence, pilots that submit requests for evaluations are sane and must fly in combat missions. At the same time, if a request is never submitted, the pilot will never receive one, will never be found insane, and must also fly in combat. Therefore, the Catch-22 is that no pilot can ever be grounded for being insane – even if he were.
Now, let's look at the Ascension from this perspective. Jesus knows that if His Gospel is going to be effective, he must somehow get His disciples to take full ownership of it. Yet, in order for His disciples to take full ownership of His mission, he must commission them and then leave them. His mission must become their mission if it is to be successful. But, if Jesus doesn't leave them, His mission will never authentically become theirs. They'll never take ownership of it. Yet, at the same time, if He leaves the disciples, they will no longer have the divine presence and strength that they need to continue His mission. Thus, what good would it be for the disciples to take ownership of the mission if they lacked the grace necessary to perform it? Jesus, in a strange way, is in a real Catch-22: He leaves, they lack the strength; He doesn't leave, they never take ownership. Both scenarios result in a failure to advance the Gospel message.
So what does Jesus do? How does he solve this interesting dilemma? The Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit solves Jesus' Catch-22. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the disciples receive the grace that they need to continue Jesus' mission. Jesus came to give God's people divine life. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is the gift that ensures the disciples the divine presence and life that they need to successfully proclaim the Gospel. At the same time, coupled with Jesus' Ascension into Heaven, the gift of the Holy Spirit allows the disciples to take full ownership of Jesus' mission. Jesus has ascended into Heaven and His disciples are the ones who are to continue this great mission. It is no longer merely Jesus' mission, it is their mission as well.
We too are Jesus' disciples. We need the Holy Spirit. We cannot continue the Gospel message unless we take ownership of it, unless we have the divine life that will strengthen us as we continue Jesus' mission. The primary way in which we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit is through the Sacraments. Every Sacrament gives the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the unique person that we receive in the Sacraments. Thus, we need the Sacraments. They empower us. They enable us to take ownership of our faith. The most important thing that we can do in our Catholic faith, is to stay close to the Lord in the Sacraments. We celebrate the Ascension every year because we know that it signifies the coming of the great gift of the Holy Spirit (which we will celebrate next Sunday with Pentecost) that enlightens our lives and affirms our identity as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Peace in Christ, Fr. Will
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