My father died early in the morning on November 13, 2004. I remember sitting dumbstruck next to his lifeless body. My father was the wisdom figure of the family, which included not only my own nuclear family but all his nieces and nephews and their spouses and children. They would call from all over the United States seeking his wisdom and knowledge, and, now he was gone. I was not only dumbstruck by the loss of my father, but by the realization that my role in the family had undergone a dramatic change. I was no longer a “kid”, anymore. The mantle of leadership and the wisdom, that hopefully accompanies leadership, had been passed on to me. There are many people who have experienced this same dramatic change in their lives as their parents died. The one question I believe we all ask is, “Are we up to the task of being the leaders of our families?”
I am sure the apostles were thinking similar thoughts as they watched Jesus ascend to the Father. Jesus entrusted to them the mission he had of proclaiming the Good News to people everywhere. I love the reaction of the angel in the Acts of the Apostles who basically tells the apostles to quit gawking at the empty sky into which Jesus ascended and get busy fulfilling the mission of Jesus. As we hear in the Gospel account, the apostles did exactly that, going forth to preach the Good News to everyone.
As Jesus entrusted his mission to the apostles, so the apostles have entrusted the same mission to generation after generation up to our present time. Today the angel from the Acts of the Apostles tells us to quit standing around and get busy proclaiming the Good News in word and in action. This mission is not isolated to just a few “holy people” but is entrusted to all who have been baptized.
In a recent conversation with my cousin, Kathy, I was touched to hear that my dad, when he was alive, often spoke highly of me to her, saying, that I was his twin. May Jesus say the same of us as we continue his mission to our world.
