Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click HERE for the readings.
The reading today is taken from the last words of the Gospel of St. Matthew.
The eleven disciples, in fact, the Apostles, go to a mountain where they see Jesus. We are told that they worshipped him. They have come to know that Jesus is not only a great teacher, but also their Lord and God.
Then, they received the great commission from Jesus before he ascended back to the Father. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
That has been the mission of the Church ever since: go make disciples of the world, baptize using the Trinitarian formula, and teach all that he taught us.
We are all evangelists. We all belong to the Church, which is on a mission of salvation. We, the baptized, have encountered Christ and now must share Him with those around us, in our families, in our places of work and study, and in our communities.
We must also recognize that we are not alone in the work of evangelization. Jesus is with us. He is, after all, at the heart of it. The last words of Jesus before his ascension should comfort us: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Yes, the Lord has ascended into Heaven, but He is with us in a new way as we walk by faith and not by sight, but let’s never doubt that the Lord is close to us now and forever. Someday He will be revealed to us in a glorious way at the end of time, a day that we wait for with great patience.
Have a blessed week everyone.