Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, when Jesus re-joined his Father in Heaven. And, we celebrate Mother’s Day. On this day we honor our mothers. We thank them for giving us life. We remember the women who raised us, nurtured us and love us unconditionally.
In our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke tells us that Jesus appeared to the apostles many times during the forty days between the Resurrection and the Ascension. During this time, he spoke to them “about the kingdom of God” (Acts: 1:3), and he told them that they were to be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1: 8). Then, he left them.
While the apostles were “looking intently at the sky,” two men dressed in white, presumably angles, appeared and asked, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky” (Acts 1:11). Clearly, the apostles could not be effective witnesses if they were standing around gazing at the sky waiting for Jesus to return. They needed to get on with the business of bringing about the Kingdom of God here in this world, which they did. St. Mark tells us in his Gospel that the disciples “went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them” (Mark 16:20).
The Lord works with us too when our hearts are open to the Spirit. Today’s second reading from Ephesians 1:17-23, is a prayer for all of us asking God to give us “a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.” The prayer also asks that this same Spirit enlighten “the eyes of [our] hearts” so that we will know God’s call and respond appropriately. If the eyes of our hearts are enlightened then we will recognize the presence of Christ in each other. We will see Christ in the people around us who are sick, suffering, hungry, homeless and rejected. If we are gazing at the sky, we might overlook the very people who can lead us into the Kingdom of God.
Gracious God,
We thank you for adopting us into your family
through the miracle of
your grace,
and for calling us to be brothers and sisters to each other.
Today, loving God, we pray for our mothers:
Who cared for us when we were helpless
Who comforted us when we were hurt
Whose love and care we often took for granted.
Today we pray for:
Those who are grieving the loss of their mother,
Those who never knew their biological mother, and now yearn for her
Those who have experienced the wonder of an adopted mother's love
The families separated by war or conflict.
Lord, give them special blessings.
Keep us united with you and with each other,
so that we can be and become all that we are meant to be.
Amen
