The Ascension of the Lord
Cycle C
May 8, 2016 4:00 and
6:00pm
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air
Readings: Acts 1.1-11
Ephesians
1.17-23
Luke
24.46-53
A Balanced Person
One
of the things that I remember from my high school days was the emphasis on balance.
The
priests, the Sulpician priests at Saint Charles High School really emphasized
the idea of being a balanced person. The
balance that they promoted included a number of elements.
For
example, they pushed us to work hard at our studies, to participate in at least
some sport, to pray at set times every day, and to have fun and relate well with
our peers.
They
also understood that we would have highs and lows, ups and downs. But they guided us to stay grounded and not
to get swept away by our immediate emotions.
That’s
the overall approach I remember. The key
theme was balance – being a balanced person, maybe we would say today, being a
whole or well-rounded person.
Balance in Scripture
I see some of this same idea of balance in today’s readings.
In the first reading, the disciples experience Jesus
ascending into the heavens and going back to the Father. They are just standing there, looking up at
the skies.
The passage says that two men dressed in white
appear. They ask: “Why are you standing there looking up at the sky?”
This jolts the disciples to do what Jesus tells them
to do in today’s gospel. He wants them
to be his witnesses in the world.
Well, when we look at these readings in context, I
think we see a spiritual balance being proposed. It is understandable that the disciples are
standing there and looking up at the skies for a while.
They are focused on Jesus and this standing and
looking seems appropriate. And it is
appropriate for us at times to do the same thing.
At the same time, the disciples and we have to get
back to everyday life. This is where we
live out our faith and make Jesus alive and present.
So, the disciples and we need a balance. We need this for a healthy and holy life.
Balance in our Lives
So, when we take time for looking up, for personal prayer
and Sunday Mass, it does good things for us.
It gives us a sense of God’s presence and some centeredness
for our lives. It gives us strength for
doing our jobs and all the everyday things of life.
It gives us a sense of direction and purpose. And it keeps fresh in our minds the big
picture and the long-term vision of life.
At the same time, besides looking up, we also need to look
around.
We need to look around at our family and friends and neighbors
and co-workers and classmates. We need
to see how we are called to be there for them in the way that we can.
And we need to look around at people in need, maybe in
Harford County or Baltimore City or Haiti or wherever. We also need to be there for them in the way
that we can.
Lack of Balance
So we need this spiritual balance of prayer and work, of
looking up and looking around, and a lack of this can be hurtful.
If we
are looking up too much, praying all the time, we may be neglecting others. Our faith can become narrow, maybe even
self-focused.
We
might think that being close to God only involves prayer and Eucharist. We might miss the importance of connecting the
dots – of connecting the gospel with everything in life.
On the
other hand, if we are looking around all the time, if we are always busy and on
the go, we might lose our moorings. We
might feel little sense of the inner presence of God.
We
might lose our vision and sense of direction.
We might be living on the surface and end up feeling very empty.
So,
balance or spiritual balance is important for us. My high school faculty and mentors had a
pretty good point.
