I know where to go: Homily for Sunday, May 12, 2024

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The Solemnity of the Ascension is about our future. And thanks to Jesus, I can say with confidence, I know where to go.

I know where to go

I don’t remember if it was my sixth or seventh birthday, but I remember my very first trip to the Shrine of Baseball, Fenway Park. And in those days, getting to Fenway was not as easy as it is today. They’ve done a lot of work in the roads around Fenway Park to make it easier.

And I remember specifically that we could see the destination, but no matter what we did, we did not get there. What I remember is seeing Fenway Park straight ahead of us, and then seeing Fenway Park over there, and then seeing it over there, and over there, and over there, and then back in front of us again.

My father, probably like many, did not like to ask for directions. But it was getting so frustrating that ultimately he had to give in, and he stopped at a gas station to ask directions. In my seven-year-old wisdom, I knew that was immediately trouble, because I looked at him talking to two men who worked at the gas station, and immediately they pointed in opposite directions. This isn’t going to end well.

It was the one and only time my father ever asked for directions. But ultimately, we made the game. We were there. It was wonderful. Ironically, the Red Sox were playing the Washington Senators, the team that became the Minnesota Twins. It was magical. It was magical. But it taught me the importance as an adult of focusing on the right things.

And such is what we celebrate today in the Feast of the Ascension. We are told by St. Paul to focus on the things of heaven and not on the things of earth. And that really is what the Ascension is about. It’s to remind us that this is only part of the way, but it’s not the ultimate destination. The ultimate destination is our eternal relationship with Jesus in heaven.

And just as we got lost finding our way to Fenway, without Jesus and our faith in Jesus and cultivating our relationship with Jesus, we can get lost on the way to heaven. St. Augustine says that actually what we should really be doing is focusing on the things of heaven right here in our lives now. That it isn’t just simply something to wait for off in the distance, but something we acknowledge and celebrate even today.

I know in my life I need to think about where my true priorities lie. What am I focused on? What do I consider most important? What am I willing to sacrifice for and make time for? Jesus says, “Where our treasure is, there our heart is also.” And I know that’s true in my life. That while I think there are times where I’m really focusing on the priority of my relationship with Jesus, there are also times where I’m focusing on things that are not so important.

For example, I know there’s a little materialist inside of me. I like things. And sometimes I spend a lot of my energy looking at things. If you were to ask me what the ultimate cause of climate change, for example, is, I would say it’s materialism. We buy new things and throw away things that we no longer want.

There is a temptation, I think, in many to have the latest cell phone, for example, even though the one we have probably works fine. I know in my life that it’s a sign that my priorities are out of whack when I look maybe too much at advertisements for new things, even though I have plenty of things. I don’t need anything.

There may be other things that become priorities for us, become idols even, in our own life. But Jesus shows us the way. Jesus challenges us to think about making our relationship with Him the utmost priority in our lives. There can be many other things that become idols that can distract us or cause us to get lost.

We, for example, can focus on something like always being right, even when we’re not. We can focus in our lives, for example, on having a beautiful home that we can’t afford. We can find in our lives an idol that says, “We’re not going to help the poor because, you know what, they’re just going to waste the money we give them anyway.” There can be an idol that says, “You know what? I’m going to spend every evening simply plopped in front of the couch rather than reading something spiritual,” for example, and so forth.

But Jesus shows us the way. If we look at the life of Jesus on earth, He was obsessed with one thing– doing the work and the will of the Father, doing the work that comes from our eternal relationship with God. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. As we celebrate this Ascension Sunday, let us focus on our final destination, seeing in our relationship with Him something that leads us to the eternal life of heaven.

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