Reflection - Exiles

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042520.cfm
1 Peter 5:5-14
Mark 16:15-20

Every once in a while a Scripture text — or the lack of Scripture text that was expected — surprises me. Consider the current passage from Mark.

When I went to compare the various accounts of the Ascension, the first thing that became evident was the absence of an Ascension account in both Matthew and John.

Matthew concludes his Gospel with Jesus’ command to spread the Good News:

“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.”(Matthew 28:19)

John concludes his Gospel with an account of a conversation between Jesus and Peter. Their exchange concludes with Jesus hinting at the manner of Peter’s death, which prompts Peter to question: What about him (meaning John)? To which Jesus replies: "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" (John 21:22)

While Luke has an account of the Ascension — “While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven.” (Luke 24:51) — there is a note of caution in the commentary. Some ancient authorities omit the words: “and he was carried up into heaven.” That would leave us with the simple statement: “While he blessed them, he parted from them.” Hmmm! No Ascension.

But the surprises were not yet complete. Mark’s Gospel ending, as we read today, offers the following: “Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.” But other ancient authorities offer a different ending. They entirely omit verses 9-20 and conclude, instead, with the following. “But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told. And after this, Jesus Himself sent out, by means of them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.”

Assuming that the commentators and Scripture scholars are correct, and that no Gospel originally made direct reference to the Ascension, we have to ask “Why was this so?” and “What prompted the later inclusions of the brief Ascension references that we have. Here you can wander with me for a bit into the realm of speculation.

The Gospel authors may have assumed that his return to the Father was a given. After all, Jesus made frequent references to the Father and his relationship to Him. There were statements he made that, at least in retrospect, can only be understood as assuming that his earthly life was, like ours, a temporal one and that he would, at some point, return to the Father. In the latter portion of John’s Gospel, while Jesus is with the Apostles at the Last Supper, we hear the following:

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you. . . . But now I am coming to you.” (John 17:1, 13)

As to why the Ascension texts we actually have were ultimately included (just assuming that they were not in the original) it’s easy to imagine new converts asking: “Where did Jesus go?” and “Why does no one see him anymore?” The answer was simple but, understandably, it might have been necessary to put it into simple words: “Jesus went home.” That is what the evangelists put into their text: Jesus was taken up or carried up to heaven. Jesus went home.

Now, of course, all this is leading toward another story. This second story is one we reflect on in a prayer, a prayer we say in conclusion when we pray the rosary.

Hail Holy Queen!
Mother of mercy. Our life, our sweetness, our hope.
To thee do we cry — The poor banished children of Eve
To thee do we send up our sighs, our mourning, our weeping from this vale of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us;
And after this, our exile . . . .

The implication is hard to miss once you have recognized it. The words are provocative. We are the poor banished children of Eve. That’s a concept easy enough to grasp given the account from Genesis.

“The LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:24-25)

The word which is truly arresting and suggestive of a similar condition for the children of Eve, comes a few lines later. That word is “exile”. The dictionary defines “exile” as “the state or a period of forced absence from one's country or home.” The earth that we live on, the earth as it is now, is not truly our home except in a temporal sense. We have been banished from Eden even if we were never there. We currently are the umteenth generation living in exile. And if the Resurrection means anything at all, it means we are no longer banished. It means it is now possible for us to return home.

When I am on vacation, there comes a point when, no matter how pleasant, how fascinating, how fulfilling my vacation has been, I look forward to going home. That point comes even sooner if the trip has been less than satisfactory. Have you yet reached that point where you look forward to going home?

“In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
And you know the way where I am going." (John 14:2-4)