Feast of St Matthias (Ascension Thursday)
Readings:
Acts 1:1-11
Ephesians 1:17-23
Matthew 28:16-20
Reflection:
I was born on the Feast of the Ascension, which is how I know I was born on a Thursday – Ascension Thursday, as it was long called. While this feast is now transferred to a Sunday in Australia and New Zealand, many places around the world continue the tradition of celebrating it on a Thursday – today.
Around the world, the 14th of May is also recognised as the Feast of the Apostle, Matthias. Matthias has a direct link to the Ascension because he was elected immediately after the Ascension as one of two men to replace Judas Iscariot.
In the Gospel for the Ascension, the evangelist Matthew records that the disciples “worshipped, but they doubted.” (An alternative translation uses ‘hesitated’ rather than ‘doubted’.)
There have been times in my life when I have done the same – worshipped while also doubting. Without doubt, there will be these times again.
Interestingly, while I have heard this Gospel story countless times over the years, I have never really taken notice of this line before.
I find the line strangely comforting. Doubt and faith are not intractable opposites.
What happens to the disciples in their doubt? Matthew tells us that Jesus approaches them.
A friend’s response to a young person who expressed the view that she ‘no longer believed in God’ was to answer back: ‘Well God still believes in you!’
In times of doubt, we need to simply wait and look out for the Risen Lord – he is always ready to approach us, so long as we are open to that and allow it. God continues to believe in each of us.
On a feast day that is commonly described in terms of the Risen Jesus’ ‘leaving’ his disciples, the Scriptures remind us that he is with us always, even in our doubt … perhaps especially in our doubt.
It’s on that basis, and only on that basis, that we can confidently continue to go out and bear witness to the “nations of the world”, telling everyone we can about the goodness of a God who daily walks with us.
John Kleinsman lives in Wellington. He is married to Kerry and works in the field of bioethics. His involvement with the Passionists goes back to 1992, nurtured through an ongoing involvement with Passionist Family Groups in New Zealand. He is a lay member of the Passionist Formation Commission.