This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension and the Church gives us the text from Matthew’s Gospel often known as the Great Commission.  Matthew 28:16-20 finishes with the words, “Go therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you.  And know that I am with you always, yes, to the end of time.”

This text is often known as the ‘great commission’.  The reality is that when Christians live and celebrate life in light of the gospel they do experience the presence of Jesus among them. When the word of God is proclaimed people do feel the presence of the Lord speaking to them.  When the Eucharist is celebrated people do know the closeness of the Lord within the community of faith and within each individual present. The ‘great commission’ is a call to keep living life according to the invitation of the gospel.  That is what will make disciples of all the nations.

We live the great commission when we follow the commandment to love your neighbour as yourself.  This was brought home to me this week when we had Jayden Battey as our guest speaker at the Parish Council meeting with young parishioners.  Jayden is house-manager for a community of men set up by Servants Community Housing. Servants Community Housing provides stable accommodation for those who might otherwise find themselves homeless.  Jayden spoke to our group about the work he does in simply accompanying people in their lives.  For many people facing homelessness there are often multiple factors complicating their lives.  These can range from mental health issues, relationship difficulties, and physical, financial or social problems.  Jayden shared with us his experience that often in these situations there is nothing you can do except be a friend to those who are vulnerable at the time.  Journey with them, celebrate the small wins and the good days, sit and talk or walk and listen, and be a steady presence in their lives.  Jayden and his wife Mikyla are motivated by their Christian faith.  For them, working and living at Servants Community Housing expresses their belief that Christ’s first offer to humanity is God’s friendship.  This is what the Church teaches too.  The Second Vatican Council tells us that God sent Jesus Christ into the world to speak to human beings as friends and live among them and call them into fellowship with him (Dei Verbum 2). Perhaps there could be no greater way to live the great commission than for Christians to be friends with the people of our world, particularly those who are vulnerable and suffering in any way.

This seems to be the view of Pope Francis, also as expressed in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti. In this text Pope Francis calls us all to social friendship with all of humanity.  It is a very gospel centred approach to living together in the world.

As we celebrate the ascension this week our focus perhaps should be on the bonds of friendship that unite us as human beings.  It is there that we may discover that the Jesus who ascended to the Father is actually very much present with us in our world.

By Fr Brendan Reed