The Apostles’ Last Sight of Christ
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
May 20 – 21, 2023
Gospel: John 17:1-11
1 After saying this, Jesus raised His eyes to Heaven and said: Father, the hour has come: glorify Your Son so that Your Son may glorify You; 2 so that, just as You have given Him power over all humanity, He may give eternal life to all those You have entrusted to Him. 3 And eternal life is this: to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on earth by finishing the work that You gave Me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify Me with that glory I had with You before ever the world existed. 6 I have revealed Your name to those whom You took from the world to give Me. They were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.7 Now at last they have recognized that all You have given Me comes from You 8 for I have given them the teaching You gave to Me, and they have indeed accepted it and know for certain that I came from You, and have believed that it was You who sent Me. 9 It is for them that I pray. I am not praying for the world but for those You have given Me, because they belong to You. 10 All I have is Yours and all You have is Mine, and in them I am glorified. 11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep those You have given Me true to Your name, so that they may be one like Us.
“Go forth and baptize. Make disciples of all nations.” This Gospel is called the Gospel of the Great Commission. And there has been a debate about what it really means. Does it mean we need 16 extra collections during the year? I mean it’s a fair question. Do we need 55+/- commissions and agencies in the diocese? I don’t think that was what the statement in the Gospel meant. It did not mention Catholic Social Services in that statement. I’m just saying. Everybody has commissions and agencies. Guess who has to raise the money to support them – we do. How many Catholics have we gained? How many people have come to our Good Lord? Very few and hopefully more than I think. After years of this stuff, sometimes you can become a bit negative.
Today we commemorate our Lord’s ascension to Heaven with the body and human nature He took from the Blessed Mother which were assumed into His divine nature. The one with which He taught, healed, suffered, was redeemed with, and took to Heaven. Now, the people in this parish have a better than average intelligence. So, I want to ask you this great theological question . . . What was the last vision the apostles had of our Lord in the flesh? His feet. He was taken up to Heaven, and the last thing they saw were His feet. What was so remarkable about His feet? The nail prints where they drove in the spikes to hold Him captive on the Cross. That’s the last thing the apostles saw of our Lord. He took that scarred body and brought it into the presence of God Himself.
What do those scars and sacred wounds show us? They show us how bad sin is and how much love God has for us to allow Himself to undergo such a terrible execution so that we could be restored to God’s friendship. That great act of sacrifice is always before God the Father pleading on our behalf. While on the Cross, Christ said, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” That’s a prayer for us and a sign of love. That prayer is always before the Father on our behalf and a reminder of His great love for us.
We should contemplate that Christ took our human nature to Heaven. Next week, I’ll tell you what He’s going to do with our human nature. I want to keep you in suspense so that you come back next week. But He will do something special with our human nature. He is now in Heaven interceding for us. In the Gospel He said, “I am going to prepare a place for you. I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be” (John 14:2-3).
The last physical sight the apostles had of our Lord were His feet. The same feet He walked the Earth with. So, He knows our sufferings, and He knows how bad our sins are. How much He loves us can be seen by the nail marks on His feet. And because of His great love for us, He intercedes on our behalf before the Father.
Father’s Reflections . . .I learned a very valuable thing on Thursday night. It reinforced something that I always thought – I hate Charlotte. Just driving down there sucks the life right out of you. I saw a State Trooper pull somebody over on Hwy 485 and I thought, “there is one brave guy!” I felt better in Iraq. “What do you mean?” I had several heavily armed men with me in Iraq. We didn’t take any lip.
How will you apply this message to your life? ___________________________
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.” On a cell phone: click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories.” Sermon Notes are also available on the church Facebook page at ola.catholic.church. Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”