John the Baptist said he was making way for someone greater, and over the centuries Christians have tended to take him at his word, maybe a little too much so, seeing him as a figure who played his part and exited stage left. To think of him this way, though, is to make him into exactly the opposite of what he stood for: a radically new way to relate to God.

I distinctly recall the day when my faith took firm root. I was 7 years old and my sisters and I had just been summoned by my dad to join him around the kitchen table while my mom fixed him dinner. It was late, around 10 p.m. Dad had been out with his buddies. Sometimes when he came home late he’d have a pack of White Castle sliders to share with us, but this night he just wanted to talk. 

A theology professor of mine used to repeat the quip, “The Letter to the Hebrews is neither”: It’s not a letter nor is it addressed to any particular group of Hebrews.It is, however, in the style of a Jewish form of sermonizing know as midrash, where the author uses scripture to interpret another scripture or religious reality.

For those of us over a certain age, the minute we hear Paul referring to the disciples as sons of God as he does in today’s second reading, we feel the urge to break out into a refrain of “Sons of God,” a popular 1970s Communion song that was etched in every young Catholic’s memory.

IN THE EARLY days of the Pentecostal movement, a few of its missionaries went to foreign countries fully expecting to receive the gift of instant fluency in native tongues, just as the disciples at the original Christian Pentecost did. Needless to say they quickly realized they would have to learn the language just like everyone else.

The Ascension of Jesus is about the power of change and the possibility of transformation, about a God who was willing to reach down to humanity and bring it up into divine life.

We could all use a little more love. Wars, conflicts, fights, and feuds abound in our world, churches, communities, and homes. It is a scandal how little effort much of humanity and most individual humans put into loving one another. 

When we vouch for people (vouch from the Latin vocare, “to call”), we are speaking up on their behalf and bearing witness to their worthiness to join with people who respect and trust our judgment.

Shepherding goes back a long way in scripture. Abel was the first, and future shepherds would include an all-star list from Israelite history: Abraham, Rachel, Jacob, Moses, and David. “Shepherd” could also be a metaphor for Israelite kings, like David, or even for God.

When Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem after the Resurrection, he commissioned them to preach repentence and forgiveness in his name to all the nations. They embraced their charge with gusto.