Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Who wants free stuff!? I definitely do. If there’s something out there that is of interest to me and I get to have it at no cost, sign me up! That’s why Instagram giveaways are usually so exciting to me. All you have to do is follow a few requirements then boom, you’re entered into a giveaway for a sweet Fender Stratocaster guitar. Well, that’s the last giveaway I entered anyway.
These events usually involve tagging some friends on social media, reposting a picture, and liking their post. The more entries you do, the bigger your chances are of getting the prize. These giveaways are usually large promotional events that point users towards a certain brand or person. These brands give something away for free and in exchange, people promote their products. In most cases, multiple people collaborate on their giveaways.
The readings this week reminded me a little bit of a giveaway, except that this giveaway has the ultimate prize. And unlike the guitar I’m hoping shows up on my doorstep, this gift from Jesus is a sure thing; all we have to do is sign up for it. Jesus came down to earth to save us from our sins and open up the gates of Heaven for us to enter in. We hear Jesus tell his disciples to go into the world and proclaim the Gospel to everyone. We then get to see that he provides them with everything that they need to accomplish their goal of evangelizing the whole world. That’s like someone telling you that they’ll give you your dream car for free, then giving you the maintenance and gas for life too!
After Jesus says this, he ascends into Heaven, and then two angels appear and ask, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” In other words, we need to get to work and stop standing around. We need to join the promotions team for this giveaway, to let everyone know about it, and there’s no time to waste.
Jesus has given us an amazing gift to claim for ourselves, but also to share with others. He has called us to live our lives for him, and in return, we get to enter his kingdom in Heaven. To help us along the way, he gave us his Holy Spirit to guide and empower us to fulfill our role in proclaiming the Gospel to everyone. He wants us all be in Heaven with him, so let’s all do our part to help our friends, family and everyone around us get to Heaven too. That’s one giveaway that I’ll never get tired of trying to reach.