Even the Apostles didn’t get it

(And this is what puzzled them) "A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” (From John 16:16) The Apostles clearly did not know what Jesus meant. Even when the Ascension happened, “As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. And in Acts 1: 1…we read that the Apostles were “looking intently at the sky as he was going up” suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” After all Jesus had invited them to go about as he did to be “witnesses to the world.”

Or another time when Philip asked Jesus to “show us the Father and that will be enough for us” (John 14:6…). At this Jesus must have been exasperated with these men: “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me/” These references are just a few examples of Jesus trying to teach his Apostles.

Well, if even the Apostles, who had the benefit of Jesus’ physical presence and instruction, did not believe or understand his words, how can we? Or how do we fare in our own journey of faith? Well, it is really the coming of the Holy Spirit that will make all the difference.

The mysteries of our faith are illumined by the bright light that is Christ. We ought not to be hard on the Apostles. We have the benefit of Jesus divine life within us in the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, who speaks out on our behalf. The Ascension of Jesus into heaven provides the glow of joy and wonder across our human endeavors. (Excerpt from C. Stuhlmueller) So as we contemplate the Ascension, let us boldly undertake the mission of being Christ’s witnesses to his promises “Behold, I am with you until the end of the world.”

Sister Christine Bowman, O.S.F.
Is a Franciscan Sister of the Sacred Heart since 1969: I’m a former nurse with a missionary heart. I responded to an invitation to join the Board of Directors of the Mission Doctors Association in 2013. Currently minister at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown LA. As Director of Cathedral Relations.