“I am with you always”
“I am with you always” (Mt 28:20)
Seeking redress for injustice is a human need: when we perceive that we are unjustly treated we want justice to be restored. There are mainly two ways in which we desire justice. One: by wanting revenge on the unjust aggressor; that is, by harming or wanting to harm the unjust aggressor we feel consoled, and our status restored. Though the Hebrew Scriptures see this means of seeking justice to be right, the teachings of Jesus totally rule this out. The second way that we seek justice is by appealing to a higher authority – even God – to defend us and prove us righteous. This is often referred to as the vindication of the just; that is, without necessarily causing harm to the unjust aggressor, the integrity of the victim is restored.
He made him sit on the right hand in heaven (Eph 1:20)
When Jesus was hanging on the cross, the Father seemed silent. Jesus himself questions the silence of God as he prays Psalm 22:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The words of my groaning do nothing to save me….I am a worm, less than human, scorn of mankind, contempt of the people; all who see me jeer at me, they sneer and wag their heads, ‘He trusted himself to Yahweh, let Yahweh set him free! Let him deliver him, as he took such delight in him.’
Jesus does not pray for revenge. He forgives his enemies. At the same time, he recalls ‘the saving justice’ (Ps 22:31) of God, and calls on his Father to defend him. Apparently there was silence. Jesus was buried. There was silence still. But suddenly, in His time, God vindicated him by raising him up from the dead. This thought emerges very powerfully right from the first sermon of Peter after the Pentecost: “This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified and killed by men outside the Law. But God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades…” (Acts 2:23-24). And this is reiterated once again in the feast of today. In the 2nd reading of today, St Paul tells us (Eph 1:17-23): “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, [has exercised extraordinary power] in Christ, the power which he exercised in raising him from the dead and enthroning him at his right hand, in heaven, far above every principality, ruling force, power or sovereignty, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet….”
The feast of the Ascension of the Lord assures us of the power of the God who vindicates the just (while not being vindictive towards the unjust), at least in two ways. First, the same God who defended His Son will also defend us in His own time. Secondly, that image of Jesus being lifted up (Acts 1:1-11) not only fully restores Christ to his divine status, it also consoles us that from that vantage point above, Jesus Christ continues to defend us with his over-enveloping presence.
“And know that I am with you always” (Mt 28:20)
In the famous Divine Retreat Centre in India, there is a priest (Fr Augustine Vallooran) who, during the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, has a habit of calling out the names of people and giving them a message from the Bible. The message that I have heard participants in the retreat remember and repeat most is this: “And know that I am with you always” (Mt 28:20), or words to this effect. These words that we heard in the gospel text of today were the parting words of Jesus, as Matthew has it. In fact, the Gospel of Matthew ends with these words. These words of promise are uttered by Jesus in the context of the mountain that alludes to his Ascension.
This expression is one of those messages that are repeated so many times in both parts of the Holy Scriptures. The Lord God tells the patriarchs, time after time: “Do not be afraid, I am with you” (Gen 26:24; 28:15). The Lord God assures the people of Israel of His presence all through the journey of exodus: He was with them in the form of cloud by day and as pillar of fire by night (Ex 13:21-22). Through the words of the prophets again the Lord God reminds the prophets and His people of this promise: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Isa 41:10; 43:5; Jer 1:8; 15:20). These are the same words that Jesus offers us as his parting promise: “And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time” (Mt 28:20).
Jesus is present among us in his Spirit – the Holy Spirit; the feast of next Sunday will give us an opportunity to reflect on this. Jesus is present among us in his body – the Eucharist. Jesus is present among us in His Word – the Scriptures. Jesus is present among us in the believing community, which is also his body – the Church.
Jesus is with us to support us in the mission that he has entrusted to each one of us: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). Jesus is with us also to assure us that God, his Father, vindicates us even when we are victimized by circumstances and denied of justice. We all need this assurance that there is a Greater Power that establishes justice by defending the righteous, even when human systems and institutions fail us. He justifies us in His own time.
Fr. Franco Pereira, S.D.B.
