Greg Friedman, OFM

Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will teach us what we need to know. He says the Spirit works in union with Jesus and with the Father. There is consolation in those words for us as we face the fears and questions of our time in the Church and in the world.

The dramatic story of the descent of the Holy Spirit tells us how the Holy Spirit can break down walls we may put up between peoples, races, and cultures. What we see as obstacles, the Spirit can use to create a new unity.

At the Last Supper the Lord prays for those who will have to be “in the world.” They are one with Jesus and with the Father. They can expect that the world will not accept them, even as they witness to Jesus there. But they carry the promise of Jesus, that his love will be in them.

The Gospel version of Jesus’ ascension evokes the past. We hear Jesus explain how it was prophesied that he would suffer. In Acts, his words point to the future–to the commissioning of his apostles as witnesses through the power of the Holy Spirit they will soon receive.

Today we hear Luke’s two versions of the Ascension of Jesus, one from his Gospel, the other from his Acts of the Apostles. As you might expect, the two accounts have some differences. These differences remind us that these accounts are not strict history, but rather written to teach a spiritual point.

Jesus assured his followers that he will send “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,” who will teach them and remind them of all Jesus told them. In effect, Jesus is promising that the Church can always rely on the Spirit to guide it in troubled times. The Spirit will help us discover the peace that Jesus gives.