This weekend, the girls at Incarnate Word high school will graduate and, at their baccalaureate Mass, they will hear the same Gospel that you just heard today—the one that says: “Go….” What a great day to have a commencement—a beginning!—to go.
But the question is: And
do what?
And that seems like an important question.
But there is a more important question.
And the more important question is: Who is telling you to Go?
Because, you see, someone is telling you to go. It’s not just that you are going because you have to or because it’s all according to your plan, originating from you.
No, let me state the obvious: You are sent by Jesus.
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And that requires time.
And an invitation.
So, before we can even address where you are going and what you are going to do when you go, we must come to face the reality that you have been invited—invited to get to know Jesus and Him to know you.
Thus, He has said to you: Come, follow me.
That is an invitation. And not simply to morality. It is an invitation to intimacy.
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But.
Before you can follow Him, you must be found by Him.
And to be found by Him means that there must come a point in your life that you realize that you were lost from Him. That you need Him. And so you call out to Him. And you wait for Him. And you long for Him. And when it seems that He delays in finding you, you weep for Him. And repent for ever having run from Him.
And then.
Then the Good Shepherd finds you.
And He dusts you off. And picks you up. And calls you by name. And tells you that you are everything to Him. And He carries you in His arms, joyfully carrying you to the Father.
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So, let’s recap:
Before you go, you must be sent. Before you are sent, you must enter into intimacy with Him. And before you can enter into intimacy with Him, you must be invited. And before you can be invited, you must be found. And before you can be found, you must admit that you are lost.
Only then can you go.
And do what?
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Find.
Find the lost.
They are the ones who are isolated. Or lonely. Or angry. Or despairing. Or on the fringes. And they may be out of the way. Or they may be in the pew right next to you. You may see them on the TV or people who are so immersed in the affairs of the world. Yes, they may be successful and popular even—but what does it profit a man if he should gain the whole world but lose his soul? Even those may be the lost. And Jesus wants them to be found.
Then Invite.
This means more than welcoming. Sure, all are welcome. But that’s too passive. We must initiate and extend the invitation. “You are invited!” “The Church needs you.” “You are invited to join us in the great drama of healing a sick world.” To invite is so much more grabbing than the blasé “All are welcome.” What’s more: the invitation goes beyond just being inclusive. Being inclusive is not enough. We must be personal, not ideological. Be personal: “I am inviting you.”
Then Bring to Intimacy.
We open our hearts to the Lord and we help others enter into that heart-to-heart conversation with Jesus. And sometimes that means opening up and being vulnerable about who I am and about who you are—and to let people in there and see that: “Hey, I’m afraid” or “I stink at being a human” or “Here are my hopes” or “my heart longs for….” And we are real with God and with one another. We take off the mask and the protective layers and begin the journey of intimacy.
And if you are wearing a ring and there is a person next to you who is wearing a ring you gave them—that’s the first person you should be doing this with. To pray together and to open your hearts to each other and, together, to God.
And yes, bringing to intimacy also means serving together and going to Mass together and playing together. But above all, praying together.
And then we Send.
After we have found the lost and invited them in and shown them the beauty of Catholic intimacy, we then send these new disciples into the world to do the same. We tell them: You have a mission in these fields ripe with harvest. Our faith is not simply a consuming, therapeutic faith. You must now go and bear fruit that will last. You have a purpose. And you have something to give. Go, so to bring people to heaven! That’s where our Head and Founder, Jesus Christ, has gone before.
Which is what I am telling you right now.
Because I’ve been found. I’ve been invited and brought to intimacy. And I’ve been sent.
To find you. To invite you. To bring you to intimacy with Jesus. And to send you forth, too.
The Good Shepherd has called me—and he is calling you—to Go. Be a good shepherd.
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As we conclude, let’s make this personal.
Where are you?
That’s the very first question in the Scriptures. And it’s a spiritual question. Where are you?
Are you not yet found?
Are you found, but waiting to be invited?
Are you invited, but longing for intimacy?
Are you enjoying intimacy with Christ, but now seeking a mission, an adventure on which to be sent?
My thoughts turn to the Apostles once again—they who were once lost, then found, then invited. Do you know where the apostles went first when they were sent? They went back to the Upper Room—the place of their first communion and their first reconciliation—they went there to receive the Holy Spirit.
They knew that, no matter what came next, they needed the Holy Spirit. They needed to receive the love of God the Father and the Son poured into their hearts.
After all, no one ever feels entirely ready to be found or invited or chosen or sent.
I have once heard it said: “The most productive thing a human being can do is to receive the love of God.”
And so that is where we go, now. On this Ascension, we go to the Upper Room, for now, to receive the gift of God.
“Brothers, I have much more to tell you, but
you cannot bear it now…”
-- Wait, what? There’s more?
Yes. I will give you the Holy Spirit. And
when you receive Him, go.
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