Told you so!

Sermon for the Sunday after Ascension 

It always seems

a bit odd to hear Our Lord's words

after we have witnessed

His Ascension into Heaven.

Indeed, 

what is most jarring

is that we have been hearing

his words

on the night before He dies.

And today,

the Sunday after Our Lord ascends,

we hear Him tell His disciples

that they will be killed 

for their witness to His truth.

And, having said that, 

He says,

"But these things have I told you,

that, when the time shall come,

ye may remember that 

I told you of them."

Does that mean

that during the oncoming tribulation 

that our beloved apostles endure,

the memory of this night

pops into their heads

with Jesus saying,

"told you so!"?

[PAUSE]

People who say,

"I told you so!"

are usually berating us

for not following their advice. 

"Told you so" comes with

an air of smugness

and satisfaction 

that misfortune has come upon us

because we haven't followed

someone's advice.

But we don't see that in Our Lord.

So why does He effectively say

"Told you so"

to those whom He loves

as they suffer for His sake?

Clearly He doesn't mean it like that.

Clearly, he wants them to remember 

that He has not forgotten them.

In a few hours, 

Our Lord will be dead

hanging on the cross

and it will be easy for 

the disciples to forget 

the promise of Resurrection

amid the sorrow and anguish.

[PAUSE]

But remembering 

is an activity that

we don't fully appreciate 

these days.

Remembering is not just

being able to recite your phone number

or a thousand digits of pi.

Remembering is

 literally a re-membering

- a putting back together

of an event.

For the disciples,

remembering Our Lord's words

is absolutely vital.

It is their calling,

their witness, 

their testimony of all

that Jesus says and does

in their sight.

In their persecution, 

they remember that

Our Lord told them so

and that His promises are true.

And they remember

that they have received 

the Holy Ghost,

Who proceeds from the Father

Who us sent by the Son

who comes to us

with strength - 

cum forte -

for us to use to proclaim 

the Word of God.

[PAUSE]

The night before Our Lord dies

is a night to remember, 

to piece back together,

and we do just that here in the Mass.

We are re-membering

what Our Lord told us to do.

And in re-membering 

the Last Supper

we are given the presence 

of Christ Himself 

in the Holy Sacrament

so that we, too,

like the Apostles,

may go out and tell the truth

about Christ.

And, as we increase in faith,

and see the work of God 

at our hands,

as we suffer our persecution, 

our temptation, 

our repentance,

our humiliation, 

our cross,

all for His sake, 

we will see Our Lord in His glory 

pointing to our place 

in His Kingdom

and saying,

"Told you so!"