the ascension of Jesus: discovering gold within
It is said that in Thailand one can find a Buddha ten feet tall made of solid gold. It is gold all over. But it was not like that years back. In fact just beside the golden Buddha one can see clay. It is a reminder to worshipers and tourists that clay once covered this golden statue and for many years people thought it was just one ordinary Buddha made of ordinary clay. Not until 1957.
During that year the monks wanted to transfer the clay Buddha to another place in the temple but it was too heavy to be carried so they called up a crane. After some difficulty, and some mishandling perhaps, they finally moved the statue to its desired place, but cracks appeared all over it. And as if it was not enough to move the monks in a state of panic, rain fell in torrents and the cracks grew bigger and wider.
That night a monk got his flashlight to survey the damage. As he was doing this, a glitter from under a crack caught his eyes. He examined it closely and found gold beneath the clay. And that was how the Buddha that was then thought to be made of ordinary clay came to reveal its treasure within.
Legend says that in ancient times when Burma invaded Thailand, the faithful monks of the village hid their golden Buddha by plastering it with clay, hoping that the enemies will be fooled into thinking that it is just ordinary clay and not take it as war booty. However, in that war, all the monks were killed and nobody knew of the secret of the golden treasure beneath the clay until that fateful day in 1957.
Discovering the treasure within - precious gold revealing its glitter and brilliance beneath the plaster of clay; this is the message of the Ascension of Jesus. His work has been done. He will be leaving physically his disciples behind. The task of bringing everything to completion is left to these ragtag followers of his.
For the task they are about to do, fishermen that they are, they are going to speak in public, they are going to defend themselves before magistrates, they are going to be examined by philosophers, presented to kings, and worst, they are going to be hounded and persecuted. But amidst this fear and doubt of moving alone in this world, Jesus said, “All power has been given to me – go – all authority has been given to you . . . go . . . I am with you always.”
To discover the treasure within; precious gold revealing its glitter and brilliance beneath the plaster of clay . . . that beneath the cowardice that seems to overwhelm, is the courage to dare; that beneath the weakness that slackens resolve is the power to weather the storm; that beneath those doubts is the capacity to leap in faith; that beneath the fears is the strength that will carry them through thick and thin; that beneath sinfulness is a great potential for goodness. You have the power!
We have to learn to appreciate once more ourselves, our humanity, for the God who shared our humanity has shared to us his divinity! I have and we all have the ability to cope with the demands of life because of our faith in Jesus. We have the power!
But you see this does not always go this way.
A little boy who was so afraid of the dark was asked by his mother, “Boy, could you please get the broom outside the house.” “But Mother,” the boy protested, “it is too dark outside and I am afraid.”
And so the mother told him, “you know child, you should not be afraid – Jesus is with you, he is there outside in the dark. So be brave!”
The little boy nodded in agreement and bravely opened the door and called out, “Jesus, if you are there, could you please bring the broom here?”
Sometimes our faith is like this and we treat God in the same manner. Ginapaobra naton sa Dios ang puede man lang naton maobra kon mapisan kag maisog lang kita. Kon kaisa nagasiling kita, ”isalig lang sa Dios,” kag dayon magpahimunong. Ginatawag naton ang aton katamad nga pagsalig, kag ang lain pa, dalhon pa naton ang Dios sa aton katamad. When Jesus says you have the power, you are gold and not clay, he is telling us you can do it. He is also telling us don’t just trust God, trust also yourself – you can do it.
Sometimes however there are situations in life that we have to learn to accept as a given and face bravely.
I am an arthritic. I have lived with pain for most of my adult life. One day a parishioner told me, “Father, if you just have the faith the size of the mustard seed that things will just vanish. Have faith!”
That statement just made me depressed for days. Some well-meaning people who just couldn’t keep their mouth shut can do more harm than good. But you see, it’s true. If faith can move mountains, surely it can do away with arthritis in no time. And probably, since I still have arthritis with me, I have no faith. And to think that I am a priest!
However, I discovered in my own struggles that faith is not just about moving mountains. Faith is not just saying to this mountain, move out of the way and it will do so. But I also discovered that faith is also climbing mountains which I cannot move. Faith means finding God in my pain. Faith means serving people despite the pain and the inconvenience. Faith means being the best that I can be in a given circumstance. One may not have the faith to move mountains, but one can have the faith to move on, to go on and to do so with conviction and with joy despite the seemingly formidable mountains of life.
So when Jesus says you have the power, you are gold, he is not just saying, “you can do it” but there will be times when he will be saying, “just do what you can.”
Our reflection on the Ascension of Jesus, our reflection on his leave-taking should lead us to look deeper into ourselves. If he left us, it is because he trusts us. If he trusts us, it is because he knows that we are most capable, that we are not just clay. There is so much goodness in us. If only we would take a little time and have a deeper look into ourselves.
During that year the monks wanted to transfer the clay Buddha to another place in the temple but it was too heavy to be carried so they called up a crane. After some difficulty, and some mishandling perhaps, they finally moved the statue to its desired place, but cracks appeared all over it. And as if it was not enough to move the monks in a state of panic, rain fell in torrents and the cracks grew bigger and wider.
That night a monk got his flashlight to survey the damage. As he was doing this, a glitter from under a crack caught his eyes. He examined it closely and found gold beneath the clay. And that was how the Buddha that was then thought to be made of ordinary clay came to reveal its treasure within.
Legend says that in ancient times when Burma invaded Thailand, the faithful monks of the village hid their golden Buddha by plastering it with clay, hoping that the enemies will be fooled into thinking that it is just ordinary clay and not take it as war booty. However, in that war, all the monks were killed and nobody knew of the secret of the golden treasure beneath the clay until that fateful day in 1957.
Discovering the treasure within - precious gold revealing its glitter and brilliance beneath the plaster of clay; this is the message of the Ascension of Jesus. His work has been done. He will be leaving physically his disciples behind. The task of bringing everything to completion is left to these ragtag followers of his.
For the task they are about to do, fishermen that they are, they are going to speak in public, they are going to defend themselves before magistrates, they are going to be examined by philosophers, presented to kings, and worst, they are going to be hounded and persecuted. But amidst this fear and doubt of moving alone in this world, Jesus said, “All power has been given to me – go – all authority has been given to you . . . go . . . I am with you always.”
To discover the treasure within; precious gold revealing its glitter and brilliance beneath the plaster of clay . . . that beneath the cowardice that seems to overwhelm, is the courage to dare; that beneath the weakness that slackens resolve is the power to weather the storm; that beneath those doubts is the capacity to leap in faith; that beneath the fears is the strength that will carry them through thick and thin; that beneath sinfulness is a great potential for goodness. You have the power!
We have to learn to appreciate once more ourselves, our humanity, for the God who shared our humanity has shared to us his divinity! I have and we all have the ability to cope with the demands of life because of our faith in Jesus. We have the power!
But you see this does not always go this way.
A little boy who was so afraid of the dark was asked by his mother, “Boy, could you please get the broom outside the house.” “But Mother,” the boy protested, “it is too dark outside and I am afraid.”
And so the mother told him, “you know child, you should not be afraid – Jesus is with you, he is there outside in the dark. So be brave!”
The little boy nodded in agreement and bravely opened the door and called out, “Jesus, if you are there, could you please bring the broom here?”
Sometimes our faith is like this and we treat God in the same manner. Ginapaobra naton sa Dios ang puede man lang naton maobra kon mapisan kag maisog lang kita. Kon kaisa nagasiling kita, ”isalig lang sa Dios,” kag dayon magpahimunong. Ginatawag naton ang aton katamad nga pagsalig, kag ang lain pa, dalhon pa naton ang Dios sa aton katamad. When Jesus says you have the power, you are gold and not clay, he is telling us you can do it. He is also telling us don’t just trust God, trust also yourself – you can do it.
Sometimes however there are situations in life that we have to learn to accept as a given and face bravely.
I am an arthritic. I have lived with pain for most of my adult life. One day a parishioner told me, “Father, if you just have the faith the size of the mustard seed that things will just vanish. Have faith!”
That statement just made me depressed for days. Some well-meaning people who just couldn’t keep their mouth shut can do more harm than good. But you see, it’s true. If faith can move mountains, surely it can do away with arthritis in no time. And probably, since I still have arthritis with me, I have no faith. And to think that I am a priest!
However, I discovered in my own struggles that faith is not just about moving mountains. Faith is not just saying to this mountain, move out of the way and it will do so. But I also discovered that faith is also climbing mountains which I cannot move. Faith means finding God in my pain. Faith means serving people despite the pain and the inconvenience. Faith means being the best that I can be in a given circumstance. One may not have the faith to move mountains, but one can have the faith to move on, to go on and to do so with conviction and with joy despite the seemingly formidable mountains of life.
So when Jesus says you have the power, you are gold, he is not just saying, “you can do it” but there will be times when he will be saying, “just do what you can.”
Our reflection on the Ascension of Jesus, our reflection on his leave-taking should lead us to look deeper into ourselves. If he left us, it is because he trusts us. If he trusts us, it is because he knows that we are most capable, that we are not just clay. There is so much goodness in us. If only we would take a little time and have a deeper look into ourselves.
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