Two Ascensions

Seeing how obedient suffering leads to heavenly glory

05/29/2022

Lk 24:46-53 Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.

Today we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus into heavenly glory, where he is seated in power at the right hand of the Father. Last week the pope announced the “ascension” of Fr. Erik Pohlmeier, a priest of our diocese, to the glory of a bishop in the Diocese of St. Augustine, where he, too, will be seated with full priestly power. I think there are some striking parallels between these two ascensions into glory: the Ascension of Jesus and the ascension of Bishop-elect Pohlmeier. First, let me describe these parallels and second I will make a practical application to Christian life. That is, one day we will all hopefully experience an “ascension” into the glory of heaven. And both Jesus and Fr. Erik can show us the way to our own ascension.

First of all, how does a lowly priest ascend to the glory of becoming a bishop? How did Pope Francis pick Fr. Pohlmeier in Little Rock, Arkansas to be the new bishop of St. Augustine far away in Florida? Well, basically, it is a three step process that produces a list of names that lands on the pope’s desk. First, every bishop of every diocese keeps a list of the three priests in his diocese that he believes is “bishop material”: holy, humble, hard-working, and has a good sense of humor. When there is a vacancy in a diocese somewhere in the United States, that list is sent to the pope’s ambassador to the U.S., an archbishop, who resides in Washington, D.C. Being on a bishop's short-list in Arkansas is the first step.

The second step, then, is that archbishop conducts a super-secret investigation through questionnaires sent to people who know these priests. After reading all the results of his research, he orders and prioritizes the list according to his preference. Maybe Fr. Erik Pohlmeier was at the top of that list. That second step of being on the archbishop’s short-list occurs in Washington, D.C.

But the archbishop does not send that list straight to the pope. It must go through a third step, a department of the Vatican called the Congregation of Bishops. Sometimes they know the candidates on that list because some super-smart priests (like Fr. Pohlmeier) studied theology in Rome. So, the Congregation might rearrange the list, and put candidate number three in place of candidate number one, and move number one down to three. At that third stage poor Fr. Erik may have been bumped from the top spot to the third spot.

Then, finally, this list lands on the pope’s desk, and filled with the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis picks Fr. Erik to be bishop, even though he may have ended up number three. Why? Well, because he is the pope! And he is free to choose anyone he desires. Jesus, too, went through three steps before his Ascension. First he spent 30 years growing up in Nazareth. For his second step, he spent 3 years preaching and teaching in Galilee. And for his third step, he spent 3 days dying and rising in Jerusalem. A priest’s names goes from Little Rock, to Washington, DC, and then to Rome, like Jesus went from Nazareth, to Galilee to Jerusalem. And then they experience the Ascension.

That is the formal, standard process for ascension as a bishop. But there is also an informal (and more important) process that requires faith and suffering. What do I mean? Well, Fr. Erik has been a very obedient priest and it has not always been very fun or easy. Do you know how many hats he was wearing when the pope picked him to be a bishop? Bishop Taylor recently wrote this: “Bishop-elect Erik T. Pohlmeier is relieved of his responsibilities as pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, Diocesan Director of Continuing Education of the Clergy, Theological Advisor, Diocesan Director of Faith Formation, and Diocesan Director of Permanent Diaconate Formation.”

Basically, he was pastor of one of the largest parishes of the diocese and had four diocesan jobs as well. But wait, that’s not all! The bishop continued: “He is relieved of his responsibilities as member of the following boards: Clergy Personnel Board, Presbyteral Council, and College of Consultors.” In other words, Bishop Taylor could count on Fr. Erik to do whatever he needed, no matter how heavy or hard the work-load. And Fr. Erik obediently said, “Yes”.

In the same way, Jesus obediently carried out his Father’s will no matter how heavy or hard the work-load. And there was nothing heavier or harder than carrying the Cross. Jesus said to his disciples today: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.” And that is the informal (and more important) process of faith and suffering that precedes the Ascension. That suffering obedience is the real reason Jesus ascended into heavenly glory, and the real reason why Fr. Erik Pohlmeier rose to episcopal glory.

I bet you can already begin to see the practical application to the Christian life of these two ascensions. In other words, if we hope to enjoy our own ascension into heavenly glory one day, we, too, must be ready to embrace the Father’s will through faith and suffering. Where do we find the Father’s will? We find it in doing what the bishop asks of us. We find it by doing what our parents ask of us. We find it by doing what our wife asks of us. We find it by doing what our husband asks of us. In short, we find the Father's will by doing what others ask of us instead of our own will. That is why we pray “thy will be done”, and not “my will be done”.

The pope may never call you or me to be a bishop of a diocese. But one day Jesus will call each of us home to heaven. And we, too, will be able to answer promptly like Bishop-elect Pohlmeier, “Yes!” IF we have walked by faith and obediently suffered here on earth.

Praised be Jesus Christ!