A homily for the Ascension of the Lord, May 17, 2026
Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:17-23, Matthew 28:16-20
When we think about any of our favorite character-driven movies, we realize the endings are almost always the same:
The hero or heroine leaves, or dies, after transforming the lives of the people they spent time with. And those people are sad, convinced they’ll never see that person again, yet glad to have known their friend and mentor.
Sometimes it’s the audience — us — who feel that.
Goodbye, Drs. Henry Jones and Henry Jones Junior. We’ll think of you every time we hear a trumpet play your theme.
And after a life-altering person leaves, the reaction — our reaction — is usually the same, as well:
What now? What’s next? What do we do without them? Why couldn’t they have left things the way they were? Life will never be the same again!
And that’s the whole point.
When someone comes into our lives and turns our lives topsy-turvy for the better, they’re challenging us while giving us gifts.
They are calling us to haul ourselves off the couch and into action.
No one did this more profoundly than Jesus of Nazareth, who left us without leaving us.
Through the Apostles who witnessed his miraculous ascension into Heaven, Jesus challenged every generation of believers to continue his mission. To preach and teach. To heal in body, mind and spirit. To seek out and uplift the poor and everyone on the margins of society. To use our God-given physical, intellectual and spiritual talents to make this world a just, peaceful and harmonious home for ourselves and countless generations to come.
To live Christlike lives that are worthy of imitation. Worthy in every aspect of our lives.
Piece of cake.
Because we have been blessed with an abundance of unique individual talents. Some of those talents mesh perfectly with others’; some stand on their own. We have been blessed with the grace of God to sustain us, even when we fall short.
Falling is not failing if we get up and get going again.
In books, in movies, in everyday life, when someone leaves us permanently, we rely on our memories to keep that person in our hearts. Maybe we have a shirt or a blanket with that person’s scent on it; maybe we’ve saved a phone message with their voice, a message we’ll never delete.
The Son of Man left us with much of that, and far more that only he and his heavenly Father and Holy Spirit could provide.
Scripture gives us a scrapbook, a memory book, a guidebook for living righteously.
The Eucharist and the other sacraments give us a profound and physical connection to the risen Lord. They recharge our spirits and help us course-correct whenever our human imperfections lead us away from The Way.
God’s omnipresence reassures us that even though the man Jesus returned to his place alongside his divine Father in Heaven, the Messiah Jesus — our savior and brother — walks beside us always, with his scarred-yet-powerful hand in the smalls of our backs.
Yes, Jesus of Nazareth left us without leaving us. He challenged us; he challenges us. And he empowers us to fulfill his challenge.
He said it simply and clearly. He said it best:
All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.
Life can never be the same. With God’s help, life can and will be better.
