Homily for the
Ascension of the Lord (Year C)
Gospel: Luke 24:46-53
Today we celebrate the great feast of
the Ascension of the Lord—that moment when Jesus, after His
resurrection, is taken up into heaven, returning to the Father in glory.
It is a day of mystery, wonder, and—if
we’re honest—maybe a bit of confusion.
Jesus leaves… and yet we are told this
is Good News?
Let’s take a closer look at the Gospel
of Luke.
In today’s passage, Jesus gathers His
disciples and reminds them of the purpose of His mission:
“Thus it is written that the Messiah
would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.”
Then He commissions them:
“You are witnesses of these things.”
And after blessing them, He is carried
up into heaven.
What happens next?
Do the disciples mourn His absence?
No. St. Luke tells us, “They returned
to Jerusalem with great joy.”
Joy? How can the departure of Jesus
bring joy?
That’s the mystery we must sit with
today.
The Ascension is not about absence.
It’s about transformation.
It’s about empowerment. It’s about
mission.
The Ascension is not
the end—it’s a beginning
Sometimes we think of the Ascension as
Jesus “leaving” us.
But in truth, it is the moment when
His presence changes.
He is no longer physically beside the
disciples, walking the dusty roads of Galilee—but He is not gone.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit,
He becomes even more present—not just in one place, but in all places.
Not just to a few followers, but to
all who believe.
In this sense, the Ascension is a new
beginning.
Jesus is not retreating from the
world, but entrusting it to us.
That’s why He says, “You are witnesses
of these things.”
And He promises to clothe them—and
us—with power from on high.
That’s the Holy Spirit, who will come
at Pentecost.
So, the first takeaway today is this: We
are not abandoned. We are commissioned.
The Ascension also gives
us purpose
Jesus ascends to heaven not to
distance Himself, but to draw us upward—to give us direction.
His rising shows us our destination.
Heaven is not just a dream, not just a
poetic idea—it is real, and it is our true home.
But the Ascension is not an excuse to
“wait it out” here on earth.
Jesus doesn’t say, “Sit tight until I
come back.”
No. He says, “Go. Be my witnesses.”
Today, more than ever, the world needs
witnesses.
People who live not just with words,
but with lives that proclaim:
Christ is risen. Christ is alive.
Christ is working in the world today.
We live in an age of distraction, of
division, of doubt.
But the Ascension reminds us: our eyes
are meant to be lifted, not downcast.
We are meant to see beyond the
struggles of today to the glory that awaits.
And that hope? It’s contagious. It’s
needed. And it starts with us.
The Ascension also makes
space for the Spirit
Jesus ascends so the Spirit can
descend.
He leaves in the flesh so He can
return in power.
His physical absence makes possible
His spiritual presence in every believer, in every Church, in every act of love
and mercy.
St. Augustine once said, “You ascended
from before our eyes, and we turned back grieving, only to find You in our
hearts.”
That’s the key.
Christ is not less present because of
the Ascension—He is more present.
We become His Body now.
We are His hands, His feet, His voice.
The mission He began, He now entrusts
to us.
And that’s not just poetry—that’s
reality.
So what does this
mean for us today?
It means that you—in your
family, in your workplace, in your struggles and your joys—are not alone.
Christ is with you.
The Spirit empowers you.
Heaven is your destiny.
But it also means you have a job to
do.
To live as a witness.
To lift your eyes, not in escape, but
in hope.
To be the presence of Christ in the
world today.
As we move toward Pentecost, let’s
pray for the grace to live this mission with courage and joy.
Like the disciples, let us return to
our daily lives not with fear, but with great joy, trusting that the One
who ascended into heaven still walks with us—and still works through us.
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