HOMILY ASCENSION SUNDAY 2026
MATTHEW’S VERY BRIEF FAREWELL DISCOURSE OF JESUS
Mt 28.16-20 AA 1.1-11 Eph 1.17-23
(Rhyme Bible: Good News! Luke 24, Acts 1-2))
Back in the 1960’s, during the space race, when one Russian cosmonaut went into space and orbited planet Earth, he stared out and said he could see no evidence of God’s existence out there in the black void, peppered by stars light years away! The trouble with that is that he was looking in the wrong places! Simply put, the God in whom we believe, is above and beyond time and space.
In contrast, at Christmas 1968, the Apollo 8 astronauts looked back in wonder, at Earth from the Moon, and read from the Genesis Creation account. Similarly, on their recent trip to the Moon and back, the Artemis astronauts reflected on the beauty and fragility of our Blue Planet. Where did it all come from?
Recently, I saw an old film clip of President Ronald Reagan back in the 1980’s, speaking of what he saw as the ignorance of atheists, as he reflected on the wonder of the world around us. Then he gave the example of a gourmet meal appearing at the table of guests, asking if they believed there was a chef behind the scenes, preparing it all! It might be a simplistic example, but has a point!
Faith does not rely on concrete empirical evidence, and cannot be imposed, but intuition and acceptance of the mystery of God is where it comes to life in believers. For Christians, it is also based on the reality of the person of Jesus, who has immersed himself in human existence and revealed to us a God of life and love, as he continues to walk with you and me on the journey of life, guided by his Spirit.
On the top of the Mount of Olives is what was once a chapel built back in the time of the Crusades, but since taken over, and still managed, by the Muslims. There was a fee to enter. Inside is a concrete slab with a big footprint, said to be the launchpad of Jesus at his ascension. It was hardly convincing, or helpful in terms of reinforcing one’s faith!!
As we consider the differing Gospel accounts of his resurrection, we see subjective perceptions and experiences of the Risen Jesus, and then of his final physical departure from his disciples. One obvious conclusion is that Jesus was not a rocket, heading into the clouds and then deep space. The forces required to defy gravitation would be substantial, but that’s just not the way to view it!
Today we have Matthew’s description of Jesus’ final farewell, where the focus is on his words, commissioning believers to go out there into the world to all nations, spreading the Good News of the Kingdom and baptizing in the name of the Trinity. It’s a call to a universal and inclusive mission, with no limits. Mark’s Gospel has a similar ending, with Jesus ‘taken up into heaven’.
It is Luke who draws a timeline for Jesus’ departure, 40 days after the Resurrection, as ‘he parted from them and was carried up into heaven’. Acts of the Apostles begins today, with Luke’s second account of Jesus’ ascension into the clouds, as the Spirit is awaited. Then, 10 days later, as we hear next week, the Spirit descends, with fire and wind at Pentecost.
As for John, Jesus appears to the apostles and commissions them with the Spirit, on that first Easter Sunday, with a few more subsequent appearances and instructions, particularly to Peter as leader.
Scripture scholar Raymond Brown says Jesus’ words foresee a ‘proleptic parousia’ (proleptic refers to anything that anticipates, represents or treats a future event as if it has already happened’!), when Jesus will return, possessing all authority and power from the Father. Whatever about the future, there’s no use holding our breath, the command of Jesus is clear, in terms of spreading his Word, and building Christian communities in the here and now.
Then there is the promise of his enduring presence among believers, a reassurance that the Spirit will continue to guide and give inner strength to all who respond in faith. Where to from here? It’s up to you and me, living this Gospel and responding to the Spirit in practical, concrete ways!
It’s an all-embracing message, as the Jerome Biblical Commentary concludes its commentary on Matthew’s Gospel: “Jesus is Emmanuel, the divine presence (shekinah), with his people as they make decisions, study, pray, preach, baptize and teach.”
As Brendan Byrne SJ says: “Through the Spirit he will be active and present in a new mode of being… The conflict he (Jesus) faced will be their conflict too (something the Acts of the Apostles will abundantly demonstrate). But in all their trials and labours he will be with them, inspiring and guiding their work through the Spirit… The Ascension is not simply something that happened to Jesus – his departure, physically from this world. It is the feast that celebrates the hope that evil and all that makes for dehumanisation and death in our world will not have the last word.”
And Claude Mostowik MSC also sums up Ascension well: “We are not sent out with a rigid ideology or a fully spelled out set of rules, but with a spirit and heart that proclaims God’s acceptance and embrace. Spreading the good news is not to gain numbers, but to awaken in people their dignity, their interconnectedness with God and all creation, their capacity to change the world by bringing healing and reconciliation, peace with justice; compassion and sharing.”
john hannon 17th May 2026