Have you ever had to say a hard goodbye? Maybe you dropped your child off at college. Or hugged a loved one at the airport. Or stood at the bedside of a loved one actively dying. You know this feeling: the mixture of love, pride, grief, and uncertainty. If you know this feeling, you can resonate with the Apostles as we mark today’s feast. Today, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, a glorious event in salvation history, but from the Apostles’ point of view, it must have felt a lot like, “Goodbye, again?” These men had already lost Jesus once to death on a cross. They had just begun to hope again after the resurrection. Maybe things will finally settle now, and maybe Jesus will stay with them. But then He says, “I am going to the Father.”
You can imagine the confusion and sorrow: “Why are you leaving again?” “What are we supposed to do now?” “Why bring us back together, just to say goodbye again?” But Jesus’ departure is not abandonment. It is mission. Jesus had prepared His apostles. Now He says, “You will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). He tells them and us, “It is better for you that I go.” Why? Because if He didn’t go, the Holy Spirit would not come. Because if He didn’t go, the Church would never be born. Because if he didn’t go, we would not become His Body on earth. He went to add value, not to subtract. He went so we could grow. He went to intercede for us at the Father’s right hand. He went for our good.
Even though Jesus ascended into heaven, he is still with us. We are not alone. Though we can no longer see him walking by the Sea of Galilee, He is more present than ever. He is present in his Word that is proclaimed, in the Eucharist that we receive, in the Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts, and in the poor, the sick, and the suffering, as he said: “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.” In the Ascension, Jesus did not leave the world; he entered it more deeply through us. So, the Ascension is not about Jesus “going away.” God does not become absent; he becomes present in a new way.
Sometimes, we must let go of things we desperately want to hold onto, such as a season of life that brought comfort, a job, a place, a relationship, even a feeling of certainty or control. Letting go is hard. But in Christ, it is never without purpose. Jesus invites us to trust that what he gives us in return, the presence of the Spirit, the mission of the Church, and the joy of heaven, is far greater.
My dearly beloved in Christ, today, let us not see the Ascension as a sad goodbye, but as a sending forth, an invitation to maturity and mission. As Jesus ascends into heaven today, he does not just leave us behind; he empowers us to be the channel of his eternal presence. If you are feeling discouraged today, if you feel like God is distant, if you wonder whether Jesus still sees you, remember that Jesus went to the Father for your good. He is praying for you. He is with you in his Spirit, the Eucharist, and the Church. And as we prepare for Pentecost next week, let us echo the words of the early Church: “Come, Holy Spirit.” Come and give us the boldness to live our faith. Come and help us to speak hope into a weary world. Come and make us witnesses to the ends of the earth. Amen.
Homily for the Ascension of the Lord Year C 2025
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