Holy Mass - The Ascension of the Lord

Devotional

Day 1: Doubt on the Mountain

The disciples climbed the Galilean mountain as instructed. When they saw the risen Jesus, they fell to their knees in worship—yet doubt still gripped them. These men had witnessed crucifixion wounds become glorified flesh, yet uncertainty lingered like morning fog. Jesus didn’t scold their wavering hearts. He stood before them, alive and unthreatened by their human frailty. [25:35]

Jesus commissions the doubting. He entrusts His mission not to the flawless, but to those who show up despite their questions. All authority in heaven and earth belongs to Him—not to our perfect understanding. His promise to remain with us anchors the work, not our ability to grasp it fully.

You’ve knelt in worship while nursing secret doubts. Jesus meets you there, as He met the disciples. What burden of uncertainty do you need to lay before Him today?

“When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
(Matthew 28:17–20, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to strengthen your trust where doubts still whisper.

Challenge: Write down one situation where you feel uncertain of God’s plan. Place it in your Bible as an act of surrender.

Day 2: Scars and Surrender

Jesus returned with wounds still visible—hands that bore nail marks, a side that bled. He showed them not as trophies of suffering, but as proof that surrender leads to glory. The disciples wanted control; Jesus offered His broken body as the pattern: life through death, strength through yieldedness. [29:57]

Surrender isn’t passive resignation. It’s active trust in the One who holds outcomes. Just as Jesus entrusted Himself to the Father during His Passion, we’re called to release our grip on what we cannot fix, manage, or understand.

Where are you white-knuckling control? What would it look like to open your hands today, as Jesus opened His to the nails?

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
(Philippians 2:6–8, ESV)

Prayer: Confess one area where you’ve resisted surrender. Ask for grace to release it.

Challenge: Identify a relationship or circumstance you’ve tried to control. Pray over it once today without attempting to “fix” it.

Day 3: Sails Set West

Columbus sailed toward an unknown horizon, guided only by the stars behind him. The disciples stared at clouds covering the ascended Jesus, called to walk forward while looking back at resurrection proof. Both journeys required moving without full maps. [31:18]

Faith often means stepping into fog, armed only with stories of God’s past faithfulness. The disciples remembered empty tombs and broken bread. We recall healed wounds and provision in past storms. Each memory becomes a star to navigate present unknowns.

What “star” of God’s past faithfulness can guide you through current uncertainty?

“We live by faith, not by sight.”
(2 Corinthians 5:7, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for three specific ways He’s guided you in past darkness.

Challenge: Text one person today with a brief testimony of how God helped you in a past trial.

Day 4: Altar of Absence

Mother Teresa served Calcutta’s poor while feeling Christ’s absence. The disciples waited ten days between Ascension and Pentecost, staring at empty sky. Both learned to worship the hidden God—to keep loving when the sense of His presence fades. [28:57]

Jesus’ physical absence became the space where the Spirit’s work expanded. Our seasons of spiritual dryness often prepare us for greater dependence. The altar feels empty so we’ll seek the Fire that comes from above.

When has God’s seeming absence deepened your trust? How might He be enlarging your capacity for His Spirit now?

“Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”
(John 20:27–29, ESV)

Prayer: Ask for perseverance to serve others even when God feels distant.

Challenge: Perform one act of kindness today without seeking recognition or spiritual “reward.”

Day 5: Unseen Wind

The disciples stood gazing upward until angels redirected them to Jerusalem. Pentecost’s wind hadn’t yet blown, but their obedience to wait became the sails that would catch the Spirit’s breath. Surrender prepared them to be led. [32:22]

The Holy Spirit comes to those who stop striving. Our task isn’t to conjure spiritual power, but to position ourselves—through prayer, community, and surrender—where the Wind can fill us.

What practical step can you take this week to “wait in Jerusalem” for fresh wind?

“‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”
(Acts 1:8–9, ESV)

Prayer: Invite the Holy Spirit to renew your capacity to wait expectantly.

Challenge: Set a phone reminder to pause for 90 seconds at noon today, breathing slowly while asking for the Spirit’s guidance.

Sermon Summary

Jesus sets the tone by ascending and seeming to leave, and the disciples meet that moment with a mix of worship and doubt. The text lays bare that honest line, “they worshiped, and yet they doubted,” and that admission becomes a doorway, not a dead end. Jesus knows their hearts. Jesus still gives the Great Commission. All power belongs to him, and still he hands the work to imperfect disciples who cannot see straight how this will go.

The Ascension frames everyday confusion with a call. The command to go and make disciples lands right in the middle of questions like, “What does it look like to follow Jesus when there is no idea what he’s doing?” Marriage strain, job loss, a sudden diagnosis, a family crisis. The call does not back off because the path is foggy. The call presses in.

Surrender takes center stage as the right posture for an Ascension people. Surrender does not mean passivity. Surrender means stop trying to steer every detail and stop trying to control the outcome. Trust replaces panic. Repentance beats denial. Compassion pushes out blame. Humility wins out over pride. The cross shows the pattern. The love of Jesus empties itself. It gives without counting the cost. Scorekeeping strangles communion, so the word lands hard and simple: “Start it.”

The image of Columbus leaving Spain sharpens the point. He could not see forward, but he could look back and trace the line of where he had been. The life of an Ascension disciple often feels like that. Illness, fear, fatigue, confusion. The way through is one foot in front of the other. Trust. Pray. Hope. Try not to worry. Pentecost is coming even when it is not yet felt. The Spirit will meet the steps that obedience has already begun to take.

Key Takeaways

1. Doubt can coexist with worship Even the Eleven bowed and still doubted. Honest uncertainty does not disqualify a disciple; it can become the place where Jesus meets a heart that is not faking it. The commission is given to people who are still on the way, not to people who have nailed it. Real faith can hold reverence and questions at the same time. [25:35]
2. Surrender stops steering the outcome Surrender is not doing nothing. Surrender is laying down the demand to control how this turns out while staying faithful to what Jesus has put in hand. That posture frees a soul to obey the next right thing without the chokehold of anxiety. Grace often flows where grasping finally lets go. [28:31]
3. Choose humility, trust, repentance, compassion Humility breaks the cycle of pride, trust quiets panic, repentance faces the truth, and compassion refuses to blame. These are not soft options; they are strong medicine for a restless heart. The Cross has already shown what love looks like when it empties itself. These choices shape a life that can carry the Great Commission in hard seasons. [29:22]
4. Start reconciliation without keeping score Scorekeeping feels safe, but it keeps fellowship frozen. Gospel love moves first, not because the other deserves it, but because Jesus already did. Starting the hard conversation often opens the door where grace has been knocking for years. Mercy moves the needle when memory will not. [30:29]
5. Walk forward, then look back Clarity often comes in the rearview. Like Columbus, disciples rarely see the map in advance, but Providence leaves a trail when obedience keeps stepping. On the far side of trials, growth becomes visible and self-reliance gets broken down in mercy. The Spirit meets motion, not paralysis. [31:18]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[08:34] - Confession and Kyrie
[11:43] - Collect for Ascension
[12:49] - Gospel acclamation and sending
[24:53] - Passion, Resurrection, and departure
[25:14] - “He’s about to leave them”
[25:35] - They worshiped and doubted
[26:51] - “Go therefore” to imperfect disciples
[27:22] - Following Jesus in life’s crises
[28:31] - Surrender versus control
[29:22] - Humility, trust, repentance, compassion
[29:57] - Self-emptying love over scorekeeping
[31:18] - Columbus and the rearview
[32:22] - One foot, trust, pray, hope
[33:06] - Creed: faith confessed in mystery
[40:09] - Preface of Ascension and Sanctus
[41:56] - Consecration of the Host
[42:35] - Consecration of the Chalice
[47:42] - Communion
[59:04] - Announcements and intercessions
[60:26] - Saint Michael prayer and blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV): "Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority 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, to the end of the age.'"
- Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV): "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Observation Questions

In Matthew 28:17, the disciples “worshiped, but some doubted.” What specific actions or words from Jesus follow their doubt, and how does he respond to their uncertainty?
How does Paul’s description of Jesus’ self-emptying love in Philippians 2:5-8 connect to the idea of surrender as “laying down the demand to control outcomes” mentioned in the sermon? [28:31]
The sermon compares following Jesus to Columbus’ journey, where clarity comes “in the rearview.” How does 2 Corinthians 5:7 (“we walk by faith, not by sight”) reinforce this analogy?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus still entrust the Great Commission to disciples who doubted? What does this reveal about how God uses imperfect people?
The sermon says, “Surrender is not doing nothing. Surrender is laying down the demand to control how this turns out.” How does Jesus’ example of humility in Philippians 2:5-8 redefine what it means to surrender? [29:22]
The sermon emphasizes starting reconciliation without keeping score. How does Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples” in Matthew 28:19 challenge us to act even when relationships feel unresolved?

Application Questions

Doubt and worship can coexist. What is one area of your life where you feel both reverence for God and uncertainty about His plans? How can you actively obey Him in that tension this week?
Surrender often means releasing control of outcomes. Where are you currently trying to “steer” a situation (e.g., a relationship, career, or health challenge)? What would it look like to trust God’s authority instead? [28:31]
The sermon urges, “Start it” when it comes to reconciliation. Is there a conversation or act of compassion you’ve avoided because you’re waiting for the other person to “deserve” it? What small step could you take to move toward them? [30:29]
The Columbus analogy highlights moving forward without seeing the full map. What “one foot in front of the other” step could you take this week in a situation where you feel stuck or confused?
How might choosing humility over pride (or compassion over blame) shift your approach to a current conflict or stress? Be specific about a recent example. [29:22]

Sermon Clips

37s

“``Can you imagine how hard it all must have been for them? How hard it must have been for all of them to get their heads around. And yet Jesus, he knows their hearts. Right? He knows their hearts. And what does he say to them then? He still says he says to them, go therefore and make disciples of all nations because all power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So he's still even though he knows their doubting, he knows their imperfection, he knows all these kinds of things, He's still telling them to go out and make disciples.”

36s

“How do I go therefore and make disciples of all nations? How do I live as a people of Jesus Christ? What does that look like again when I have no idea what he's doing? It's really difficult, right, to push forth to push forth and to carry the love of Jesus in our hearts when things are really difficult. And the word that comes to mind, think, is the word surrender. The word surrender is how we properly live this. What does that mean? I think it means stop trying to steer and control every detail.”

25s

“He had no idea where he was going. He had no idea how to put one foot in front of the other and proceed forth. But but when he looked back, he could see where he had been. And I think that's how we live as an Ascension people. That's how we live. That's what it looks like to follow Jesus when we have no idea what he's doing.”

33s

“Surrender doesn't mean to do nothing. Surrender just simply means to stop trying to control the outcome. So what does it look like then to assume this posture as a people of faith? What does it look like to adopt a posture in which we choose some thoughts that I think kind of show us how to live this, how to live the ascension in our lives? When he's leaving us, when we feel like he's absent, when we feel like he's distant, when we don't know what the heck is going on.”

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Holy Mass - The Ascension of the Lord - May 17, 2026