Seventh Sunday of Easter - Ascension 05/17/26

Devotional

Day 1: Mountains and Doubting Hearts

The eleven disciples climbed the Galilean slope, their worship mingled with uncertainty. Jesus stood before them—alive, yet bearing resurrection wounds. He declared all authority in heaven and earth now belonged to Him. Their mission began not when their doubts vanished, but amid unresolved questions: “Make disciples… baptize… teach.” His final promise anchored them: “I am with you always.” [21:25]

Jesus didn’t wait for perfect faith to deploy His followers. He transformed their mixed worship and doubt into a launching pad for global discipleship. His authority—proven through death’s defeat—now fuels our obedience.

You face tasks that feel beyond your readiness. Jesus sends you not because you’ve mastered faith, but because He’s mastered death. Where is He calling you to act despite unresolved questions?

“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.’”
(Matthew 28:18-20, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus for courage to obey one unresolved prompting this week.
Challenge: Write down one doubt you carry—then write Christ’s promise “I am with you” beside it.

Day 2: Why Gaze at the Sky?

Clouds enveloped the risen Jesus as disciples gaped upward. Two angels interrupted their staring: “Why stand looking into heaven?” The Ascension wasn’t a departure but an enthronement—Jesus ruling as both God and human. Elijah’s fiery chariot paled beside Christ’s sovereign stride into glory. [25:38]

The angels’ question redirects our focus from skyward mysticism to earthly mission. Jesus didn’t abandon us—He inaugurated His reign. We seek Him not in distant clouds but in present obedience and sacramental grace.

How often do you fixate on heavenly mysteries while neglecting earthly duties? Christ’s throne empowers your daily work. What practical act of love have you postponed while waiting for spiritual fireworks?

“And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’”
(Acts 1:10-11, ESV)

Prayer: Confess one way you’ve spiritualized avoidance of responsibility.
Challenge: Do one postponed act of service today—text an encouragement or buy groceries for a neighbor.

Day 3: Bread of Eternal Ascent

The Eucharist’s aroma filled the upper room as Jesus broke bread with disciples. Forty days post-resurrection, He ascended—not to abandon us, but to become present in every tabernacle, every Mass. The Ascension didn’t diminish His nearness; it universalized it. [42:15]

Jesus redefined proximity. No longer bound by geography, He dwells in sacraments and the marginalized. We touch heaven not by rocket ships but by receiving the Host or feeding the hungry.

When you take Communion, do you grasp you’re tasting the ascended King? How might today’s routine tasks become portals of divine encounter?

“He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.”
(The Nicene Creed)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for His real presence in the Eucharist and in the needy.
Challenge: Attend Mass or spend 10 minutes before the Blessed Sacrament this week.

Day 4: Emmanuel in the Everyday

Matthew’s Gospel begins and ends with “God with us”—from Bethlehem’s manger to the Great Commission. The Ascension fulfills Emmanuel’s promise: Jesus didn’t leave; He expanded His presence through Spirit-empowered community. [22:49]

Christ’s ascension means He walks with us in sacraments and suffering. We find Him not in nostalgic isolation but in the grit of disciple-making and shared burdens.

Where have you sought Jesus only in mountaintop moments, missing Him in daily grind? Who embodies “God with us” to you right now?

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).”
(Matthew 1:23, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to open your eyes to His presence in someone you’ll meet today.
Challenge: Call or visit a church member who models practical faithfulness.

Day 5: Heaven’s Door in Human Hands

Soviet rockets found no heaven in the stratosphere—because Christ already carried our humanity into God’s heart. The Ascension sealed our destiny: not ethereal clouds, but communion with the Trinity. Jesus didn’t abandon earth—He opened earth to eternity. [29:14]

Heaven isn’t a location but a relationship. Every Eucharist, confession, and act of mercy rehearses our ascension—humanity drawn into divine life.

Are you living as an earthbound soul or an ascended heir? What earthly attachment dims your hunger for eternal union?

“He raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
(Ephesians 2:6, ESV)

Prayer: Pray for detachment from one worldly anxiety that eclipses eternal hope.
Challenge: Write “Heaven is a Person” on a card—place it where you’ll see it hourly.

Sermon Summary

We gather to mark the Ascension as the completion of what God began in the Passion and the Resurrection. We note that Matthew omits a dramatic travel-to-heaven scene and instead closes with the promise that God is with us, which reshapes how presence and absence function in salvation. We insist that heaven does not sit up in space like a distant address but exists as a restored relationship with God in which our human nature now has a place. We affirm that Jesus ascended not to abandon but to lead, to open the way for our final home, and to change the mode of divine presence among us.

We see the Ascension move history into a new phase. Jesus ascends in his divine power, not as a human taken by force, and he promises to send the Spirit so that the mission will continue through those he sent. We must look for Jesus not as an image in the sky but where he promised to remain: in the sacraments he instituted, especially the Eucharist, and in the faces of the poor and the body of believers. The angels’ question, Why do you stand looking at the sky, calls us away from passive spectacle and toward active participation in the life of grace.

We recognize the Ascension as an orientation for hope. If Christ had stayed visibly among us, death would make our departures final in a different way. Instead, Christ precedes us into the Father’s presence so that death becomes a passage toward the kingdom. The Ascension completes the redemptive arc: the cross reveals love, the tomb reveals victory over death, and the ascension reveals our destiny beyond suffering and loss.

We commit to living between the times with courage and attention. We practice the presence of Christ by receiving the sacraments, by serving neighbors who embody him, and by setting our sights on the kingdom where suffering ends and joy is full. We live now as a people accompanied by the risen and reigning Lord who remains with us until the end of the age.

Key Takeaways

1. Ascension completes the paschal mystery The Ascension crowns the work begun on the cross and fulfilled by the resurrection, showing that redemption moves history toward a definitive goal. That goal refocuses suffering and death as passages under Christ’s lordship rather than final defeats. Holding this truth reframes grief and loss as waypoints on a journey already entered by the Savior. [29:53]
2. Jesus remains with us always The promise I am with you always changes presence from physical proximity to reliable participation in our lives. This presence operates through Word, sacrament, and the Spirit so that the work of Christ continues without visible biography. Relying on this promise calls for trust in means God established rather than nostalgia for visible signs. [21:46]
3. Heaven is relationship not location Heaven does not exist merely as a spatial destination but as participation in the life of God made available to our human nature. Understanding heaven relationally corrects childish notions of a place to fly to and invites a life oriented to communion with the Father through the Son. This relational view shapes how we pray, hope, and grieve. [24:45]
4. Encounter Christ in sacraments and neighbor The ascension redirects searching eyes from the skies to the sacraments and to those in need where Christ now dwells among us. Receiving Eucharist and serving the poor become primary ways to meet the risen Lord who identifies with the least. Practicing these encounters forms a community that embodies the kingdom in present time. [27:43]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[12:11] - Penitential Rite and Invitation
[13:51] - Opening Prayer for Ascension
[21:25] - Gospel Reading from Matthew
[22:12] - Why Matthew Omits the Ascension
[24:45] - Heaven as Relationship
[27:43] - Presence in Sacraments and Neighbor
[29:53] - Ascension and Our Destiny
[38:22] - Eucharistic Prayer and Memorial
[57:58] - Blessing and Dismissal

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.”

Observation Questions

What specific promise does Jesus make to his disciples at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, and how does this connect to the sermon’s emphasis on his ongoing presence? [21:46]
Why does Matthew’s Gospel omit a visible ascension scene, according to the sermon? How does this omission shape the focus of his message? [22:12]
The angels ask, “Why do you stand looking at the sky?” (Acts 1:11). What does this question challenge the disciples—and us—to prioritize instead? [28:35]
How does the sermon connect serving “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40) to encountering Christ after his ascension? [28:17]

Interpretation Questions

If Jesus promised to remain with his followers “always,” why was his physical departure (ascension) necessary? How does his absence deepen our understanding of presence? [27:17]
The sermon states that the Ascension redefines death as a “passage” rather than a final defeat. How does Christ’s ascension reshape the way we grieve or face mortality? [29:53]
How does viewing heaven as a “relationship with God” rather than a distant location change the way we pray, hope, or live daily life? [24:45]
Why might sacraments like the Eucharist and acts of service to others be called “primary ways” to encounter Christ after his ascension? [27:43]

Application Questions

Jesus’ presence is promised in sacraments and service. What practical step could you take this week to intentionally seek him in one of these ways (e.g., prioritizing Communion, volunteering, or caring for someone in need)? [27:43]
The angels’ question (“Why do you stand looking at the sky?”) calls for action, not passive waiting. Where in your life are you tempted to “look at the sky” instead of engaging in the work Christ has given you? [28:35]
How might viewing death as a “passage” under Christ’s lordship change your perspective on a current struggle, fear, or loss? [29:53]
The sermon warns against “nostalgia for visible signs” of God’s presence. Are there areas where you struggle to trust Christ’s hidden presence (e.g., in hardship, unanswered prayer)? How can you lean into his promise instead? [21:46]
If heaven is a relationship, how could you intentionally cultivate that relationship today—through prayer, repentance, or acts of love? [24:45]
The Ascension calls us to live “between the times” with hope. What habit, attitude, or priority might need to shift in your life to reflect this eternal perspective?

Sermon Clips

Just as the lord preceded us to the grave on Good Friday, so too did he precede us to our eternal home at his ascension which is why today marks the completion of Jesus's mission among us as it occurred within time. So we see that at the crucifixion, it reveals to us the great love Jesus had while we were still sinners. The resurrection shows us that Christ has power over death. And finally, the ascension reminds us that we were not made for this world but for the far kingdom where pain will cease and joy will be complete. [00:29:34] (47 seconds) #MissionCompleteAscension

Still, there is a more fundamental reason and that is Jesus departed at the ascension to remind us that this world is not our final destination. Our hearts long for something that cannot be that cannot be satisfied within this earthly life. The lord could not remain here because we are not meant to spend our eternity here. If Jesus were living in Jerusalem, then each of our deaths would be a tragedy because we would be departing from a life in which god existed permanently. [00:28:53] (41 seconds) #NotOurFinalHome

And this actually is the importance of the seemingly snarky question proposed by the angels. Why are you looking at the sky? It's a reminder that we are no longer to find Jesus up there in an abstract way, but we actually experience the things of God, grace, forgiveness, love, friendship, community, all those things that make us human. We experience them here and now in our encounters with our brothers and sisters. [00:28:19] (33 seconds) #GodInCommunity

It's easiest to say that heaven is not a place but a person, And our experience of heaven is best described as a relationship with Jesus Christ who leads us back to the heavenly father. Since Matthew doesn't include the ascension, we learn about it from the first reading in the acts of the apostles. The end of that reading sounds kind of funny. Jesus leads the apostles outside of Jerusalem where where he promises to send them the holy spirit before being lifted up into the heavens. A truly spectacular scene. [00:24:58] (40 seconds) #HeavenIsARelationship

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Seventh Sunday of Easter - Ascension 05/17/26

Devotional

Day 1: Mountains and Doubting Hearts

Day 2: Why Gaze at the Sky?

Day 3: Bread of Eternal Ascent

Day 4: Emmanuel in the Everyday

Day 5: Heaven’s Door in Human Hands

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Seventh Sunday of Easter - Ascension 05/17/26

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