May 14 or 17, 2026
This reflection is based on the readings for the Ascension of the Lord. You may find a reflection for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year A, here.
Revised Common Lectionary
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47 or Psalm 93
Ephesians 1:15-23
Luke 24:44-53
Lectionary for Mass (RC)
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9 (6)
Ephesians 1:17-23
Matthew 28:16-20
Few people I know would name the Ascension as a favorite Bible story or feast day. For many of us, the mystery we celebrate today raises some vexing questions: Now that human beings have traveled to the moon and sent research missions deep into space, do we really think that Jesus was lifted from earth on a cloud? Besides, even if the Ascension had a dramatic impact on those who witnessed it, what significance could it possibly hold for believers today?
Today’s Scripture readings attest both to the importance of the Ascension in the story of Jesus and to its deep significance for us, his followers. The Ascension occupies a particularly important place in the Gospel of Luke and its companion work, the Acts of the Apostles. Luke treats this event as the turning point in his two-volume work, recounting it both at the end of the Gospel and at the beginning of Acts. The continuing importance of the Ascension for the Christian community is reflected by its inclusion in all of the ancient creeds.
The mystery we celebrate today was for Luke the pivotal event for understanding the continuity between the mission of Jesus and the mission of the Christian community. On the one hand, from the vantage point of the Ascension, the Christian community can look back to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus to grasp the fullness of his life and mission. Because of the Ascension, we are summoned to a deeper awareness that the one who lived among us and died on the cross is the same one who is now exalted with God.
The story we hear today also helps us to look forward and to deepen our understanding of the call we have received. The disciples who witnessed the Ascension were told to get their heads out of the clouds and instead to set their sight on the ends of the earth, where they were to give witness to Christ. Like those disciples, we are called to refocus our vision to see the world around us, to take up our commission to be his witnesses in every community and nation, in every time and situation.
The Gospel of Matthew ends without explicitly including the Ascension, but it offers a valuable perspective on this feast. At the conclusion of that Gospel, Jesus sends his followers out to carry on his mission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Paradoxically, although Jesus has ascended from our sight, he leaves us with this astonishing promise: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28:19-20).
The risen and ascended One is with us. Now let’s get to work!
A Hymn for Today: “Go to the world”
The conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel, which appears in the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today, does not explicitly mention the Ascension, but it does include Jesus’ promise to be with the community of disciples always and the great commission to teach and baptize. That Gospel passage provides the basis for this inspiring text by Canadian hymnwriter Sylvia G. Dunstan, FHS. Click here to listen to this hymn sung to Ralph Vaughan Williams’s powerful tune, SINE NOMINE. This recording features the virtual choir of Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, directed and accompanied by organist James Biery.
Go to the world! Go into all the earth.
Go preach the cross where Christ renews life’s worth,
Baptizing as the sign of our rebirth.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Go to the world! Go into ev’ry place.
Go live the Word of God’s redeeming grace.
Go seek God’s presence in each time and space.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Go to the world! Go struggle, bless and pray.
The nights of tears give way to joyous day.
As servant Church you follow Christ’s own way.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Go to the world! Go as the ones I send,
For I am with you till the age shall end,
When all the hosts of glory cry “Amen!”
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Text: Sylvia G. Dunstan, 1955-1993, © 1991, GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission under OneLicense #A-729857
Tunes: SINE NOMINE, ENGLEBERG
Image Credit: Ascension, Father Georges Saget, Senegal, 1963
“Word and Song: A Lectionary Reflection” is written by the Executive Director of The Hymn Society, Rev. Dr. Mike McMahon. For his full bio, click here and scroll down to the “staff” section.
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