The Ascension of the Lord

Why Are You Standing There Looking at the Sky?

After hearing the Gospel today, it is easy to imagine the disciples standing there, staring up into the sky. Jesus is gone. And maybe, at first, it feels a little sad. For three years they walked with Him. They heard His voice. They watched Him heal people, calm storms, feed crowds, and forgive sinners. After the Resurrection, they finally had Him back. And now… He leaves again.

But here is the important thing: the Ascension is not about Jesus going away. It is about Jesus remaining with us in a different way. Notice what Jesus says in the Gospel. Right before He ascends, He tells them, “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” He does not say, I was with you. He does not say, I will occasionally check in on you from heaven. He says, I am with you always.

That changes how we hear the Ascension. The disciples are looking up into heaven, but Jesus is teaching them to stop looking for Him in only one place. Now He will be present everywhere: in His Church, in His Word, in the sacraments, in the Eucharist, and in the people He places before us each day.

That is why, in the first reading from Acts, the angels almost sound a little direct with the apostles: “Why are you standing there looking at the sky?” In other words: Do not just stand there. He has given you work to do.

There is something important there for us as well. Yes, it is important that we come to church every Sunday. We need this. We need prayer. We need the Word of God. We need the Eucharist. This is where the Lord strengthens us. This is where He feeds us. This is where we encounter Him in a way unlike anywhere else.

But the Ascension reminds us that we cannot leave Jesus here in the church building. We cannot come here each week, encounter the Lord, and then act as though He stays behind when we walk out the doors.

In every Mass, many of us come forward to receive the Eucharist. Think about what that means. We do not simply receive something holy. We receive Someone. We receive Christ Himself. And when we receive Him, He draws us into His life so that we can become His presence in the world.

Yes, the Lord remains truly present in the tabernacle. That matters deeply. We reverence Him here. We pray here. We adore Him here. But the Eucharist is never meant to end here. We cannot leave Jesus behind as though He remains only inside this church when the tabernacle doors close. The Lord feeds us so that we can carry His love into the world — into our homes, our families, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, and the ordinary encounters of daily life.

Because Christ is waiting for us outside these walls too: in the person who is lonely, the family member who is struggling, the neighbor carrying burdens we may not even see, and the person who has drifted from faith and may simply need someone to invite them back.

The apostles could not stay standing in one place looking upward. They had to go. And honestly, that applies to us too. Sometimes we can live the faith waiting for God to do everything while we simply stand still. We say, “I hope things get better.” “I hope my family comes back to church.” “I hope the world changes.” And the Lord says: I’m sending you. Be the invitation. Be the witness. Be the voice of kindness. Be the one who forgives. Be the one who reaches out.

And maybe sometimes we feel inadequate for that. The Gospel quietly tells us something important today: “When they saw Him, they worshiped, but they doubted.” Even standing before the risen Jesus, some still doubted — and Jesus sends them anyway.

That should give us hope. The Lord does not wait for perfect people. He works through ordinary people — people who still struggle, people who still have questions, people who are still growing. He simply asks us to trust Him enough to go.

And here is the beautiful part of today’s feast: Jesus never sends us alone. Before ascending into heaven, He gives a promise — not advice, not encouragement, but a promise: “I am with you always.” Always. In joy and sorrow. In clarity and confusion. In moments of faith and moments of struggle.

The Ascension means Christ reigns in heaven while still remaining close to His people on earth. Maybe that is why every Mass ends the way it does: we are sent. Not sent away from Christ, but sent with Christ. Because the Lord we encounter here is already waiting for us out there.

So perhaps the question for us today is simple: Are we just standing there looking at the sky, or are we ready to go where the Lord is sending us?