2026/05/17 SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
The Ascension of the Lord
- Susie Courtney, Manager of New Member Engagement
The Feast of the Ascension has always felt a little bittersweet to me. On one hand, it’s this triumphant moment where Jesus returns to the Father after the Resurrection. On the other hand, I can’t help but imagine the disciples standing there thinking, “Wait… you’re leaving us now?” After spending years following Jesus, learning from Him, and witnessing miracles firsthand, they are suddenly being entrusted with carrying His mission forward on their own. Or at least, that’s probably how it felt in the moment. But throughout today’s readings, we’re reminded that Jesus never truly leaves His disciples behind. Instead, He calls them — and us — into deeper encounter through hope, community, and faith.
“It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Imagine being in that room when Jesus tells his disciples, “Hey, I can’t tell you when I’m coming back, but I trust and know that you all can handle spreading my message to the world while I’m gone.” How many of them readily thought, “challenge accepted”? I know that it isn’t always easy to accept that challenge myself each and every day. Frankly, it’s a tall order to be Christ’s example, especially in rooms where His acceptance isn’t known, present, or is even refused. But that is exactly what we are called to do: to be Christ for others — and we aren’t asked to do that alone.
While the help of the Holy Spirit is only a tease in this week’s readings (Pentecost is next Sunday 😉), it’s the community of the disciples that initially helps them accept Christ’s challenge. Before they go out into the world, they stay together. They pray together. They encourage one another. I find that same sense of community right here at Saint Clement, where faith is strengthened not only through worship, but through encountering Christ in one another. In moments when hope feels difficult or faith feels uncertain, community reminds us that we do not carry Christ’s mission by ourselves.
The second reading wonderfully ties hope into Jesus’ call: “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call.” Hope is what allows us to continue saying “yes” to Christ even when we don’t fully know the outcome. The disciples did not know exactly what would happen after the Ascension. They didn’t have all the answers, all the confidence, or all the courage yet. Still, they trusted. Their hope was not rooted in certainty, but in faith that Christ would remain with them. I think that same hope invites us today to trust that God is still working through us, even in our imperfections and doubts.
“When they saw him, they worshipped, but they doubted.” How relatable is that line in today’s Gospel? The disciples are standing before the risen Christ himself, and still some doubted. That gives me comfort because faith has never meant having every answer or never struggling. Faith is continuing to show up even when questions remain. It is choosing to encounter Christ again and again despite uncertainty. And Jesus’ response to their doubt is not frustration or rejection. Instead, He reassures them: “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
That promise feels especially meaningful within our Easter theme of encounter through hope, community, and faith. We encounter Christ in hopeful perseverance, in the people who walk alongside us, and in the faith that keeps calling us forward even when doubt sneaks in. The Ascension is not a story about Jesus leaving his disciples behind. It is a story about Jesus trusting ordinary people to continue His mission while promising that they would never do it alone.