{"id":28912,"date":"2026-05-11T04:39:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T04:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lectiodivina.com.au\/?p=28912"},"modified":"2026-05-12T05:02:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T05:02:42","slug":"the-ascension-and-the-courage-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lectiodivina.com.au\/?p=28912","title":{"rendered":"The Ascension and the Courage to Go"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lectio Reflection – Solemnity of the Ascension – Matthew 28:16-20 (Year A 2026)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is something deeply moving about the final scene of Matthew\u2019s Gospel. The disciples return to Galilee, back to where so much of it began, and there on the mountain Jesus gives them their final commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What strikes me each time I reflect on this Gospel is that Matthew does not present the Ascension in quite the same dramatic way that Luke does. There is no visible rising into the clouds here. Instead, Matthew leaves us with something perhaps even more important: mission and presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus sends the disciples out into the world, but he also assures them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am with you always till the end of time.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I think those words are the key to understanding the whole passage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a> Returning to Galilee<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Matthew tells us that the disciples returned to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had appointed for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galilee matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is where the call first came. It is where fishermen left their nets. It is where the Sermon on the Mount was proclaimed. It is where the kingdom began to unfold in ordinary villages and among ordinary people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now, after the horror of the Passion and the wonder of the Resurrection, Jesus brings them back there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I often think the Christian life is like that. We spend much of our lives trying to move forward, but God continually brings us back to the essentials – back to the original call, back to relationship, back to the heart of the Gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mountain itself is significant too. In Matthew, mountains are places of revelation. The Sermon on the Mount, the Transfiguration, and now this final commissioning all occur on mountains. The disciples are being reminded once again who Jesus truly is and what they are now called to become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a> \u201cThough Some Hesitated\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One line in this Gospel always consoles me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen they saw him they worshipped him, though some hesitated.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That feels very human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disciples are standing before the risen Christ, yet they still struggle to grasp the fullness of what is happening. I do not think this hesitation is unbelief so much as bewilderment. The one who was crucified now stands alive before them. Their world has been completely overturned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And perhaps that is reassuring for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith is rarely neat and uncomplicated. Even sincere believers can hesitate. We can worship and still struggle. We can believe and still wrestle with fear, uncertainty, and inadequacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet Jesus commissions them anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a> \u201cAll Authority in Heaven and on Earth\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jesus declares:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew is drawing here on the vision from the Book of Daniel where the Son of Man receives authority and dominion from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not merely a statement about power. It is a declaration that the risen Christ now stands at the centre of history itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet what does Jesus do with that authority?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sends disciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not armies.
Not political rulers.
Not systems of control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He entrusts the future of the Gospel to ordinary people who only moments earlier were hesitating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find that extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a> The Church Begins With \u201cGo\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The heart of the passage is the command:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo therefore, make disciples of all nations.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Church begins not with standing still but with movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too often we think of faith as something private or internal. But the Gospel is always outward-moving. The Christian life is missionary by nature. And I do not mean only missionaries travelling overseas. Every baptised person is called to carry Christ into the world they inhabit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes that means speaking openly about faith.
Sometimes it means encouraging someone who has lost hope.
Sometimes it means quietly witnessing through integrity, kindness, and compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the command remains the same: Go.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virginia Ryan reflected beautifully in the discussion that this command challenges us not to remain trapped within our own comfort zones. The Gospel is too large, too life-giving, to be kept to ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And importantly, Jesus says this mission is for \u201call nations.\u201d Christianity is not confined to one culture or people. The Gospel is universal because Christ himself is Lord of all creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a> Baptism and Belonging<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jesus instructs the disciples to baptise:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have always loved the connection between this moment and the baptism of Jesus at the beginning of Matthew\u2019s Gospel. At the Jordan, the Father speaks, the Son is baptised, and the Spirit descends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now at the end of the Gospel, disciples are invited into that same Trinitarian life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baptism is not simply a ritual or institutional requirement. It is entrance into relationship – relationship with the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that changes everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a> More Than Rules<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jesus also commands the disciples to teach others \u201cto observe everything I have commanded you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I think we misunderstand this if we reduce Christianity to rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commandments of Jesus are expressions of discipleship. They reveal what love looks like in practice. To forgive, to serve, to remain faithful, to love one another – these are not merely obligations. They are the shape of life lived in communion with Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that is why discipleship cannot be superficial. It demands transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a> \u201cI Am With You Always\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most comforting words in this Gospel are the final ones:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am with you always till the end of time.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Old Testament, God repeatedly says to his servants: \u201cI am with you.\u201d Moses hears it. David hears it. The prophets hear it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Jesus speaks those same words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mission of the Church is not sustained by human strength alone. It is sustained by the abiding presence of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that matters because discipleship can be difficult. There are moments when faith feels countercultural, inconvenient, or exhausting. There are moments when we wonder whether we are capable of carrying the Gospel at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the Ascension is not about Jesus abandoning the Church. It is about Christ empowering the Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The risen Lord remains present in his people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a> The Challenge of This Gospel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I sit with this Gospel, I find myself asking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n