Homily
Solemnity of the Ascension
17 May 2026
St. Ann Catholic Church - Prairie Village
AMDG
Am I scared of heights?
You bet I am. It's probably my #1 fear. Most of my nightmares end with me falling! Thank God I sleep alone, so no one else hears my screaming! Airplanes are fine. Hiking 14ers is ok - unless there are ledges and high winds. But cliffs? Hate 'em. Bungee jumping - negative! Skydiving? No way in hell. Rock Climbing - no thanks. I watched Alex Honnold, the famous free solo climber, in preparation for this homily. Are you kidding me? That guy is insane! I'm too chicken even for trampolines. This white man does not dunk.
Am I afraid of heights? It's the pivotal question of the Ascension. You bet I am. Aren't you?
They worshipped on the mountain, but they doubted! Sounds like me. I trust the rule of gravity more than the rule of the Ascension. Everything that goes up, must come down. I worship, raising my heart and soul to God, but then I come down. I doubt. Yet the rule of the Ascension is just the opposite, and it is more true than gravity. What is the rule of the Ascension? Whatever goes down, must go up!
Jesus has completed for us the greatest free fall of all time. From the heights of heaven, crashing down to his own death, descending even to the gates of hell. His ridiculous condescension of mercy to save us in unbelievable. Jesus knows how to take a dive for someone He loves.
Yet today He shows that He's even better at going up . . at climbing. He told us before it happened so that when it happens we would believe. The Son of Man must suffer and die, and then rise and be lifted up! Today Jesus takes everything encompassed in his free fall of mercy - every second of salvation history and ever ounce of his saving mysteries - he takes it all UP in his glorified and redeemed human body to where He started, to the heights of heaven.
Man did you and I make out good on this deal! At the Ascension, my humanity which at first was only an outer glimpse of the glory of God, now has a new home and destiny in the inner heart of God, on the throne of His glorious Kingdom, in the fullness of relationship and love that is greater than anything I could imagine.
Jesus now works from home - but not only his, but from mine. He dares me to follow, to climb, and to ascend in the Holy Spirit to my true home. He who once was happy to descend to where I am now, dares me to climb through His Spirit to where He is.
Mind you, it's not in a galaxy far, far away. Don't stare at the sky, the angel says! Jesus promises He will come to us again in an even more dramatic free fall that is the descent of the Holy Spirit. It is through this power from on high that I will know and observe all His commandments which are victorious over death, until He comes again in glory!
Jesus works from home, but home is not in a galaxy far, far away. Home is right here, in the heart of this liturgy, where earth is taken up into a new dimension in a greater ascent that our first fall from Eden.
In the Ascension, we see how love and life work. For death, what goes up must come down. For love and life, what goes down must go up. Love is not only a condescending compassion and mercy strong as death, love heals, lifts up, inspires, enlivens, ennobles and elevates the beloved. The law of the Resurrection and Ascension is what prevails. Life is stronger than death. What goes down, must by lifted up!
So, am I afraid of heights? I've had the worst Easter if the answer is yes. For today's liturgy dares me to conquer my fears through love and to attempt the most dangerous climb of my life. It's my ascent through the Holy Spirit to the very heart of God, into the fullness of relationship. For the Ascension has more to do with a person than a destination.
This fearless climb marks the life of a real hero, and a real disciple of Jesus. To live less by fear and doubt, that what goes up must come down, and more by the Holy Spirit, who commands the rules of the Resurrection and Ascension to prevail, that what goes down must go up!
The great solemnity of Ascension near the end of Easter dares us to answer the pivotal question. Am I afraid of heights?
