May 17, 2026

Solemnity of the Ascension . . .

Karla Keppel

God who nudges us  ------

https://www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05172026

“Come on…let’s just do it…What’s the worst that could happen!? Go big or go-home, right?!”

Probably, every group of humans since the beginning of time has had that person who enables the rest. The one who lovingly convinces you, talks you into doing things you might never have dreamed of or even considered otherwise. A risk taker. A person always willing to go on an adventure, willing to try new things.

Maybe you’re thinking of a person in your life who is like that.

Maybe that person, is you?

That person is NOT me. Risk…makes me nervous.

If left to my own devices, I’m probably NOT going to go out on a limb.

If left to my own devices, I’m probably going to choose the “safer” path.

If left to my own devices, I’ll be off to the sidelines, looking on…

Or, like the disciples, looking up: watching…

As they bore witness to Jesus’s Ascension into heaven, scripture tells us very little of the feelings the disciples might have been experiencing as it happened. We hear them being told to “GO–” “Go and make disciples of all nations.” And we hear–quite poetically–of all the ways that God calls us to care for and be with one another as we build God’s Reign together...

…but we don’t get much intel on how they feel about it all. The closest we get is, “When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.”

“...they worshiped, but they doubted” (Matthew 28:17).

Because, for some of us, being left to our own devices is overwhelming!

Even for the disciples, they found themselves back in the Upper Room immediately after Jesus ascends (Acts 1:13).

I imagine myself among them: the depths of the pain and fear we have experienced together, and the height of our shared joy at Jesus’s resurrection. We’ve been through ALOT, y’all.

Today, too, in 2026, we are still going through ALOT.

And here we are, left to our own devices. Jesus ascends into heaven…and now what?

I imagine myself among the disciples, and can’t help but wonder: are any of them like me?

Surely, we know there are at least a few go-getters, the risk takers who invite us to “Go big or go home.” But there are probably a few like me, too, who need a nudge; who need someone to lovingly invite them into that which is greater, that which is beyond what they can imagine.

In the first reading we hear:

“While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men/People of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” (Acts 1:10-11)

…sounds like a nudge to me.

I am not a risk taker, but because I’ve learned over time, I know well the value, benefit, and the sheer joy that becomes possible when I let myself be nudged out of my comfort zone.

When I shift my eyes from the heavens to the glory of God’s creation around me, when I go out on a limb and dare to take the risk of being the bridge-builder that authentic discipleship calls each of us to, I am actively engaged in the glory of God.

Now, it’s probably not two men dressed in white garments. In fact, for me, it's usually my spouse, dear friends, my kids, my mom even, who remind me often and with love, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Sometimes, even more audaciously: “What’s the best that could happen?”

Because when we let ourselves be nudged out of our comfort zones, we open ourselves to the very best God has to offer us. We open ourselves to the possibility of connection, of community, of building the Reign of God in real time with real people who are in desperate, desperate, need of hope.

Our world and our communities are utterly ravaged by violence of all kinds, and we KNOW we must “Go out and make disciples.”. We must let our lives bear witness to the kindness and mercy of God. In many places, in these days ravaged by unrest and lack of peace, it is in fact a matter of life and death that we extend that kindness and mercy.

We must “go out and make disciples.”

…But also, maybe you need a nudge. Someone to say, “What’s the best that could happen?”; to remind you that joy is always an option; to remind you that we need not have the full plan to take the first step.

We don’t need to solve war or world hunger—not on our own at least. We need only to extend peace to the neighbor who is different or offer a protein bar to a friend on the side of the highway.

Next week, at Pentecost, with the arrival of the Holy Spirit, we receive the ultimate nudge out of our Upper Rooms.  This week, we learn to how live into our vocation as one of God’s chosen disciples, live into the invitation to be the truest, and most authentic versions of ourselves.

If you are ready: AMAZING. How are you inviting those around you who might need a nudge?

If not, what’s holding you back? What small steps can you take toward joy?

How are we living out our own calls to discipleship?

However it feels for you, be it scary or exciting, I hope you’ll be attentive to the nudge: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations …”

And remember, too, that we are not alone in it:

“And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).