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It’s mildly amusing that our Gospel for today’s celebration of the Ascension makes no mention of the actual event itself. Rather, Matthew treats us to the “Great Commission,” the final standing instructions of the Lord, which bring his entire Gospel to a close. We know that Christ ascended to heaven from Luke and Acts. Yet, by omitting a description of the Ascension, it’s as if Matthew wanted to emphasize the “So what?” of the entire affair.

Place yourselves in the shoes (sandals?) of the apostles. Christ has risen and summoned you to the mountaintop, always a significant location in Scripture. Then, he imparts his final words and ascends miraculously to intercede for us before the Father in heaven. Meanwhile, we are left standing awestruck on the mountaintop. After a few minutes of silence, we might wonder: Now what? And that’s precisely Matthew’s focus, the “So what?” Matthew ends in the Great Commission answering that question: Go and make disciples of all nations … Thus, we have our marching orders from on high, now from beyond even the mountaintops. It would do us well to examine them anew. One of the first things we can notice is that the Great Commission is delightfully all-encompassing.

First, Christ stressed that all power and authority has been given to him. All. Not just some, or not just for some days or some regions. Jesus’ authorship to remake and heal the world is absolute. This is a bit of a challenge for our modern world, insofar as the universe is fundamentally not a democracy but a kingdom. We really do have freedom, and our choices do have power and effect, but in the final analysis, nothing is beyond the authority and providence of God. What this means in effect is good news: No sin, be it in thought or deed, is beyond the Lord’s power to save us. Death cannot triumph for those in Christ. But it also means that all choices, beliefs, faiths, lifestyles, etc. that do not recognize Christ as sovereign are fundamentally misguided about reality. In the end, we get a choice, daily: God or not God. The rest flows from that, be it healing reality or debilitating delusion.

Further, we’re instructed to go make disciples of all nations. Mark’s Gospel even goes as far as to tell us to preach the Gospel to every creature, lest we start to limit the message. Every single human soul is made for glory in Christ. Christianity, and specifically Catholic Christianity (those churches enjoying the sacramental life and union with Rome), is the vocation of every single person on the planet. For example, often, on a college campus as diverse as mine, it can be tempting to bracket evangelization toward only those who “look or act like they belong in church.” Yet Jesus wants every student to be his disciple, even the blue-haired, tattooed ones in the communist club or the perfectly tanned-and toned student athlete who wouldn’t dream of sacrificing a Sunday morning workout for church. Jesus wants our weird uncles and coworkers, too. It’s high time we figured out how to invite them in.

Last, we note that we’re instructed to teach those baptized to observe all that Christ commanded. The words “observe” and “all” are key here. Note that Christ did not say merely, “know and understand,” but rather “observe,” meaning “live out.” Moreover, we’re given no license to cherry-pick our favorite parts of Jesus’ teachings. Only the spiritually immature want cookies for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We need a balanced spiritual diet and, as such, are solemnly charged with knowledge, obedience and fidelity to the whole Gospel. After all, how can we teach others to observe all the Lord commands if we aren’t knowing and living it ourselves?

At this point, we might begin to feel a bit daunted: “Am I really supposed to invite the people at the grocery store to Mass? But I’m unqualified and don’t know where to begin.” Be not afraid. The Lord also promised to be with us always (all-ways), until the end of the age. Christ is with us and all rests on his authority and power working in us. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal how to begin, whether it’s a conversion of heart to take the above commission seriously, or to learn more about the faith in a concrete way to better live and share it, or even to strategize who we can pray for and invite to a parish event. It worked for the apostles and original disciples, and by Christ’s power and authority, it will work for us, too.