The Gospel of Luke 24:44-53
Jesus said to his disciples, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you– that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
Let us Pray: O God of earth and sky, as Jesus came among us in Bethlehem to raise us up to heaven, so today we recall his departing from us at Jerusalem to be in all places. Though he is hidden from our sight, enable us to abide in him, by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, until his mercy and grace fill your whole creation. Amen.
“Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (v. 45)
In our celebration of the Ascension, as Jesus departs to be with God while staying through the presence of the Spirit, we are invited to participate in both the disciples’ recognition of Jesus and their commissioning by him. The appropriate response, now, as then, is to praise God with “great joy.” (Luke 24:52) Jesus said I have done what I came to do. Now it is your turn. It is now our turn to continue to spread the Good News. We can’t just stand there looking up. We need to get about the work that Jesus began. When Jesus blessed the disciples before his ascension, he probably showed gratitude to those who chose to walk with him. If we walk with him today, we will hear the Holy Spirit use similar words. The Spirit-empowered church is to be the continuing presence of the Christ in the world. Ascension Day is a good time for a Church community to assess where it has been and where it is going. We need to ask ourselves why we are here and exactly what it is we are supposed to be doing. Our lesson for this day provides us with much needed information on what we should be doing and what our final destination is as we travel this road in ministry with Jesus. As a church we need to not be so inwardly focused that we forget our true purpose. Lack of communication, direction and purpose is often the reason people leave the church or worse yet a reason they never find themselves involved in church at all. We just can’t continue to look up if we are to continue as a thriving church and spread the Good News of Christ. We need to look at the world around us and be there for those in need. Knowing that the best of the Jesus story, the very worldly part, has yet to come. In the end is our beginning…something God alone can see. So, the ending is also the beginning. Endings and beginnings—life is full of both.
Let us Pray: As the Lord raised his hands to the heavens, our ascended Lord blesses us with every blessing. He speaks good things upon us. His hands are stretched out, bestowing every good upon us. Let us join Him and praise the Father. Amen
Reflections by Bob 