|
An Ascension Day Message
On this Holy day of the Ascension of our Savior Jesus Christ, we read the passage from
Luke, 24: 44-53.
This passage from the gospel of Luke is a beautifully told story. These are the last
words of the gospel, and they bring the gospel to a lovely, lovely close. Jesus is
speaking with his disciples. He is saying his goodbyes. He is assuring them that he has
given them all that they need.
He reminds them that everything written about him in the Law of Moses, the prophets,
and the psalms has been fulfilled. He has opened their minds to understanding the
scriptures in a new Way--A new Way is loving and respectful. He reminds his listeners,
“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.” Justice and mercy are for all of God’s people. The
disciples are witnesses and are tasked from that day forward to continue the Jesus
ministry.
There is fulfillment of God’s promises in this parting. They will be together again.
From this earthly life, Jesus will part from his disciples, but they meet again when
they too have finished their earthly lives.
Jesus blesses his disciples and then he is no more. In body, he is gone. In spirit, he is
eternally present.
There is a sense of peace that prevails in this story of parting. There is no sense that
the disciples feel bereft and abandoned. Jesus has left them in peace. He has given
them all that they need to be whole. In the future, there will be times of anxiety, But for now in this moment, in the nearness of Jesus, the Son of God, they feel complete and are at peace.
Let us pray that this also be our response to hearing the words of Jesus. Let us pray
that we too act with his wisdom and mercy. May we too feel his presence in our hearts
and souls, for in God we are made whole. In the nearness of God, we find peace.
| 
