May 17, 2020

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for May 24th: Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 47, Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24:44-53; Theme: Ascension Day Acts: Endings are traumatic for us to navigate – whether it is the end of a school year, a career, a life. That must be why we have so many rituals for endings. Endings, without a chance to say good bye are even harder. That is why 2020 is so difficult for so many people. There are so many things that have ended, that we have not been able to have a ritual for. Today is the day that the disciples struggled with having to say goodbye to Jesus. Jesus spent six week preparing them for this day, and it was still hard. Jesus ascends into the clouds to be with God. As they watch him leave this earth, they realize that everything has changed. One of the hardest endings for us, is the end of the way things used to be. Once this pandemic is over we will enter into a world that has changed. Many of us will want to go back to the way things used to be. We can be grateful that Jesus gave us hope, trust and obedience to hold onto as he was taken away. As long as we have those three things, we have what we need to face a new world in the days to come. Luke: Next week is Pentecost Sunday – we can relate to that. But we have a little trouble with the meaning of this Sunday – Ascension Sunday – the day Jesus left earth to be with God while floating in a cloud. Many of us have the notion that heaven is a place far away in the skies. Heaven is a place that we are one with God. Heaven is more of a place in our hearts, not up above the sky. It is the day that we learned to accept that Jesus is not with us, but in us. It took this moment for the disciples to understand all that Jesus was trying to teach them. It took this moment to stop waiting for Jesus to change the world and to claim our own power to change the world ourselves. Ascension is not so much an event as it is realization. As Jesus spoke to them for the last time, he reminded them that they were enough, that they knew enough. It was a moment for the disciple to review all that they had learned, and to do the dreaded task for being able to say good bye. Scripture says that Jesus blessed them. And then they were able to move on and face life with power. Questions: How do you handle endings? What comfort do you need to get through a difficult time? How do we keep the legacy of Jesus alive today? What are you doing to prepare for the power and encouragement of the Holy Spirit?