Thursday of this week was Ascension Day



Thursday of this week was Ascension Day, the day we mark the Ascension of Risen Christ to God. this Sunday is known as the Sunday after Ascension. The churches celebration of the Ascension is based entirely on the Book of Acts. The gospels either don’t talk about it or have it on Easter Day. So what is Ascension about?
The Gospels were written in part to teach that in Jesus we meet God. That means our understanding of the nature of
God should be shaped by Jesus’ life, ministry and death. The resurrection acts as God’s confirmation of this. Resurrection affirms the crucifixion as the door into the heart of God and with the Ascension declares that the risen Christ is no longer confined to one place and one time, but is now present in all creation and all time. Because of the Ascension we are invited to look for the signs of the risen Christ’s presence based on how Jesus the Christ is presented in the gospels.
Ascension can also be seen as the other side of the Incarnation. In the Incarnation the divine mingles with the human and Jesus is understood as both fully human and fully divine. In the Ascension the resurrected Christ who is still both fully human and fully divine returns to the Godhead and the human is enfolded into the divine. We are folded into the divine.
Next Sunday is Pentecost, and we move into a new season in the church year. How does the ascension add to our understanding of living a resurrected life now?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Get those PSA Blood Tests Done Boys!

I had a strange conversation a few months ago. I was lying back in a chair, naked from the waste down, holding a nappy over my bits while I waited for the skin under my bits to go numb enough from liquid nitrogen or some such thing, so that they could inject the local anesthetic and then punch a couple of holes through to the prostate. All in all a fun experience. And while I waited the nurse made small talk and asked what I did. "I'm retired", I replied. "Oh, what are you planning to do now you are retired? any travel?" "Turns out not" I said, "It seems I'm just keeping my dairy open for dealing with health things." And I am still keeping my dairy open and still dealing with them. This journey began last year. I was already dealing with two other things, including a lump in my parotid gland which has been slowly growing there for about 3 years. When I got back from being overseas on sabbatical my doctor called me in to talk about that an...
Read more

What a Ride! - Thankyou and Goodbye!

Image
You can listen to this sermon here   Gate Pa - Ascension Sunday and Easter 7 Year B, 2024 Readings: Palm                            Psalm 1 First Reading:             Acts 1:1-11, 15-17,21-26                     Bible Page 884 Second Reading:        1 John 5:9-13                                       Bible Page 991 Gospel:                         John 17:6-19      ...
Read more

"Just Enjoy The Coffee"

I was just sent this on Anglicans All. Being a coffee enjoyer and a Franciscan I enjoyed it. I hope you do to: Even if you are not a coffee drinker...Have a good day!!!! A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain ,plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite, telling them to help themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee, the professor said: If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the simple and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it is just more ex...
Read more