“Called to Sit with Jesus”

Ascension Sunday

Bulletin: May 21, 2023

Scriptures: Daniel 7:1, 9-10, 13-14; Ephesians 1:15-23; Psalm 47; Luke 24:44-53

Songs:

Introit: Come, People of the Risen King (Townend YouTube; lyrics)
Lo He Comes With Clouds Descending (Tune: Helmsley) (video)
Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise (lyrics & melody, video, meditation, Charles Wesley biography)
Yet Not I, But Through Christ in Me (with lyrics)
Hymn for Departing: The Passion (lyrics, video)

Joel Russell-MacLean

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

We come to the end of the Easter season, when “Christ is Risen” takes on a new meaning. Thursday was the celebration of the Ascension, though we will also celebrate it Sunday. Luke records that 40 days after the resurrection, Jesus rose into heaven.

A human being, one of us, somehow went into the place of angels, a place where God is present in a different way than God is to us in this life. It was Jesus and he was not cast out or rejected. He presented himself as a sacrifice, once and for all, for all humanity, and was accepted. Even more, he was given authority over everything created.

We know Jesus. He speaks to us. He walks with us. We have his words and his story. And one day, we will see him, face to face.

In the same way he left, he will come again. His friends knew him, lived with him, and ate with him. He was loved and loved his friends. That was how he was when he left. And when he left, the angel’s comforting promise to his grieving friends was, Jesus will come again in the same way, as one who will walk among us and live with us.