Ascension of Our Lord
Acts 1:1-11 (NRSV)
Jesus sends the apostles
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
Acts 1:1-11 (NRSV)
Jesus sends the apostles
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
Reflection
Not only will we hang in there; we are baptized with the Holy Spirit. Jesus will come again. Jesus will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. What a sight! What a Truth that was revealed to us. God comes to us in the form of flesh and blood and God comes to us in Spirit. God comes to us in the form that we are...Flesh and Spirit. And God experiences in intimate detail what we experience and knows us as closely as any Creator could ever know the created.
The comfort in being known by God is enormous. God knows, as our Creator, every detail in us. And God knows our every feeling, hurt, joy and desire through the experience of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. God knows you...God knows me...God knows the creation.
But as typical children...we want to know..."Is it time yet?"..."Are we there yet?" And God tells us to trust. Trust in God's timing. Trust in God's gifts as we wait. And as we wait in this sin filled world...work on the re-creation of life that God has fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Utilize the gifts the Holy Spirit provides. Live a life in God of the flesh and the spirit to the fullest that God has created you to be.
Maybe the Kingdom has not been fulfilled in the grand sense...but in another grand sense the Kingdom has been fulfilled in you and in me. Live your eternal life now in joyous response to what God has already done for you. Watch the sky...and look into the spirit of your heart...Jesus has come...the Kingdom has begun...in you...in me. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
Come, Lord Jesus come. Come Holy Spirit come...come into my heart this day. --- Amen
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