“In our larger culture, this is of course, Memorial Day weekend…And those of us in the church have something in addition to celebrate this weekend. Today is Ascension Sunday, which is always the last Sunday in the Season of Easter,” begins Rev. Dr. Daniel Glaze, pastor of River Road Church, Baptist in Richmond, Virginia. Glaze continues, “Letting go and saying goodbye—is hard…You’d think that saying goodbye would get easier over time, but I haven’t found that to be the case. Saying goodbye reminds us just how fragile life can be, and it sometimes causes us to wonder if we are truly alone in this world.” In today’s passage from Luke 24:44-53, Jesus ascended into heaven, leaving the disciples, who had relied on Jesus for everything, staring up at the sky wondering what to do next. Glaze says, “I believe it’s important to recognize that Jesus didn’t really leave his disciples that day. That is, he may have gone up, but he has not gone away.” What are we to do with the Ascension? Glaze says, “He [Jesus] wants us to look around us, to the needs and opportunities around us…and get on with it; to continue the ministry he has taught us to do.”
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