Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:17-23 Matthew 28:16-20
For most of my life this celebration took place on Ascension Thursday, forty days after Easter. A number of years ago we in the United States joined those countries which celebrate the Ascension on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. This feast marks the end of Jesus's post -resurrection appearances to his disciples .
It is interesting to read in today's gospel that after hearing Jesus teach them during three years of active ministry and forty days following his resurrection, still… when they gathered on "the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them, they worshipped, but they doubted.” Doubted?
I wonder what they doubted. Did they doubt that his appearances would really stop? And if the appearances ended, did they doubt that they could go on without him? Did they wonder what would happen to them? And as he disappears from their sight, are they thinking "Now what? “
Most of us have had a similar experience. We've met someone, fallen in love, pledged our lives to each other in a wedding ceremony and then the next morning, wondered, “Now, what? “
Or we've started a new job. A mentor has taken us under her wing, explained our responsibilities, told us we could contact her if we had further questions, and then left us alone to wonder “Now, what?”
Maybe we brought a new baby home from the hospital. We laid our bundle of joy in the crib we had prepared for him, and we wonder, "Now, what?”
We graduate from college.
We bury a loved one.
We receive a life altering medical diagnosis…
Our lives are full of "Now, what?” moments.
The disciples’ answer and ours is simply…
Live your life as a witness to the gospel.
And remember God is with you always.
by: Pat Schnee
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