O Almighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that He might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to His promise, He abides with His Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
The Anglican Book of Divine Worship
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The Anglican Book of Divine Worship
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(Please read Acts 1:1-11 and Luke 24:44-53 on this Ascension Sunday) by Anna Murdock
Gracious and Loving God …
I don’t know how to look at Jesus’ ascension in the same way as the Twelve.
I really don’t.
You see, we haven’t seen with the same eyes. We don’t wear the same sandals (my walking shoes are actually sneakers) nor do we have the same dust on our clothes.
I haven’t eaten with Jesus.
I haven't laughed alongside him.
I haven’t looked into Jesus’ eyes or wept with him.
I haven’t walked with Jesus in quite the same way, questioned as they did, feared with the depths of their fears or stared at his hands as they must have stared at them.
I don’t know how to look at Jesus’ ascension in the same way as the Twelve, with the same history or intimacy, with earthly eyes at such a holy glimpse. I really don’t.
But what I do know is that I long for something. There are times when I sit in the dark coolness of the evening and look heavenward, hoping for a glimpse of holiness.
There are other times when I look into the eyes of everyone I pass on the street, hoping to see you … longing to see you in the faces of others.
Have you come back to us?
Have I looked into your face?
Have I held the very hand that the Twelve once saw and touched?
Yes, the longing is there, so strong …. to stand before you in awe, to walk with you and listen, to be filled with your Spirit and be surprised, to be sent out as a most unlikely disciple.
Is that why you ask us to gather in one place? Are you telling me that others have the same longings?
I am bound by earthly thinking so perhaps I will never understand Jesus’ ascension completely.
What I am beginning to understand is that I am not so different than one of the Twelve. I just wear different sandals and have accumulated different dust in my journey.
Oh God, give me holy glimpses but do remind me to stop gawking.
Give me a longing that has movement to it, words to share with the longing, and eyes to see you in every place. Amen.
Gracious and Loving God …
I don’t know how to look at Jesus’ ascension in the same way as the Twelve.
I really don’t.
You see, we haven’t seen with the same eyes. We don’t wear the same sandals (my walking shoes are actually sneakers) nor do we have the same dust on our clothes.
I haven’t eaten with Jesus.
I haven't laughed alongside him.
I haven’t looked into Jesus’ eyes or wept with him.
I haven’t walked with Jesus in quite the same way, questioned as they did, feared with the depths of their fears or stared at his hands as they must have stared at them.
I don’t know how to look at Jesus’ ascension in the same way as the Twelve, with the same history or intimacy, with earthly eyes at such a holy glimpse. I really don’t.
But what I do know is that I long for something. There are times when I sit in the dark coolness of the evening and look heavenward, hoping for a glimpse of holiness.
There are other times when I look into the eyes of everyone I pass on the street, hoping to see you … longing to see you in the faces of others.
Have you come back to us?
Have I looked into your face?
Have I held the very hand that the Twelve once saw and touched?
Yes, the longing is there, so strong …. to stand before you in awe, to walk with you and listen, to be filled with your Spirit and be surprised, to be sent out as a most unlikely disciple.
Is that why you ask us to gather in one place? Are you telling me that others have the same longings?
I am bound by earthly thinking so perhaps I will never understand Jesus’ ascension completely.
What I am beginning to understand is that I am not so different than one of the Twelve. I just wear different sandals and have accumulated different dust in my journey.
Oh God, give me holy glimpses but do remind me to stop gawking.
Give me a longing that has movement to it, words to share with the longing, and eyes to see you in every place. Amen.