Temple: the Ascension

Thursday, May 13, 2021
    Ascension
Meditation:
    Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
    —John 20:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    In the days of His earthly ministry, only those could speak to him who came where He was. If He was in Galilee, men could not find Him in Jerusalem; if He was in Jerusalem, men could not find Him in Galilee. But His Ascension means that He is perfectly united with God; we are with Him wherever we are present to God; and that is everywhere and always. Because He is “in Heaven” He is everywhere on earth: because He is ascended, He is here now. Our devotion is not to hold us by the empty tomb; it must lift up our hearts to heaven so that we too “in heart and mind thither ascend and with Him continually dwell;” * it must also send us forth into the world to do His will; and these are not two things, but one.
    * from the collect for Ascension, Book of Common Prayer, 1662, 1928
    ... William Temple (1881-1944), Readings in St. John’s Gospel, London: Macmillan, 1939, 1952, p. 382 (see the book)
    See also John 20:17; Matt. 28:20; Luke 24:1-6; Acts 1:9-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your are continually present with Your people. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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