Of course, Christ's Ascension should also be a reminder to us, his modern day Disciples, that his commissioning still stands. Just as the Disciples were to be witnesses to the ends of the earth, so are we. Just as they were entrusted with the ongoing work of Christ, so are we. Just as they were blessed with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, so are we. Finally, just as the Disciples watched the skies and took faith in the promise of his return, so should we.
Introduction
(Read once to be introduced to the series. After that skip this to go right to the good stuff!)
Welcome to my Devotions Series. This series features devotions based on the Scriptures of the Common Lectionary. The series is being prepared for eventual print publication.
By going to my Main Article List you can also find the complete collection posted on Gather, including the additional readings not posted to any groups. New Scriptures selections will be posted every Monday through Thursday to my main page and to my groups.
The series is also posted and regularly updated on my official blog every Monday, with the entire selections for the following Sunday: http://www.cedwardsellner.blogspot.com/
You can find a host of additional information, online resources and links to my other work there. This includes a cross-referenced Archive that lists the various Sundays, but then also lists all currently published Devotions by their sequence in Scripture as well as a Topical Index.
You can go directly to the Devotions: Archive by clicking here.
Each Scripture is also hyperlinked to the online Bible at Bible Gateway in the NIV version I used in preparing the series.
As I mentioned this series is being prepared for print publication, so I of course would welcome any and all feedback, either through Gather, or directly to cedwardsellner@aol.com
Lectionary Series Year A: The Ascension of Our Lord
Luke 24:44-53 (Read it on Bible Gateway) & Acts 1:1-11 (Read it on Bible Gateway)
The Ascension of Christ
This closing passage of Luke and opening passage of Acts both tell the story of Christ's Ascension into Heaven. These passages also thematically bridge the two books. In his Gospel, Luke focused on the life and work of Christ. In Acts, he will focus on telling the story of the Disciples continuation of that work, as empowered by the Holy Spirit, which is received on Pentecost, in Chapter 2.
A little side note on time...
Jesus made appearances to the Disciples for a period of 40 days following his resurrection as it says in verse 3 (yep, there is that number again, see Devotions: Psalm 51:1-19 for thoughts on the number 40). Jesus tells the Disciples that they should wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes to them, which was about ten days after the Ascension itself.
These passages are obviously significant in Christian tradition. The story of Christ's ascension is a final testimony to his divinity, his direct connection with God, and the final resolution of his earthly life, as this would be the last time he appears 'in the flesh' according to canon Scripture. As such, it in this passage that Christ gives his final direct commissioning of the Disciples, charging them to "be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
It is interesting to note that even at this late date in the process, the Disciples still did not fully understand the purpose and focus of Christ, as shown by the question about Jesus restoring Israel in the Acts version. As has been mentioned many times in this series, many believed the Messiah would free the Jewish people from foreign rule, in the time of Christ that being Rome, and make them once more a sovereign nation under their own direction. Once more, Jesus redirects their focus, assuring them they will "receive power" when the Spirit comes and that they will then carry the message on into the future and out into the world.
I imagine the Ascension must have been a mixed emotional bag for the Disciples. After all, they had gone through Christ's death, the mourning and despair that followed, the shock and confusion of Jesus' first appearances following that, and then, as word spread, the general relief that Christ was once more with them. During those appearances he made it very clear his time was limited, but having gotten him back from death itself, my guess is a number of them had convinced themselves he would be staying.
Then as they gather this last time, Christ is taken up into Heaven until hidden from view by the clouds. No doubt a spectacular departure, yet it was a departure nonetheless. There was certainly not the despair of when they thought they had lost him before, no doubt a hope bolstered not only by the means of his departure, but the message from the angels that appeared to them promising his return. We know by the closing verse of Luke and the events of Acts that they returned and, unlike following the crucifixion where they hid in fear, they met daily in the Temple and began to lay the groundwork even then of the work that would come. These efforts would only multiply in number and success following the gift of the Spirit on Pentecost.
Of course, Christ's Ascension should also be a reminder to us, his modern day Disciples, that his commissioning still stands. Just as the Disciples were to be witnesses to the ends of the earth, so are we. Just as they were entrusted with the ongoing work of Christ, so are we. Just as they were blessed with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, so are we. Finally, just as the Disciples watched the skies and took faith in the promise of his return, so should we.
For the complete listing of our Devotions, see our Devotions Archive
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Comments: 19 ( 3 removed by C. Edward Sellner )
The discilples that were walking with Christs before and up until his acension, were truly actual witnesses to the events.
Anyone else claiming to be a witness is a liar. They can only be a believer of the stories passed down. That makes one a believer, not a witness.
I greatly enjoy the way you write and reflect on the LIVING word of God.
I should be so talented. lol
I wonder as I sit here in my humble computer chair, if you are also a certified spiritual director.
I am not quite sure why I get that feeling but I have read about you education a little and it seems to me that it would only stand to reason.
If your not I would be willing to stake my paycheck on it that you would be a great candidate for that vocation. Not that you don't already have enough pins to juggle.
Forgive me sir if I may be so bold but if things don't pan out with my current director I may just come a knocking on your ping step. You would probably reply with a no can do and I would totaly understand but it's just a thought my brother so don't get nervous.
As to your reflection on the universality of divine mercy or salvation for all who have the law of God written on there hearts. I found it to be a refreshing and thought provoking article and you may have read my response and with all the grammatical and spelling errors in it if you were able to decipher it would have come to the conclusion that I was in total agreement with you. Great minds think alike. lol. And it is true I think we think a lot alike.
On the other hand my brother I have to wonder with all due respect to you and your talent if this artilcle be practical or acceptable in printed lectionary form. Again I am not looking at it from my own perspective so much as I am looking at it from the perspective of the powers that be if you will. The publishers of the material or even the users thereof such as priests and or ministers who may not be as like minded as we are. Could they or would they do a homily or a sermon on that subject for the general congregation? If I sound critical Ed please forgive me as that is not my intent here. I was simply sharing with you my thoughts on the matter and they are of course open to discussion.
Inthe final analysis my friend I have to say that as a whole these articles deserve to be in print and distrbuted to those who can and will use them be it for thier own reflection and meditation on the word or in a more professional cappacity.
As for my thoughts and feelings about e-mail spiritual direction in retrospect even if we were able to build a friendship here on Gather or via e-mail that in itself would be a welcome blessing as you have already been a blessing in my life though you do not realy even know who I am.
My prayer for you my brother and I will be praying for you is that God would continue to bless you with his wisdom and that rivers of mercy would flow out from the holy trinity to just saturate every fiber of your being and every area of your life and that you may be filled to overflowing with life giving waters so that those whose lives you are led to touch daily be it on the internet or in person would be soaked with the mercy of God and the wisdom of the holy spirit through you.
Shalom
I need to work on it and I am.
Oh well I think I may have gotten my point across anyway.
Now Dave, whose comment popped up as I was writing...
First, thanks very much for your kind words and thoughts on so many fronts.
Let me guess, are you associated with the Episcopal Church? I only ask because that is the main denomination I have heard the term "Spiritual Director" come out of. I myself was fortunate enough to have a Spiritual guide in the person of an Episcopal Priest when I was back in Maryland, he used it, and a good friend of mine who is also from that tradition refers to his Spiritual Director.
I am not familiar with the formal role of Spiritual Director, you mentioned certification, I didn't know there was such. I have served as a Pastor in the local Church, and a Pastoral Counselor and Mentor to many people, mostly youth, but also adults, including other clergy. How I would define that role is I have been a sounding board, a guide, a 'questioner' if you will, in so far as helping them ask the questions they needed to ask and search with them for the answers.
I do have a Masters of Divinity and am Ordained in the Baptist Tradition. Along with that I have over 25 years experience in ministry, doing everything from local church ministry as Pastor, to doing critical outreach work through the agency I founded in 1997 and just left last year.
As to doing Spiritual Direction, I suppose the first step is finding out more about what specifically you mean, especially if in your tradition there is a formal track for it and thus you are talking with and about a formal, certified position. In my traditions, its simply been a focal point for those of us who wear the general collar of Pastor.
I would be interested in finding out more and see what exactly you're talking about, and then we could talk about whether it would be something to pursue directly between us. Email me directly at cedwardsellner@aol.com and we can chat.
As for some of the angles I am pursuing here being something that clergy would actually use in the planning of worship...
Well, some most definitely would not, no doubt. They have plenty of resources out there for them. I do however believe that a growing number of clergy are beginning to see that there is not only an interest, but an actual need to start infusing some new thought into our theology and spirit, as individuals and as the corporate Church. I have found some congregations, when the door to some of this new thinking is cracked open in some setting for them, many will then light up and say, you know, I feel the same way!
It used to be the corporate Church set the pace and helped challenge people to expand their thinking about God, to wrestle with theological issues and to grow as individuals. The gathering of the community was exciting because it included people debating and sharing new ideas and perspectives.
It seems much more now that often the corporate Church has entrenched itself and some outright challenge and condemn new ideas and new perspectives. This is another of the symptoms of institutionalization. Institutions feel threatened by changes to the status quo, whereas movements are all about re-defining the status quo.
I'm taking things slow and easy, prying open certain doors more and more. I think people are questioning and searching. One of my most popular articles in terms of views has been the one that questioned the traditional view of what it means for Christ to be the Way to salvation, I don't think that's an accident.
My hope is that clergy or worship leaders who encounter these and indeed find themselves thinking about what they have encountered and find points that resonate with their own spirit and view, will be challenged to introduce it into the broader community, if not in general worship, maybe in a special service, or in a Bible Study, or other small group, to see how that community responds.
I think its time the Church once more took the lead and showed people the way and the possibilities, not took the rear and showed people where we've already been.
But in retrospect, after reading again and closer, I think that mine was just wishful thinking, because my ideas (based upon actual experience) are most likely still too far out for anyone involved at all with the "institutions" of religion ... sorry, I wasted your time and will "rock the boat" no further ... :-)
You might be surprised. If nothing else, I would like to hear them personally, I am very interested in non-institutional faith perspectives and anything that steps outside the box in terms of traditional religion.
I have written a LOT on Gather about my views and pointing people at my website: Spirit Calls ... where there are two different formatted free downloads of my book about it all ... I am older, geographically isolated, so the web site and even the book are a bit crude ... but the essence of truth is there IMnsHO. :-)
Do you think the Lord is going to come as a thief in the night, that one might miss him? I watch for the false one, who will deceive many.
Christ said both, that he would return in glory and that the timing of it would be unnannounced and unknown, comparing it to a thief in the night. I think a general admonition to all of us that there are many things we should be keeping an eye out for would be the best advice I can give.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
This is not a thief being spoken of, and there is no chance that one would not notice the arrival of the King. These words are not isolated instances, and it requires that many statements by Christ, and several other Prophets, be nullified, in order to derive the conclusion that Jesus is warning it is he, who will arrive as a thief in the night.
Calm down, I'm not suggesting Jesus is not coming in glory, I think you misunderstood my comment. In Matthew 24:42-44 Jesus compares his second coming to a thief in the night by way of its timing. Specifically, that no one knows when his coming will be, and thus advises us to be prepared and to keep watch.
I was simply making the point that both are true...
He will come like a thief in the night in that it will be at a time that no one know.
He will come surrounded in his glory in the method of his approach.
Okay?
I haven't excluded anyone who discusses the content of the article. Yes, I deleted a comment where simply because I said "calm down" you attacked me as a supposed man of God, trying to use occult powers to determine your state of mind, obviously as you were attempting to argue that indeed, you were not upset about something.
Now, you're asking if I might be a con man? Posting articles free on Gather and my blog...
Let me be clear, for you and anyone else...
I am quite familiar with some of the risks of posting stuff online. I invite and will happily accept anyone who wishes to comment on the articles, anyone who wishes to discuss the points made in the articles and anyone of faith who wishes to have open and respectful conversations.
I will delete people who attempt to derail the spirit and intent of the articles with totally off topice posts, and I will also delete comments that attack anyone in this thread, not just me, but anyone. There is no room here for people that wish to insult, accuse, or make wildly inappropriate and off-base comments that are directed at someone. If you disagree, be mature, take ownership of your opinions and focus on commenting on the content, not the individuals and be respectful.
If you can't then by all means, feel free to not waste your time here.
If you can't handle a question regarding your possibly missing something important about what Christ said, from a fellow Christian . . . you are preaching to a quire. I work in the field, but I try to work hard.
I'm not even sure what the heck you are trying to imply here. The ONLY comment you have made which had ANYTHING to do with Scripture or the content of this article is the original one, which I left in and which I responded to, clarifying my point and citing the Scripture reference that I was making reference to, which I think was pretty basic and simple.
What I choose not to handle are personal attacks which is pretty much all you engaged in thereafter.
So, I'm at this point going to say this conversation is over. Please refrain from pursuing it anymore, or issuing any other challenges you feel the need to under my forum. I'm not going to give this more time than it has already used up, and will just delete the comments. I really have too much other stuff to do.
If you choose to comment on any future articles from me and you stick to discussing the Scripture, I will have no trouble leaving those comments, answering questions, citing references to support my points or even entering into friendly and respectful debate with those who disagree with my interpretation of Scripture.