Tag: Ascension Sunday

Pastor’s Notes 5/15/2026

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple blessing God. 
–Luke 24:50-53

This Sunday we come to the final week in our series on the endings of the Gospels, and the transition to Pentecost. We have listened closely to how each Gospel writer tells the resurrection story differently.

Mark leaves us standing in uncertainty and tension, with frightened disciples and an empty tomb that asks what we will do next. Matthew turns our eyes outward toward mission and discipleship. John slows everything down around a breakfast fire on the beach, reminding us that resurrection is often experienced through relationship, restoration, and love.

And now Luke.

Luke’s Gospel ends with Jesus lifting his hands in blessing as the disciples watch him ascend. But instead of sorrow, the disciples return to Jerusalem filled with joy. That detail matters to Luke. The story of Jesus does not end in despair or absence. It opens into worship, hope, and a calling that is just beginning.

What makes Luke especially interesting is that he tells the ascension story twice. Once at the end of the Gospel, and again at the beginning of Acts. In the Gospel, the ascension feels like the closing scene of Jesus’ earthly ministry. In Acts, the same moment becomes the opening scene for the Spirit moving through ordinary people. The focus shifts from what Jesus began to what the followers of Jesus are now called to continue.

While the events in Luke 24 seem to happen in one day, Acts follows the arc of the other gospels in identifying the time between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension as 40 days. It is helpful to think about it like a cliffhanger television show season finale (remember the old “who shot JR” season of Dallas).

The writers touched back into the same moment, but with a new purpose and perspective. Luke seems to do something very similar. The Gospel brings Jesus’ earthly ministry to its theological climax, while Acts reopens the scene, highlighting different details, to tell the story of the church.

Maybe that is part of the gift of Ascension Sunday for us too. We are reminded that faith is not only about looking back at what Jesus once did. It is also about recognizing how the Spirit is still moving through people willing to carry blessing, healing, mercy, and hope into the world today.

I look forward to worshiping with you Sunday in the sanctuary or on YouTube as we bring this meaningful series to a close, and perhaps discover together that the story is still unfolding.

Brett

Pastor’s Notes 5/10/2024

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.
Luke 1:6,7

This coming Sunday is often celebrated as Ascension Sunday. It marks the moment when Jesus physically left this earthly life. The ascension is the defining event between Jesus’ resurrection and the day of Pentecost that sets up the “God will continue to do new things but now through the followers of Jesus who come together as church” movement.

It really was time for Jesus to go. If he was still with them, his followers would rely upon him- the ascension needed to happen. The disciples needed to let go and so did Jesus. It was time for them to claim their identity, to practice what he preached, to be the body of Christ that would extend the love of God beyond borders.           

Jesus needed to trust that his followers did get the message he was trying to live, breathe, and preach. They may not do things exactly like Jesus did, but they would find their way together. The love of God would be shared. Sunday’s tip for living into the resurrection promise on this earth, calls us to let go. Let go of thinking we have it all figured out and make room for God to work in a way that is appropriate for what is next.

“And while he was speaking, he was lifted up and a cloud carried him beyond their sight.” And in that moment the church starts to take shape and days later when the Spirit descends upon them, the church is truly born but this moment of transition was necessary for them to remember and recognize and claim a path that was carved out for them.

I look forward to worshipping with you Sunday live in person, and/or live streaming through our YouTube channel.

Brett

Sermon 5/21/2023

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

On May 21st we celebrated Ascension Sunday, the occasion when Jesus physically leaves the earth for good and ascended into the heavens. Earlier in the season we focused upon Matthew’s telling of the final words and encounter with Jesus and this week will hear from Luke in Acts 1:6-11. After resurrecting from the now empty tomb, Jesus had been preparing his disciples one final time for the ministry that awaits them, and us still. 

Jesus speaks cryptically of not leaving us alone in serving as church. We will pay particular attention to Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ 

Jesus’ faithful ones need not wait long, as next Sunday we will celebrate Pentecost, the day when the gift of the Holy Spirit descends upon all who believe.

This gift is a pillar of who we are as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and this core verse underscores our denominational mission statement, “to be and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, witnessing, loving and serving from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth.”

In our act of worship, we will also tend to deep understanding of our vision as a denomination, “to be a faithful, growing church, that demonstrates true community, deep Christian spirituality and a passion for justice.”