Happy Ascension Day!
We are preaching on Sunday, so I've been pondering those readings (Acts 1:6-14) and today's reading from Luke (24:44-53). Each of these describes what the community did after Jesus was no longer present with them. In Acts "Luke" says that "they went to the room upstairs where they were staying. In Luke's Gospel he says that "they were continually in the Temple." But both readings describe the same action: they devoted themselves to prayer and praise. Wherever they were, they knew what to do.
These days it may feel more like we're in the upper room than in the Temple. You may be missing your church, and the general bustle of the world around you. Or, you may be experiencing too much of it, via technology! You may feel alone, or you may feel crowded in with others. Whatever your situation, the message is the same. This is a time to pray, to bless God.
It's not a time to pray because we're in trouble. It's a time to pray because it's always time to pray. But now, as we wait for Pentecost and the coming of the Spirit, we can pray with the memory and the awareness of the generations of other disciples who have prayed in all sorts of places, all sorts of moods and situations. It looks like Jesus has left, but the Spirit comes and fills us. Wherever we are.
If you're missing your local temple and your face to face community, listen to George Herbert.
Seven whole days, not one in seven,
I will praise thee.
- George Herbert
We are freed from the belief that only one day deserves prayer, and only one place enables us to be heard. From our upper rooms, together with whoever is there, we can, we will, open ourselves to God.
So, as you're pondering your rule of life in this new time, you can start by praying and praising. I'm praying for us all, and giving thanks for you and your companionship on this journey. We never really know where it leads - it wouldn't really be God without the surprise - but we know the Spirit is with us and will lead us into truth. Rejoice!
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