Scripture:

 ‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. (John 14.18-21)

Reflection:

Thursday of this week is Ascension Day.

In the forty days after his Resurrection Jesus appears many times to his disciples, teaching them and preparing them for what is to come. After these 40 days Jesus goes out with them to the Mount of Olives, where a cloud hides him from their sight. They will not see him again.

But this is not a final parting. It’s the prelude to the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the fulfilment of Jesus’s promise to be present with all people, everywhere and always.

This is not the end of the Jesus story. He has promised to be with us always, until the end of time. The story continues, and we are part of it. May we know and make known in our own lives the power of the risen, ascended Lord.

Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen