This Sunday and the next two Sundays are the dates that I consider most significant in our Christian Calendar. Ascension Sunday, Pentecost Sunday, and Trinity Sunday tell us so much about our God, about Jesus, about the Holy Spirit, and about what our role should be in the world as the Body of Christ, as the Church, and as disciples of Jesus that we cannot ignore them. For instance, as we reflect on the Ascension of the Lord, we are reminded that Jesus’ journey on earth had its conclusion in his return to the father. For that reason, our journey on earth should be guided by our hope that one day we will return to our God. Our hope that one day we will return to our God and see God in God’s full splendor should help us persevere in our daily journey of faith, but not only persist but also remember that we are not alone. We can overcome any obstacles that might be preventing us from being closer to our God. When the disciples witnessed the Ascension of the Lord, they decided to continue worshiping God. They returned to Jerusalem full of joy, returning to the temple to glorify God. In other words, they understood that although Jesus was not with them anymore, they were not alone. They had each other. They had hope. And more significantly, they had Jesus’ promise that they would be “clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49). They understood they had a call to nurture their hope so that they could become holier.
May God help us to be hopeful and become more holy. This week we also celebrate Aldersgate day. We celebrate that we are “connected” people who have overcome many challenges. I am thankful to be United Methodist. I am grateful to be a Wesleyan, and I am thankful for our United Methodist connection. May we continue nurturing our hope and our sense of connection. Here we can find a testimony from our conference of why we should #beumc.
Let’s pray together the Jesus’ prayer we find in the lectionary reading for this Sunday:
John 17:20-26
17:20 “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word,
17:21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
17:22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one,
17:23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
17:24 Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
17:25 “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me.
17:26 I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
If you would like to view past editions of Time with Ismael,
follow this link: https://heritagedistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/