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The Thursday just gone is the time in the churches year when we mark Jesus’ ascension to heaven. It’s not the biggest day in the churches year, but it is useful to stop and look at it.
It’s an amazing story at the end of Luke, and the beginning of the book of Acts: One minute Jesus was eating with his disciples teaching them about the coming Kingdom, the next he was taken up to heaven before their very eyes.
The disciples were left looking up to the sky, when a couple of angels came on the scene and said: “why are you looking up at the sky?”
They had just got used to being with the resurrected Jesus, and now they had seen him ascend in front of them! A lot to take in! It almost seems a bit harsh for the angels in white to chastise them for that doesn’t it? But it’s actually an immediate reminder for them: Jesus was not above them, in ‘heaven in the sky!’ When Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space he reportedly said “I don’t see God up here!”
He meant it cynically, but he was right! Jesus did not ascend somewhere above us, but rather he was no longer constrained by our dimensions of time or space: he is not in heaven far removed from us.
We know that God’s Kingdom, his rule and reign are coming. Heaven is not far and distant: Rather than being present in a small part of Palestine, Jesus was now showing his disciples that his Kingdom was not just for Israel but for all.
Celebrating Jesus’ Ascension reminds us that although Jesus is no longer physically with us, the reality of his rule and reign come ever closer...
He is alive and present in our lives and in our world!
Have a great week,
Tim
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The main business of friendship is to sustain and make bearable each other's burdens.
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Verse 4a of today’s Gospel reading says "Abide in me as I abide in you". These words are addressed to the church -that is, you and me - and they serve to remind us that our communal life and ministries to His people are no more than branches that could be tossed into the fire, except that His Spirit dwells in them.
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sunday 29 april 2012 |
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It’s great to join together as one parish today, to celebrate what God is doing in our midst, and to worship and spend time together. I’ve been thinking this week about the passage in 1 Corinthians 12, which talks about the church as a body: ‘The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts: and though all its parts are many, they form one body.’
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What are you ‘giving up’ for Lent?
We are almost into the season of Lent and it is worth reminding ourselves that it is a significant part of the church's journey leading to Christ's suffering and triumph in Holy Week.Traditionally there are three disciplines associated with the 40 days Lenten preparation; fasting, alms giving and prayer.
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As I write the date on top of the Word document I’m writing this on, it amazes me how quickly time passes! Spring is fighting to make its presence felt, and Christmas is rushing towards us at great pace!
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sunday 28 august 2011 |
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This weeks Gospel reading comes from Matthew 16, and it contains those famous words from Jesus: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’
Denying ourselves and taking up our cross means different things for different people: What does it mean for us here in New Zealand?
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Recently I was fortunate enough to go to a conference in Auckland. It was for spiritual directors from around New Zealand. At the end of the four days, each person was asked to give a word or phrase that summed up their experience there. Mine was Re-Sourced.
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As we continue our journey through the book of Acts we find today that Paul is in trouble. He has arrived in Jerusalem even though the Holy Spirit warned him that trouble was ahead, and that he was going to face a time of trial and hardship and today’s reading shows us the beginnings of Paul’s imprisonment that will eventually lead him to Rome. |
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Hebrews 3:13 “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”
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think points