God our refuge and hope,
when race, status, or gender divide us,
when despondency and despair haunt and afflict us,
when community lies shattered:
comfort and convict us with the stillness of your presence,
that we may confess all you have done,
through Christ to whom we belong
and in whom we are one. Amen.

Found at DailyLectio.net
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

The Ascension of Jesus

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. 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.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:6–11)

40 days since Easter
40 days since we applauded Jesus’ sacrifice
then hauled him out of the tomb
and got on with our lives
40 days that Jesus has walked beside us
offering us myriad glimpses
of his Risen presence
It was the Risen Christ who sat on the bridge
holding out his cup for a coin
and then took our hand
and looked into our eyes
and said thank you
as we glanced his way
and gave him some change.
It was the Risen Christ
who sat between us
as a colleague unloaded
and processed
the costliness of her work
and rediscovered her inner wisdom
and strength
to carry on serving.
It was the Risen Christ
who dried our tears
and stoked our anger
and determination
as we tramped the beach
imploring, beseeching God
to show us how
to serve authentically
in an institution
that is besieged
by power struggles
and injustice.
It was the Risen Christ…
It IS the Risen Christ
The Risen, Ascended Christ
who continues to penetrate
our consciousness
in our every day
looking into our eyes
through the eyes of all whom we encounter
reminding us of his teaching
imploring us to love
and willing us
to go and be disciples.

(Liz Crumlish Ascension 2019)

Note that Liz will be preaching at our Eucharist at 9:30am on 29 May. You will be welcome … and able to talk to her about her blog over coffee. And do read her challenging 2022 Ascension Day blog at this link.

On Sunday the focus of our readings was the Good Shepherd, with Psalm 23 both read and sung and complementary readings from Revelation and John’s Gospel. The prayer of preparation suggested by dailyLectio.net had been:

God of comfort and compassion, through Jesus, your Son, you lead us to the water of life and the table of your bounty. May we who have received the tender love of our Good Shepherd be strengthened by your grace to care for your flock. Amen.

An important and often-overlooked way of caring for the flock was the subject of Deacon Lynda Wright’s talk about her work with the Mental Health Community Chaplaincy, and the importance of listening.

Nowadays, as fewer people have church or faith connections or friends who they trust to share with, it’s increasingly hard for them to know where to go when things are getting them down, or they’re struggling with loss or illness or the breakdown of a relationship, or life isn’t making sense for them. As Lynda continues in her blog:

… They go to the GP because they are hurting, but the GP often knows that the problem is not a physical one which they can treat, but an emotional one. So they refer to this Listening Service, where individuals are enabled to explore the kind of issues named above.

People do need to talk. It is not uncommon for an individual to say at the end of the session, ‘Thank you so much, that has been so helpful’, when the Listener feels they have done very little – just listened! Of course, they have created a welcoming, non-judgmental, safe space, where the individual felt safe to share their story, their struggles and anxieties and where they could explore the questions they were living with.

… Our Listeners are skilled volunteers … they don’t counsel – they listen and often this is all the individual needs. In training we say, ‘There is not a problem to be fixed, but an individual to accompany.’

We’re sharing this because this week is Mental Health Awareness Week, whose 2022 focus is on loneliness. Feelings of isolation are common among older folk, but can affect people of all ages, and having someone there to listen – really listen – can help them cope. And being available to listen is something that we can all offer …

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash.