Always, to the end of the age.
- May 14
- 1 min read
And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28. 16 - 20
On this day we remember Jesus' Ascension, when he rose into heaven "to sit at the right hand of God." There are five narratives of this rising (uprising as some have called it), thus only believing one interpretation inherently means missing the full understanding of the story
Each of the four gospels has a different command from Jesus as he ascends to the disciples. Matthew says "Go." Luke says, "Stay." Mark says, "Tell." John says, "Follow." The book of Acts says, "Witness."
In a recent edition of Christian Century, Peter Choi says,
"What does following the risen Jesus look like? Go into all the world. Stay right where you are. Stand still and take time to work through your fear and trembling. And when you can’t see the way before you, Jesus is there, holding your hand, making you breakfast, saying, “Follow me.” We don’t have to pick one gospel ending. We have all four, and we can choose all four, at different points along our journey, as the Spirit leads."
Though I often follow each of Jesus' instructions mentioned above, my favorite comment from him as he prepares to ascend is the line above from Matthew, "I am with you always to the end of the age." This song from the Iona community by John Bell embellishes Jesus' promise in an even deeper way. Listen to what and when and where Jesus will be with us. I hope it will be comforting.
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