This Sunday

This Sunday is often celebrated as “Ascension Sunday,” marking the risen Jesus’ departure after 40 days of dwelling with the community of disciples. Next week is Pentecost, the birth of the church! As Pentecost approaches, this week and next are a perfect time to reflect on what it means to be “church.” The church is a community that not only “follows” Jesus in the sense of listening to him and learning from him; but also in the sense of succeeding him, of taking up his mantle and carrying on his life and work, so that his joy and our joy might be complete, not just here and there, but “to the ends of the earth.”

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May 9 is Mother’s Day, first celebrated in 1908 at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia, honouring Ann Reeves Jarvis, a peace activist who had cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War. It is also the sixth of the seven weeks of Eastertide, and the third of four weeks exploring Jesus’ teachings about living in intimacy with God. In the scripture readings during this Eastertide, Jesus is saying…

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Last Sunday, our guest minister, Rev. Dr. Trevor Brisbin, offered us a connection between scripture and living amidst conflict. He suggested that we can perceive differences in opinions as a bad thing, or, we can use conflict as an opportunity to connect with one another. We can use conflict as an opportunity to apply Jesus' teachings in order to learn and grow.

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This is the fourth of the seven weeks of Eastertide. The gospel readings for the first three weeks were resurrection stories; the next four weeks will explore Jesus’ teachings about living in intimacy with God.

As we were recently reminded by Rev. Dr. Matthew Myer Boulton, Good Friday and Easter morning, far from the story’s climax, is actually only the beginning!

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Welcome to the third week of Eastertide. The gospel readings for these first three weeks of the season focus on stories of the risen Jesus appearing to his followers; the next four weeks will explore Jesus’ teachings about intimacy with God. The implication of this order of readings is that the Easter season isn’t just about the astonishing “wow!” of Jesus’ rising; it’s also — and preeminently — about the equally astonishing invitation for human beings to rise into greater intimacy and life together with God.

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Happy Eastertide! This is the second week of Eastertide.

This week and next are stories of the risen Jesus appearing to his followers. A recurring theme in the resurrection appearance stories is how early Christian communities struggled to perceive and believe. For starters, the risen Jesus isn’t recognized at first. Jesus has risen, and at the same time, he is somehow different. There is an exploration of the idea that “resurrection” defies conventional categories.

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