Happy Ascension Day!

After the 9/11 attacks one of our parishioners asked our retired Bishop Robert Mercer if the terrorists were in heaven.

"I don't know," Bishop Robert replied (I'm taking some liberty with the quotations). "You see, the court of God is not like a human court. In a human court you have a prosecutor and an advocate who each tell a version of your story before the judge, who doesn't know anything about you."

"But God knows everything about you," he said.

"And you have a Barrister, Jesus Christ, who is constantly interceding for you before the Father."

(He said something about the Holy Spirit interceding as well)

"But Jesus isn't interceding because he is trying to change the Father's will. It is the Father's will that he intercede."

I probably have not done that conversation justice, but in those dark days after 9/11 that conversation gave me a picture of the Trinitarian love of God.

I have a Barrister! Jesus Christ, the righteous.

Then last year, on my 60th birthday, a dear friend sent me a card showing a mosaic of Jesus, with the Sacred Heart displayed. The card said, "God loves us with a human heart."

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension, marking the time 40 days after Easter that Jesus rose to heaven, taking our humanity with him.

We celebrated our Ascension mass last night as today our clergy will all be busy at the March for Life. That was followed by a pot luck supper in the church hall, with some singing of my favorite hymn "Jesu, the very thought of thee" in the St. Botolph tune, in four part harmony.

Here are the readings from the mass from the Book of Common Prayer.

THE ASCENSION DAY

BEING THE FORTIETH DAY AFTER EASTER SOMETIMES CALLED HOLY THURSDAY

THE COLLECT.

GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

THE LESSON. Acts 1. 1.

THE former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments unto the Apostles whom he had chosen: to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing unto them during forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: and, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

THE GOSPEL. St Mark 16. 14.

JESUS appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out evil spirits; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.