A Prayer for Ascension

Dear Friends,

Happy Ascension Day!  Today churches throughout the world celebrate this pivot point between the Resurrection of our Lord and the coming of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus Christ goes on to reign at the right hand of the Father.   We will celebrate the Ascension of our Lord. this strange but powerful event in the life of Jesus' followers, at St. Andrew's this weekend.

  Over the last two weeks, our Gospel reading has shown us Jesus reflecting on his love for his followers, knowing that he has come from the Father and will return to the Father while they will be his body in the world.  If you want to read Jesus' prayer from the heart for his followers, you can read chapter 17 of the Gospel of John.  In the meantime, I would like to share with you a prayer written by Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia President David Lose, which is a prayer for us as we continue to celebrate and struggle with what it means to be the body of Christ here and now, with all of the joys and all of the challenges that the seasons of a life of faith can bring:

Dear God, whose love knows no ending, we know this life is beautiful and difficult and sometimes both at the same time.  We do not ask that you take us out of this world, but that you support and protect us while we are in it.  We pray that you would set us apart in your truth, that your love is for everyone, and we ask that you would send us out to bear witness in word and deed to your grace, goodness, and love. May we hear your voice calling us at home and at work, at school, our social settings, and the places we gather and volunteer, that we might feel and share your love.  We ask this in the name of Jesus, the one set apart and made holy for us.  Amen.