“So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,

was taken up into heaven

and took his seat at the right hand of God.

But they went forth and preached everywhere,

while the Lord worked with them

and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.”

“In the first book, Theophilus,

I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught

until the day he was taken up,

after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit

to the apostles whom he had chosen.

He presented himself alive to them

by many proofs after he had suffered,

appearing to them during forty days

and speaking about the kingdom of God.

While meeting with them,

he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,

but to wait for ‘the promise of the Father

about which you have heard me speak;

for John baptized with water,

but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’”

The first quote above is from the last two verses of the gospel of Mark. There is a shorter ending, that is not canonical, but this is the last we hear from Mark about the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church. “They went forth and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them.” The next quote is from the beginning of Acts. Luke wrote both his Gospel and Acts of the Apostles. It is two books with one story. It is how the revelation of Jesus Christ took place in the flesh and how the Sprit of God continued the story through the work of the early Church. Jesus’s ascension brings to completion the Christ event and ushers in the age of the Spirit. The age of the Spirit continues until this day and is at work in the life of our community. As your pastor, I am privileged to see the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the gift of forgiveness, consolation in sorrow, hope in new life, and transformation from wayward ways to truth and love. Each step of faith is a miracle and I get to see that every day. God is alive and constantly at work through the Holy Spirit in our midst. 

It was something of an event, but last weekend I did share the experience of watching the Dune 2 movie. In preparation, we reviewed the story of the first new Dune movie and watched the final 30 minutes of that movie. Then we settled in for the nearly three hours of Dune 2. It was an amazing movie! I love Sci-fi (as you may recall, the first movie I ever saw was the original Star Wars in a drive-in). This was an epic movie, with the overarching theme of prophecy fulfillment and personal sacrifice mixed with intergalactic political intrigue and the struggle for power. It was epic! It ends without resolution. The future is yet to be determined. I couldn’t help but wish that it was more than fiction, that it had meaning beyond a three hour bit of entertainment.

It brought me back to the gospel, the greatest story ever told. It is also a story without complete resolution, but continues to unfold in reality. As you and I are witnesses, each day the Spirit continues to work in the lives of real people facing real issues. The Spirit continues to work in my life and in yours! One chapter has ended, Jesus did ascend into heaven, but a new chapter began, the gift of the Holy Spirit. That chapter is still being written. What will your part of the story be?