Sunday after Ascension Day, May 21st, 2023
In the Twenty-fourth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we hear the telling of when Our Blessed Lord ascended into Heaven in the sight of the disciples" " . . . . he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven ." (v.51) To say the least, this moment must have caused a wide range of emotions for the disciples: joy, awe, confusion, majesty, excitement, inspiration, etc. At any rate, in the following verse St. Luke tells us that they "returned to Jerusalem with great joy." When we are in the presence of great people, we are inspired to greatness. When we see truly inspiring acts of bravery or courage, we are inspired to greatness as well. When we find ourselves in the presence of someone so filled with the spirit of God, we are inspired to want that same spirit. The disciples and the apostles experienced all of this in the presence of Our Blessed Lord. They saw His example on a daily basis: they heard Him teach and preach; they saw Him cure the sick; they saw Him perform acts of love and compassion on those in need of God's love and forgiveness; the disciples saw Him show love to those around Him. And as a result of being in His presence day in and day out, they were affected as well by His life and the things that they saw and heard. They were inspired to greatness just being in His company.
All of us, I am quite sure, can come up with an example of a time where we were inspired to greatness by what we saw or witnessed. Whether it be the example of witnessing an inspiring performance by a great singer or a talented dancer. Or it could be the witness of heroic bravery or courage exhibited by someone in the face of great danger who went forward anyway. Or, finally, it could be the quiet example of someone who has such a close relationship with God that we can sense God's presence in that person. Our Blessed Lord inspired the disciples to greatness. He changed their "ordinary" lives into "extraordinary" lives. This is how it should be with God. So many people in the world are affected by the world, drawn to the world, brought down to the world's standards . . . . We, for our part, should be inspired by Our Blessed Saviour's example to become something "extraordinary." The disciples allowed their lives to be affected in such a way that the love of God showed forth in their lives. So, too, we need to allow God to touch our lives in such a way that we show forth His love to the world around us. Our Blessed Saviour inspired the disciples to greatness. We should be inspired to that same greatness and show forth the glories of God to the world and to be a reminder of God's love to the world around us.
All of us, I am quite sure, can come up with an example of a time where we were inspired to greatness by what we saw or witnessed. Whether it be the example of witnessing an inspiring performance by a great singer or a talented dancer. Or it could be the witness of heroic bravery or courage exhibited by someone in the face of great danger who went forward anyway. Or, finally, it could be the quiet example of someone who has such a close relationship with God that we can sense God's presence in that person. Our Blessed Lord inspired the disciples to greatness. He changed their "ordinary" lives into "extraordinary" lives. This is how it should be with God. So many people in the world are affected by the world, drawn to the world, brought down to the world's standards . . . . We, for our part, should be inspired by Our Blessed Saviour's example to become something "extraordinary." The disciples allowed their lives to be affected in such a way that the love of God showed forth in their lives. So, too, we need to allow God to touch our lives in such a way that we show forth His love to the world around us. Our Blessed Saviour inspired the disciples to greatness. We should be inspired to that same greatness and show forth the glories of God to the world and to be a reminder of God's love to the world around us.
St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.
NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.
Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to: hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life. Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.
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