The 7th Sunday of Easter (Ascension Sunday)

As we approach the culmination and conclusion of the Easter season (which comes next Sunday on Pentecost), we find ourselves at the scene when Jesus departs from the first disciples and ascends to God. Jesus does not do so, however, without leaving those disciples with a promise of purpose and power. Amidst the bewilderment of a seemingly ever-changing circumstance, along with the disappointment and perhaps even grief of wishes unfulfilled, nevertheless the earliest Christians -- as they stood together in faith -- still had an exciting and hope-filled, albeit challenging, future ahead of them.