Looking up and lost – July 31, 2024

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 72; PM Psalm 119:73-96; Judges 3:12-30; Acts 1:1-14; Matt. 27:45-54

In today’s lectionary, we have two passages placed alongside one another for us to inwardly digest as we are able: Jesus’ death on the cross (Matthew 27:45-54) and Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:1-14). Bystanders in both cases are left looking up. Life feels different in the wake of each change. The network of disciples of Christ must now come together to prayerfully discern what is the next right thing for them to do. But, as they are standing there, looking up at Jesus, how do they move on from where their feet are fixed?

Have you ever felt like that? I remember standing at the graveside at my mother’s funeral. The Rev. Rich Webster was the rector of Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Decatur, and he was a longtime family friend. He had concluded the burial service at the old cemetery in Courtland, a tiny town not far from the Tennessee River in north Alabama. I stood there. People were milling around and walking away. It was a chilly Monday in early December 2002. I could not bring myself to step back. I did not want to move on. It was too hard, and I felt numb, lost, and scared. What was I to do?

What happened for me next was not unlike what happened to the disciples…people stayed with me. As rain began to fall, we hugged one another. We prayed. We shared. And we moved on, one step at a time. In Acts, we read that the people of Galilee – men and women alike who followed Jesus – gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem to pray and share time together.

It is not easy to hold together these powerful readings of change – death, resurrection, and ascension – on this Wednesday morning. Remember that we do not do this alone. Hold these scriptures today in prayer and conversation with others. Grapple with the loss and joy that is held in these stories that give us heartbreak and hope. Know that you are loved by God and that you are never alone.

Faithfully,

Katherine+

Reflection and Challenge

Who are the people that stand beside you when you are stuck, lost, and decimated? Reach out to one of those people today. Pray to God in thanksgiving for these companions along your journey.