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Full Circle Moment


I can’t ignore the fact that I am writing this piece on Ascension Day. Our denomination doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on Ascension Day, mostly because 40 days after Easter doesn’t land on a Sunday. However, some of our 2,451 congregations
across Canada choose to acknowledge the Ascension of Jesus on the following Sunday.

There is some interesting theology that swirls around this day, that really makes us think about what is important and helpful for us to believe. If we miss this piece though, we miss the full circle moment – the ending that brings us to the beginning. We also miss the last piece of the story of Jesus that leads us toward a fuller understanding of Creator, Christ, and Spirit.

The big picture story of Jesus’ final return to God is an invitation to us to own the next chapter. Perhaps that will require us to create our own vision of heaven on earth. Perhaps that will require us to see the face of Christ in everyone we meet. With the help of the Holy Spirit, it is up to us now to deliver good news to the poor, and to set free the enslaved in all the ways that shows up these days.


In conversations this week I heard about all kinds of ways we can become “enslaved” to something or to certain ideals. We talked about social media, consumerism, the fashion industry, body image, our own persona, expectations within relationships, and schedules and deadlines. We talked about how all these things have the ability to mask our authentic selves. Those are the things that affect us personally. What about the systemic forms of “enslavement” that create impossible situations for certain groups of people, both seen and unseen?

This full circle moment, uniting past, present, and future, is the final step on our way toward Pentecost Sunday, June 8. That’s when we remember the breath of the Spirit blowing through our lives, uniting us as one, slaveand free alike.

Peace and joy,
Nancy