The season between Easter and the Ascension  is a season to reflect on our own transitions even as we reflect on what the disciples were experiencing. Remember that the disciples have been through a great trauma seeing their Lord brutally killed on a cross. Not only did they have to grieve the loss of their friend and Lord, they also had to let go of the hope of what might have been and grieve the loss of their expectations. It is good that God gave them time—40 days to process all that had happened before he ascended.

In the weeks ahead, we will see how the resurrection appearances of Jesus helped the disciples move from disorientation through a threshold to a new orientation. The disciples are on the threshold, the place or point of entering a new beginning. They are on the threshold of a new life without Jesus physically present but spiritually present through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ presence and teaching helped the disciples better understand their identity and mission. As they received the Great Commission, watched Jesus ascend into heaven, and then received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they were transformed and empowered. The world was turned upside down by the acts of the Holy Spirit through Jesus’ faithful followers.

The resurrection texts may be very familiar to some as they are to me. But they will have new meaning in this season of our lives. The world is on the threshold of a new era after this long pandemic, and no one really knows what that is going to look like. We as a church are on the threshold of welcoming a new senior pastor. And of course, many of us are on personal thresholds as we become new parents or grandparents, launch our children into adulthood, begin new jobs or retire.

Our prayer is that God will use this next season of our lives individually and corporately to name our place on the journey as a threshold to new life as we follow Jesus. May the Holy Spirit transform and empower us even more to be his agents of love in the world. May this be a season that we truly become more like Christ together for the world.

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