The Ascension is one of those significant days in the Liturgical Calendar that is also really difficult. There is so much meaning, so many ways of approaching the readings, and yet so many questions that can potentially bog the day down in controversy, theological debate or heavy academic discourse. Yet it remains a day of celebration and an invitation to deeper encounter with God.

Whether we choose to remember the Ascension on the Day (2 June) or wait until Sunday (5 June), may our worship invite us into the mystery and the majesty of the embodied and glorified God.

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If Ascension Day is not celebrated on the actual day (Thursday 2 June) then you may choose rather to use the resources for Ascension Day on this Sunday. However, if it is possible to celebrate Ascension Day mid-week, then this Sunday becomes a powerful bridge between the Ascension and Pentecost which follows next week. Part of what creates this meaningful journey is the focus, in the readings for Easter 7A, on Jesus’ longing for glory, and the gift of glory which he brings to his followers (which in this context is almost synonymous with ‘home’) and the ‘refugee status’ both of the incarnate Christ and of his followers who await the coming of God’s reign in fullness.

May our worship give us a glimpse of home, and lead us into a willing commitment to the life of a refugee for the sake of the Kingdom.

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Sometimes it feels like the celebration of Pentecost has become an exercise in missing the point. What was a radical, communal, inclusive and world-shifting event has become, in much contemporary practice, and individualist, exclusive, status-quo sustaining experience with little more to commend it than a sense of euphoria. If only we could recapture some of the Church-birthing impact of this significant day, both the Church and the world around it would, like the Pentecost spectators, be amazed by what God is doing among us.

May the Spirit of Pentecost disturb, challenge and empower us as we worship.

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The doctrine of the Trinity can, at times, feel like an awkward and embarrassing Christian belief. It is also, almost certainly, a deeply misunderstood one. For this reason, Trinity Sunday may well be one of the days in the year where we are tempted to depart from the Lectionary and focus our meditations elsewhere. If, however, we can resist all these temptations, and embrace the mystery and majesty of this day, the worship we enjoy, springing from our reflections on our Trinitarian God, can be deep, transforming and deeply inspiring.

May we find new creativity and connectedness as we gather to worship the God who is revealed to us as Divine Parent, Incarnate Child and Ubiquitous Spirit.

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