THE service at Crediton Methodist Church, on Sunday, May 21, was led by Lloyd Smale with the theme “Gone but not forgotten”.

In Acts we find Jesus with the disciples in the village of Bethany, a couple of miles from Jerusalem on the slopes of the Mount of Olives – familiar territory for Jesus and the disciples.

They were still struggling to grasp the truth about the Kingdom of God that Jesus was concerned to tell them about. 

With New Testament scripture for us to call upon, we can perhaps more readily see, than those first disciples could, that the Kingdom of God of which Jesus spoke was the one described in the Lord’s Prayer – a kingdom/society on earth where God’s will would be as perfectly done as it is in heaven.

Knowing that God’s will is driven by love should leave us in no doubt that the Kingdom of God here on earth is not found in the taking of power but in the giving of love.

Our reading from Acts recounts how, after Jesus was gone from them, the disciples were given the order to get up and go and, as Luke says, that is just what they did – proceeding not weighed down by grief but rather buoyed up by joy – virtually floating back to Jerusalem after the Ascension of Jesus. Their wonder and amazement at the Ascension was interrupted by two angels who told them not to stand staring up into heaven, but they had things to do. 

Jesus had gone, but would not be forgotten because His witnesses (the disciples) were commissioned and were about to be empowered to tell the people of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth all about Him.

Acts recounts the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise, describing how the Holy Spirit came upon those close to Him like wind, like fire, overwhelming the house in which they were gathered.

This is not when the Holy Spirit came into existence for God has always been Father, Son and Holy Spirit – rather this is a moment in human history when these people were the first to experience the full power of God for His purposes.

Jesus is gone and we are not forgotten – we can share in the disciples’ joy.  The love of God saw Jesus born as a baby, saw Him nailed on a cross and reached into the depths and saw our Lord resurrected. 

This same love is at work in the Ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit and lies behind God’s great work of reconciling all to Himself.

The love of God as revealed in all of this – it is in all, for all, covers all – “For God loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”. 

We pause in awe and wonder just as those first disciples did at the Ascension as they gazed up into the sky. 

Jesus is gone but will never be forgotten. Thanks be to God for His great love.

Bronwyn Nott