Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 28 verses 16 through 20:
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Today is Ascension Day in the liturgical calendar, when we remember how Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after Easter. This is a day of empowerment, coming at the time of graduation and commencement. It is a day when Jesus says to us what we say to young people walking the stage to receive their diploma — “Now, you’ve been taught. You know everything you need to know for now. Life will reveal the rest along the way. So now go, and be not afraid.”
I love what the Lesson says today. When they saw Jesus “they worshipped him; but some doubted.” Isn’t that is? We worship. We profess. We believe. But we also doubt. We doubt ourselves. We doubt our readiness. We doubt our words. We doubt we’ll know what in the world to do. We doubt God. But Jesus doesn’t seem to be too much bothered by those doubts. All he says, “Now go; get at it.”
In the beginning of his time with the disciples three years before Jesus said, “Come and see.” Now he says, “Go and see.” “Go and see for yourself. Go and see that you are enough. Go and see that this way and life is true. Go and see that God is true. Go and see and discover along the way that, behold, I’m with you always.”
And the next thing they knew the disciples had their diploma in one hand and a license to teach in the other . . .
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