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Morning Meditation for the Season of Easter
May 14, 2026
Reading: Daniel 7:13-14
As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being
coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
that shall never be destroyed.
Reading: Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
Meditation-Rebecca Northington
Today we celebrate Christ’s Ascension into heaven, to be seated at the right hand of the Father, as well as his departing words in the “Great Commission”, wherein he instructs his disciples to proclaim the covenant to all people. This is one of two post resurrection stories we have from Matthew, and mirrors beautifully the Old Testament prophecy that would have been so important to Matthew’s primarily Jewish audience.
Included in the Lectionary today is a larger piece from Daniel from which I selected this excerpt that prophesies the coming of the Son of Man to God, and describes the dominion of his eternal Kingdom. Daniel addressed a Jewish people suffering in exile, hungry for a savior. His vision offered hope; promising a new kind of rule. Jesus claims this rule in Matthew, and fulfills what has been promised.
And then the Gospel according to Matthew is finished.
We know that Paul’s Epistles were in fact the first New Testament writings to be widely circulated, and part of me thinks “Thank God”. Matthew’s ending does not leave the reader with a clear road map towards designing a new world religion. The paralleling Old Testament-New Testament texts are confirming and allow the burgeoning “way” to hold onto their Jewish history while tentatively developing into their Christian future. But so much of this effort relies on faith, and a deep commitment to hope: vulnerable and nebulous hope.
Hope is a huge word, and theologically complex. In Jurgen Moltmann’s seminal work Theology of Hope, written in 1964, he contends, “Christianity is eschatology, is hope, forward looking and forward moving, and therefore also revolutionizing and transforming the present.” Hope is how we access God in the here and now, and how we let God transform us, and consequently the world. There have been several articles in a variety of publications in the last year chronicling a revival in Christianity, maybe a return to hope? Though Pew research refutes that designation, the numbers do suggest that “After decades of religious decline, people have stopped leaving churches. Secularization is officially on pause.” (NY Times)
Anecdotally, many of us in the “Church business” have spoken to colleagues across denominations who experienced greater than normal numbers at their Easter services this year, as did we. Our Children's Chapel and Bible Breakfast continue to grow, revealing a deep desire for community and content that reflect more than what the secular world is offering. We live in an era where the noise, stimulation and vitriol of our daily life have proved exhausting. St. Augustine famously said in the beginning of Confessions: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You." Even in the 4th century, as Augustine turned away from a life of material and carnal pleasure, he understood that we are drawn to the love of God, and the hope of something greater than ourselves. Both Moltmann and Augustine, writing centuries apart, captured the essence of Christianity that is life saving and life giving, and is founded in hope. “I am with you always, to the end of the age”. Being disciples of Christ means we must share this saving message of hope, and welcome people from every walk of life into communion with one another. This is the work of bringing God into the here and now.
Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen
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