DEATH AND TAXES?

May 18, 2015

There is an old saying that the only sure things in life are death and taxes but there is one more and it is change.  As I take my morning walk through the park I watch from spring to spring the changes that take place in nature.  No matter how much I wish the apple trees would stay in their magnificent state longer, they begin to lose their petals after only a week and nothing can alter that.  I must accept it and enjoy the shade they provide all summer.   Much of the discomfort of life, fear and anxiety, come from fear of change or the actual change itself.  The Feast of the Ascension of Christ offers us a glimpse into what change meant to the Disciples of Christ.  Notice that Jesus prepares them for the change to come by telling them to remain together in Jerusalem and wait for the Spirit to descend.  They had just been through a whirlwind of change and now this. Jesus was actually leaving them for good.  What went through their minds and hearts was exactly what goes through ours when unavoidable change comes.  "Where do we go from here?" "Have I the strength to endure this and do what is expected of me, and oh, by the way, just what is expected of me?" No wonder they remained staring up at the sky!  I imagine the atmosphere in the upper room awaiting the Spirit was pretty tense.  You have families; imagine what it would be like for you all.  But if we stand back and look at the whole picture,  we can see the plan. First the Creator, then the Redeemer and finally the Spirit.  It is complete.  God has given us all we need to live our lives in Him.  The Disciples rose to the occasion and so can we.  They had no more going for them than we do.  Trust in Jesus, remember his words, call on the Spirit and move forward.