May 17, 2026

Our Lectionary readings for next Sunday, the Seventh Sunday of Easter, or Ascension Sunday are Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 93; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53.

Ephesians 1 provides the most exalted presentation of the Christ (Israel's Messiah) who has been raised from the dead and now sits at the right hand of the Father, "far above all rule and power and authority and dominion." In his book, The Vision of Ephesians, N. T. Wright makes an important observation. Says Wright, "Paul's central insight is that all God's purposes for Israel, and through Israel for the world, have come true in Jesus. He is the microcosm, the new creation in person. And by the spirit, all this becomes true for those who are 'in him."

We will have a congregational meeting in the next three to six weeks.