“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts

“You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."Luke

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”Matthew

“Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.”Mark

We are given four accounts of Jesus’ ascension in the New Testament; one in Acts and one in the three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. Each is unique, but they all involve one common element - a sending out. Go! Go therefore! I am Sending you! To the ends of the Earth!

That sounds almost impossible these days doesn’t it? Many of us are terrified to go anywhere and many countries are afraid to let Americans in at all. But the Great Commission persists and there are many who still find ways to make Christ’s presence known, and who seek and serve all persons. Here in our own community many of you have been supporting or volunteering with Samaritan community as they carry out the great commission with those in need here in Baltimore.

I hope you will join us for our service tomorrow at 6 pm for the Feast of the Ascension as we honor Samaritan’s work and take up a collection to help them keep it going in these strange and difficult times.