From Sorrow and Weeping to Joy and Laughing

On Ascension Sunday, we remember that our Savior physically ascended into the heavens and returned to his Father. We sang the 8th Century hymn, A Hymn of Glory Let us Sing, written by the Venerable Saint Bede as a retelling of the ascension from Acts 1:6-11. We also confessed Heidelberg Catechism 46, 47, and 49, which unpack the great benefits of Christ’s Ascension for us in the Church. We also sang the very appropriate hymn: Before the Throne of God Above. Then our pastor preached on the Third Beatitude in Luke 6:21, “Blessed are those who weep now, for you shall laugh.” We had been talking about how the ethics and values of Christ’s ‘Sermon on the Plain’ paint a beautiful picture of Christ’s beautiful Kingdom–one filled with joy for those who weep now. During the sermon, we considered two occasions in Scripture when our Savior wept with others and for others. Then we considered how those occasions help us process our griefs and sorrows (with an expectation that an unspeakable Joy is coming).