Paul is in prison, writing to a man named Philemon, a wealthy Christian who lives in the city of Colossae, in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, who had come to Christ through Paul’s ministry. He is writing about Onesimus, a runaway slave. Onesimus has somehow met Paul, perhaps by being caught and thrown in prison alongside Paul. As a result, Paul has led Onesimus to Christ and now Paul calls Onesimus his “child,” his son. Onesimus is now born again and Paul, who brought him to the new birth, is his spiritual father.

This summer, our son and his wife adopted a child from China, a seven-year-old girl they now call Lydia. They have embraced her and received her as their own, which she truly is. After spending all of her life in an orphanage, she is now secure as a beloved member of a family. The coming of this precious child into our family brings home to me what an extraordinary thing God has done for us.

My friend, Bishop Neil Lebhar (a one-time Assistant Rector at Truro Church), shared with me a moving personal letter, written by C.S. Lewis to a mother, whose young son was concerned that he was loving Aslan more than Jesus—Aslan being the Lion whom Lewis created to represent Jesus in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the other books of The Chronicles of Narnia.

The New Testament shows us how the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem “fulfills,” that is, it “fills fuller” the meaning of Pentecost at Mount Sinai. And how wonderful are the blessings of Pentecost! The Holy Spirit was—and continues to be—poured out on God’s people who turn to him and open themselves to receive all that he has for us.

Next Thursday is Ascension Day, a major—though often neglected—feast day of the Christian year. Cynics make much of the fact that we modern folk have learned that heaven is not up above the sky. But Jesus ascended, not because heaven is literally “up there,” but because doing so communicated to his followers that he was leaving them for good, that he was returning to his Father in heaven. If he had simply disappeared one more time, they would have been left wondering, “Well, when do you think he’ll come back again?” But because he left in such a different and dramatic way, he left no doubt in his followers’ minds that this was his final farewell. And by ascending, he left no doubt that he was returning to his heavenly Father.