After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Acts 1:9
I would assume that most of us have had the experience of watching a jet airliner flying across the sky. Eventually, to our eyes anyway, it gets so small that we can’t see it anymore. It’s not really gone; we just can’t see it anymore.
So perhaps we would have expected that to happen to Jesus when he ascended into heaven, he’d get so “small” that his disciples couldn’t see him anymore. But, that’s not how he chose to do it. Instead, he chose to have a cloud come and cover him. The cloud hid him from their sight.
Was Jesus perhaps trying to remind his disciples that he hadn’t left them? After all, he had promised, “Surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:20). Perhaps being hidden by the cloud was a gentle reminder of that. “No, I’ve not left you. I’m just hidden from your eyes, so you can’t see me. But, I’m still here!”
Can you imagine how much that might have helped the disciples in the days ahead? When they were taken captive and held in prison, experiencing the various persecutions they faced, being rejected so often by so many. I’m guessing it might have felt lonely on many occasions. I can only imagine how this sight of Jesus—that the cloud covered him, merely hiding him from their eyes—might have helped. They weren’t alone. They were never alone! Jesus was always there, “behind the cloud,” with both his power and his love.
And, you’re never alone either. Oh, you can’t see him; he is hidden from you just as he was for the disciples. But his promise to you is just as powerful as it was for the disciples. He is with you always! And someday you will see him, realizing that he had never left you, never forsaken you.
Wow! What a sight!
Prayer:
O Savior, remind me that, tho’ you may be hidden from me now, you are with me always, to the very end of the age. Amen.
Our synod offers a wide variety of devotions every day. They have Daily Devotions, Early Childhood Ministry Education Devotions, Family Devotions, Military Devotions, and Teen Devotions.
You can check them all out here: https://wels.net/serving-you/devotions/
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Worship on Pentecost – May 31/June 1
Have you signed up for worship yet? Our first Worship will be on May 31. Service times – 8am, 10am, and 1pm, and Monday at 6pm. With social distancing, we can have at least 60 people in the sanctuary at the same time if we include the balcony.
Click here to sign up for one of the services, or you can respond to this email or call Pastor or call the church office to let us know which service you prefer. Pastor and Lynn will also be calling people to sign up.
Thank you to everybody who has already signed up!
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran School Graduation/Closing Service is on May 28 at 6:00pm. The service will be held in church. We’re limiting the service to immediate family. But you can watch the closing service when we post it online. It will include the distribution of diplomas, a message from the Pastor and the Principal and a couple of songs by the faculty! We’ll send you the link when it’s up!
If you know of someone who would like the service on DVD or the audio on CD, please let us know.
If you would like to support the Lord’s work at Trinity, you may contribute at trinitymarinette.com/contribute or you can mail it to
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
1501 Thomas St.
Marinette, WI 54143