You might remember that the last devotion series ended with the resurrection of Jesus. But in the forty days following, Jesus walks to Emmaus, has an awkward conversation with Thomas, cooks breakfast for his friends in Galilee, and has an even more awkward conversation with Peter. Then, on the day of Ascension, the disciples and others watch him rise into the sky and disappear.
That day of Ascension is, traditionally, the fortieth day after Easter. In 2025, that’s on May 29—and that’s when my new devotion series begins.
Like the conversations Jesus had with Thomas and Peter, this new series will be awkward for some. A friend suggested I call it “Junkyard Unfiltered” because it’s less wise and more gritty. For this reason, I’m only sending it to people who subscribe to my blog. That’s you. You’re my best Junkyard Wisdom™ friends, and you’ll put up with me!
So what’s this new devotion series all about?
Imagine with me that you’re living in first-century Palestine and have followed Jesus around for a few years. More and more people are hearing his stories and trying to live his teachings.
But then—suddenly—he leaves. You see it happen, and you’re left staring into the sky and wondering, Now what?
A few things are clear.
First, the story of Jesus is in your hands now. It has to be told because it transforms lives. But how?
Second, whatever you choose to do, you’ll need to do it in community. That’s just the way things get done. And community means folks who are also Jesus followers, like Peter, Mary Magdalene, and a crusty business owner in Jerusalem.
Third, you enjoy a good beer, wine, or whiskey, and you feel slightly guilty about that since your Baptist mother was a teetotaler—but you do it anyway.
Oh wait, that’s me!
But still, it might be true for you as well. And if it is, you know the best place in Jerusalem to hang out with friends and shoot the breeze is Pop’s Pool Hall. If you’re going to share the story of Jesus with the world, that’s where things are gonna start.
Okay, is this a stretch? Well, yeah, duh! But what did you expect from me, a thesis on predestination? No, I like to use imagination to tell stories about the messy parts of life and faith. We sometimes make all those Bible characters into saints without recognizing that they probably enjoyed a game of cutthroat (the billiards kind) and a round of cold ones after work.
So this upcoming devotion series is based on pretty thin evidence. Fine, zero evidence. I couldn’t even find it on Wikipedia. But having admitted this, I think an imaginative approach to understanding what might have happened is a brilliant way to better understand what actually happened and what it means.
You may have heard that back in the day, a group of Christian writers, including C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, would meet at a cozy pub in Oxford to discuss their writing. And by discuss, I mean read and drink and laugh and argue.
I like to imagine that the Gospel writers did something similar. In my version of the story, after Jesus returns to heaven, those four writers meet at Pop’s Pool Hall to swap stories, reminisce, and argue. These meetings at Pop’s are filled with laughter, mediocre wine, above-average beer, and countless stories about their friend, Jesus.
Or at least that’s how I like to picture it happening. Starting on Thursday, May 29, you’ll get a daily email, and I hope it entertains you as it challenges you.
Thanks for joining me on this journey!
The truly terrible image is ChatGPT’s idea of what it would look like for four disciples to be in a pool hall. To be fair, ChatGPT has probably never played pool. I decided to use it because it makes me chuckle.