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Ascension of the Lord • Year C
May 29, 2025
Original image • Click on black & white clipart (above left) or color photo-graphic (above) to view and download full resolution graphics for use on bulletin covers. • Tutorials available • Original image
Historical Collect
Almighty God, we believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, has ascended into the heavens to sit at your right hand. Grant that our hearts and minds may be directed there, as well, to dwell in him each day, through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Thematic Collect
Almighty God, Jesus ascended to the throne at your right hand. Help us to trust in his never-ending presence that we may bear witness to your grace until the day when we celebrate with all the saints around your throne; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
The Common Thread
God has gone up with a joyful shout! Christ is now seated in power at the right hand of the Father. This Jesus, who was carried away from us into heaven, will come again in the same way as the disciples saw him go into heaven (1 Thes 4:16–18). He will return with power and great glory. In the meanwhile, he has given us a share in his power, power to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth.
First Reading • Acts 1:1–11
In his ascension, Christ did not simply leave; he left his disciples with the promise of power—power to change the world. Once empowered by the Holy Spirit, they would be witnesses to Jesus and his words. They would go in his power, first to Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria, but finally to the entire earth. They would “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that [Jesus] have commanded” (Matt 28:19–20). Furthermore, Jesus promised them that he would be with them “always, to the end of the age.” He would be with them through his Spirit until he would be with them again bodily when he comes again in the same way his disciples saw him go into heaven.
Psalm • Psalm 47:1–9
“God has gone up with a shout.” He reigns as king of heaven and all the earth. He reigns over the nations since his salvation is offered to all. Just as he was lifted up on the cross, he was also lifted up to heaven, and so, will draw all people to himself (John 12:32). No one is exempt. People will come to him in faith or disbelieving, but all will bend the knee (Phil 2:10-11).
Second Reading • Ephesians 1:15–23
Christ, the one whom God raised from the dead and seated at his right hand in power, is the one whose immeasurably great power is at work in those who believe. We are being fitted for the kingdom by being filled to fulness with God himself (Eph 3:19). In spite of ourselves, God is filling us, his body, with the fullness of himself (Eph 4:13). This maturation process affords us a unique perspective on life that yields thanksgiving in both prayer and worship. Think of what an extraordinary hope we have been given. A glorious inheritance awaits us as God’s own family and heirs of the kingdom. For as Christ was raised to the Father, we too, through our baptism into his death (Rom 6:3), will be raised, “caught up...in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Th 4:17).
Gospel • Luke 24:44–53
Jesus lived among us. He was crucified. He died and was buried. On the third day, he rose from the dead. Forty days later, he ascended to the Father. All this happened, and the world goes on as though nothing has changed. So many, even in the Church, go through life as though such things as resurrection and ascension make no difference. After Sunday morning, their lives go right back to the way they were on Saturday. Until our minds are opened to understand the Scriptures, the best we can hope for is being open-minded. But that is not nearly enough; we must have opened minds, so that we may understand and believe such things as resurrection and ascension. Then, like the disciples, we will be filled with great joy, and worship God every day, instead of the occasional Sunday.
Resources
Links to Worship Resources for this Service
