Ascension Sunday

Ascension Sunday

**Please note this service is based on the format of the Anglican Church of Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, all prayers come from the Book of Alternative Services (BAS) and the hymns from the Book of Common Praise (BCP). Other hymns and prayers have been sourced to give appropriate credit.

**NRSV translation used for the readings, unless otherwise stated.

**This is for personal use at home as the church is unable to gather in our houses of worship but together we can worship in our own homes.

Opening Prayer

A new day has begun.

Hope wins!

A fresh start is granted.

Faith wins!

Today you have the opportunity to do something new.

Hope wins!

Christ is entering your life in a new way.

Faith wins!

Come, let us worship God, who is inviting us into life in a new way, a way that transcends death, a way of hope and faith.

Love wins!

Let us worship Christ, who overcame death to give us new life!

Amen! (written by Rev. Mindi and posted on Rev-o-lution. http://rev-o-lution.org/)

Opening Hymn – Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (BCP #374)

            Listen Here

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And also with you.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

May his grace and peace be with you.

May he fill our hearts with joy.

Collect for Purity

            Listen Here

The Gloria

          Listen Here

Collect of the Day

Let us pray.

Almighty God, your son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven that he might rule over all things as Lord. Keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of his peace, and bring the whole of creation to worship at his feet, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, no and for ever. Amen.

The Readings

A reading from the Book of Acts                           1:1-11

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be the God.

Psalm 47

Clap your hands, all you peoples;

    shout to God with loud songs of joy.

For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome,

    a great king over all the earth.

He subdued peoples under us,

    and nations under our feet.

He chose our heritage for us,

    the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

God has gone up with a shout,

    the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

Sing praises to God, sing praises;

    sing praises to our King, sing praises.

For God is the king of all the earth;

    sing praises with a psalm.

God is king over the nations;

    God sits on his holy throne.

The princes of the peoples gather

    as the people of the God of Abraham.

For the shields of the earth belong to God;

    he is highly exalted.

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians                  1:15-23

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Gradual Hymn – Jesus, Name Above All Names

            Listen Here

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.                        24:44-53

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you – that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

The Gospel of Christ.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Sermon
Guest preacher - Joan Merton

I want to start by backing up just a little.  In verse 41 we read, “While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering…” For the disciples it was too good to be true and the same may be for us, disillusion causing cynicism and cynicism creating a proverb.  Too good not to be true fits God’s world much better.

It was not easy to believe in Jesus in those days.  It is hard for us to even imagine what the odds were against him.  I have heard people say, if only we were there with Jesus all those years ago things may have been different.  Sometimes it seems like the disciples were not totally behind Jesus, that they were not sure what to do all the time but we have to remember that there were many obstacles to Jesus’ teachings. 

The first huge obstacle was the Sanhedrin, which was the board of trustees and the executive committee and the court of appeals of the Church of God in Palestine, all rolled into one.  The Sanhedrin would have nothing to do with Jesus.  Most of the respectable people, all the self-acclaimed patriots, despised him.  As far as they were concerned they had made him eat his words.  He died on that cross on a hill just as any normal man would have done. 

Following his death, Jesus continued to teach his disciples.  Peter and Cleopas have an encounter with the risen Jesus on the way to Emmaus.  They do not recognize him until he blesses and breaks the bread.  Once they recognize him, he vanishes.  The next time Jesus meets them they are told to remember the words he spoke while he was still with them.  Remembering helps to open our eyes and minds and this was Jesus’ way of preparing the opening of the disciples’ hearts to receive the Holy Spirit. 

The Gospel reading today beginning at verse 44 may be divided into three parts, each with a very unique theme.  In verses 44 to 47 the critical events of Luke’s Gospel are reviewed and Jesus tells the disciples they are necessary fulfillments of scripture and that “everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.”  Necessity is a trait of Luke’s writings.  Things must take place for God’s greater purpose.  The next matter of importance is that Jesus opened the minds of the disciples so that they might understand the scriptures. 

Verses 46 and 47 offer a crucial message to the disciples.  “Thus it is written that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations.”  Powerful words recalling the highlights of Luke’s Gospel and believing them to be necessary acts of God’s purposes for His only Son.

Yet Jesus does not just dwell on the past.  We are not sure how many were present but Jesus now turns to those followers and says, “You are witnesses of these things.”  This statement may be a little unclear to some but in Acts the word “witness” is language used for a comprehensive call to testify about Jesus to “the ends of the earth”.  As Christians we are called to spread the words of Jesus throughout the world whenever it is possible.  Is it an easy task?  Not always but there are many ways that we can do it.  The possibilities are endless!

The final movement in our Gospel today is the event of the liturgical day, Jesus’ Ascension.  The story seems like a simple one in the Bible, “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them.  While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.”  Simple, I think not!  Just imagine how shocking that would have been. 

Blessing is the prominent word in this event.  In verses 50 and 51, we are told that Jesus blesses his followers as he ascends into Heaven.  Blessing appears again as we read that after his followers return to Jerusalem they are “continually in the temple blessing God”.  Luke’s Gospel begins and ends with prayer and worship at Israel’s chief sanctuary.  Troy Troftgruben writes, “In fact, the phrase “blessing God” is the Third Gospel’s final word in more ways than one.  This colourful “blessing” and worship language gives the narrative ending an atmosphere of worship and mutual blessing, which constitutes the closing word of Luke’s Gospel.”

All we have to do is look at the life of Jesus to see where the Spirit has been.  Jesus was nailed to a tree but the story didn’t end there.  God breathed life into that lifeless body and brought his only Son out of that tomb.  After Jesus had risen he appeared to his disciples and said, “Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high”.  That same Spirit that anointed Jesus also anoints us, breathes with us, especially as we travel together through this time of trial, and surprises us every day.  We are not in this alone.  We just need to trust in that Spirit.

Affirmation of Faith

Let us confess the faith of our baptism, as we say the Apostles’ Creed:

The Prayers of the People

We offer our prayers on behalf of our neighbours whose needs are known to us. We pray both for the sisters and brothers we know and for those who are strangers. (Revised Common Lectionary Prayers)

We ask for your wisdom to discern your ways and path for our own lives.

Hear us, Lord.

We ask for your wisdom to discern how to deal with others we meet, live with, work with, shop with, drive our roads, with, wait in line with, eat with and be with daily.

Hear us, Lord.

We ask for your wisdom in the difficult situations we may have to deal with as we go through life.

Hear us, Lord.

We ask for your wisdom in dealing with injustices in our world.
Hear us, Lord.

We ask for wisdom for our leaders in our world, our country, our provinces, and our communities.

Hear us, Lord.

We ask for wisdom for our church leaders, worldwide and local.

Hear us, Lord.

We ask for wisdom for our priests, deacons, and lay-leaders as they preach your word, inspire, lead and grow us as disciples.

Hear us, Lord.

We ask for your wisdom as we reach out to those in need in our communities and in our world.

Hear us, Lord.

We ask for wisdom as we minister to those who are homebound and in nursing homes.

Hear us, Lord.

We ask for your wisdom as we minister to those in hospitals, in recovery, and rehab.

Hear us, Lord.

We ask for your wisdom that not only enlightens us but transforms us and guides us in our daily walk with you.

Hear us, Lord.

(Adapted from an excerpt from a longer prayer written by Rev Abi, and posted on Rev Abi’s Long and Winding Road. http://vicarofwadley.blogspot.ca/)

O God, your ascended son promised the gift of the Holy Spirit. Send your spirit of revelation and wisdom, that in the blessed freedom of hope, we may witness to the grace of forgiveness and sing songs of joy with the peoples of earth to the One who makes us one body. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary Prayers)

Gathering our prayers together, let us pray as Christ has taught us,

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

Save us from the time of trial,

And deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

The power, and the glory,

For ever and ever. Amen.

Confession and Absolution

Dear friends in Christ,

God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy; God welcomes sinners and invites them to the table. Let us confess our sins, confident in God’s forgiveness.

            (Silence)

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbour as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us, that we might delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

Prayer over the Gifts

**Although not physically at our church buildings to share our offering together I would encourage you to set your offering of money aside so that it can be dropped off or placed in the church once services resume, to mail your offering to the church, or to make donations online. Please remember ministry is still taking place.

Let us pray.

Eternal God, our saviour Jesus Christ has promised to be with us until the end of time. Accept all we offer you this day, and renew us in his transfigured life; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Doxology

Glory to God,

Whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God from generation to generation, in the Church and in Christ Jesus, for ever and ever. Amen.

Blessing

As people of faith we have gathered for worship.

As people of faith we now return to the world.

Go out to share the story of faith,

the story of life, with the world around you.

We share the faith in word and in deed,

in speech and in action.

As you go out to give a living witness,

as you go out to testify to God's love active in the world,

go knowing that God goes with you,

sharing the laughter and the hope, the fears and the tears.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

(posted by Rev Gord on his blog, Worship Offerings. http://worshipofferings.blogspot.ca/)

Closing Hymn – O Christ, the Great Foundation (BCP #524)

            Listen Here

Dismissal

Go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit. Alleluia!

Thanks be to God. Alleluia!