Above: Ascension. Olivet With Clouds, Between 1934 and 1939
Image Source = Library of Congress
(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/matpc/item/mpc2005008859/pp/)
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-12383
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The Collects:
Almighty God, your Son was taken into the heavens
and in your presence intercedes for us.
Receive us and our prayers for all the world,
and in the end bring everything into your glory,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
or
Almighty God, your blessed Son, our Savior Jesus Christ,
ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things.
Mercifully give us faith to trust that, as he promised,
he abides with us on earth to the end of time,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 35
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47 or 93
Ephesians 1:15-23
Luke 24:44-53
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Some Related Posts:
Acts 1:
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/fortieth-day-of-easter-feast-of-the-ascension/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/forty-third-day-of-easter-seventh-day-of-easter-year-b/
Ephesians 1:
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/fortieth-day-of-easter-feast-of-the-ascension/
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/proper-29-year-a/
Luke 24:
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/fortieth-day-of-easter-feast-of-the-ascension/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/fifth-day-of-easter-thursday-in-easter-week/
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God reigns over the nations;
God sits upon heaven’s holy throne.
–Psalm 47:8, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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You, O LORD, are Sovereign;
you have put on splendid apparel;
you, O LORD, have put on your apparel
and girded yourself with strength.
–Psalm 93:1, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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I file the Transfiguration, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus in the same category:
Too Marvelous and Mysterious for Words to Describe Adequately.
Something like what accounts describe happened, but one had to be there to grasp the full flavor of the event. The words we have–the best ones possible–impart tantalizing hints of that full reality. Thus may we not be so literal-minded as to discourage healthy religious imagination.
In the Ascension Jesus returned to God, assumed in our Lord’s culture to live above the sky. Thus his return was metaphorically an ascension. I have no idea how the actual mechanics worked, but they are unimportant anyway. The mystery of clouds, long associated with God since at least the Book of Exodus, is beautiful; I have no desire to quench it. The number forty–also a metaphor–recalls forty days of the Great Flood in Genesis, forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness, about forty years of King David’s reign, forty years in a generation, et cetera. The number indicates a significant period of time, not necessarily more than thirty-nine and less than forty-one.
The Ascension accounts invite us to think like poets, not writers of historical accounts or technical manuals. They tell us that Jesus is back in Heaven and that he will return someday. They set the stage for another event in the
Too Marvelous and Mysterious for Words to Describe Adequately
category: Pentecost. They tell us that God is with us spiritually yet not physically, as God once was, and indicate that we have great responsibilities.
May we be good and faithful servants of God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 19, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE NINETEENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF LARS OLSEN SKRESFSRUD, LUTHERAN MISSIONARY
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Adapted from this post:
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