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The Ascended Christ Sends His Spirit and Makes us One
Before ascending into heaven, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to empower his followers until his return (Acts 1:6-14). This promise gives us the strength to pray and follow God, even in the midst of suffering and anxiety. These things may last for a little while, but we are encouraged to stand firm knowing that Christ himself has prayed for us (1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11). Though orphans, he has promised us a home (Psalm 68: 1-10; 32-35). He has granted us eternal life and the fellowship of other believers, even while we wait (John 17:1-11).
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"May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him...Sing to God, sing in praise of his name... A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families...”
Commentary on Psalm 68
Augustine, Calvin, Spurgeon,
John Wesley
Audio
Psalm 68, Acts 1,
1 Peter 4, John 17
Spotify Playlist
Psalm 68 and Psalm 47
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Lectionary Resources
"For the will of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one.” This is what he wants us to be as well when he says, “That they may be one, as you and I are one.” There is nothing that can equal unanimity and concord, for this is how one becomes many. If two or ten are of one mind, the one is no longer one, but each one is multiplied tenfold, and you will find the one in the ten and the ten in the one ... Don’t you see that what nature cannot do, love can? … See what a multiplier love is when it can even make one a thousand. Why then do we not acquire this power and place ourselves in safety? This is better than all power or riches. This is more than health, than light itself. It is the groundwork for courage." -Chrysostom
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Collect for The Seventh Sunday of Easter
"O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen." - The Book of Common Prayer
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Ascension Day
May 21 (West) and May 28 (East)
Ascension Day marks the event in which Jesus went to the Mount of Olives with his disciples and ascended into heaven before their eyes (Acts 1:1-12). The Worship Sourcebook says, "Christ’s ascension means that in heaven there is one who, knowing first-hand the experience of suffering and temptation, prays for us and perfects our prayers. The ascension is a witness and guarantee of our own bodily resurrection, as well as an invitation for us to set our hearts and minds 'on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God' (Col. 3:1-2) to rule over all things in heaven and throughout the universe (Eph. 1:10, 20-23)." The ascension of Christ is the necessary prelude to Pentecost. As N.T. Wright has said, “Ascension doesn’t mean absence, it means sovereignty, exercised through the Spirit.”
“Christ, having completed for us his saving work and ascended to heaven with the body which he had taken to himself, accomplishes in his own self the union of heaven and earth, of material and spiritual beings, and thus demonstrates the unity of creation in the polarity of its parts."
- Maximus the Confessor, Commentary on the Lord’s Prayer (PG 90,877)
"Christ in his love unites created reality with uncreated reality. How wonderful is God’s loving-kindness towards us! He shows that through grace the two have become one."
- Maximus the Confessor, Ambigua (PG 91,1308-9)
Scripture Readings
Resources
Poetry
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Collect for Ascension Day
Almighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. - The Book of Common Prayer
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