Ascension Day & Sunday after Ascension

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

In the Anglican worship tradition, Ascension is officially celebrated on the Thursday following Fifth Sunday after Easter and, because so many cannot attend a mid-week service, themes related to the Ascension are repeated on Sunday after Ascension (the Sixth Sunday after Easter). The Collect for Ascension Day is based on the Gregorian Sacramentary and the Missal texts at Sarum (Salisbury). Theological concepts observed on Ascension Day were incorporated into the Nicene Creed in 325 A.D. The original text and the changes made in 381 A.D. are discussed and illustrated in the AIC Video Series, The Nicene Creed, linked from the Digital Library page. The Epistle reading, Acts 1:1-11, includes St. Paul’s record of post-Resurrection appearances by Christ and His being taken up into heaven. The Gospel reading, Luke 24:49-53, is the evangelist’s own record of the actual event of the Ascension to the Father.

The Ascension, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Rabbula Gospels, 586 A.D., region of present-day Syria. Laurentian Museum, Florence, Italy. Public Domain.

For Sunday after Ascension, the Collect was derived from a Vespers office of the new Church of England that is itself derived from the deathbed song of the Venerable Bede. The Epistle reading, 1 Peter 4:7-11, another example of New Testament wisdom features throughout Eastertide, includes St. Peter’s teachings on the proper use of one’s gifts from God. In the Gospel lesson, the sixth and last in Eastertide from the pen of St. John, John 15:26-16:4a, St. John quotes more from Jesus on preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit, or The Comforter. The Collect and readings are discussed and illustrated in Episode Three in the AIC Seasonal Video series, Eastertide: From Resurrection to Ascension, linked from the Digital Library page. The audio-only Podcast version of Episode Three is linked from the Podcast Archive page. My Podcast Homily for Sunday after Ascension is linked from the Podcast Homilies page. A related Podcast Homily, focused on the Psalm reading for Morning Prayer on Sunday after Ascension, Psalm 8 & Psalm 108:1-5, is linked from the Podcast Homilies-Morning Prayer page.

Sunday after Ascension brings the season of Eastertide to a close. The remainder of the Anglican Church Year is focused on readings and other material focused on Trinity Sunday and Trinitytide, the longest season on the Anglican Church calendar. The AIC Seasonal Video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season, is presented in nine episodes, also linked from the Digital Library page with Podcast/audio only versions linked from the Podcast Archive page.

I have not decided on a plan for Fr. Ron’s Blog during Trinitytide. Since the weekly postings for Trinity were completely rebuilt in A.D. 2021, the weekly Blog will probably revert to more topical postings without any specific plan in mind. As always, thank you for your interest and support. Viewers might be interested to know that the greatest number of visits to our site is coming from Asia. To our Asian friends, another thank you. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Fifth Sunday after Easter

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

For Fifth Sunday after Easter, commonly known as Rogation Sunday, the Collect is another which was adapted from the Gelasian Sacramentary used in the Roman Catholic tradition. This short prayer acknowledges the LORD as the source of “all things that are good,” which we may think are our own, come through His “merciful guiding.” The Epistle is another reading from the Epistle of St. James offering more practical New Testament wisdom: become “doers” of the Word and “not hearers only.” James describes the benefits of restraint, or “bridling” of the tongue. Almost four centuries later one of the greatest saints of the Eastern Church, John Chrysostom, Bishop of Antioch and then Constantinople, suggested that practicing control of one’s tongue could be considered a worthy sacrifice during the season of Lent. The Gospel reading is again from John 16, this time verses 16-33, in which Jesus grants mankind permission to pray directly to the Father and promises that He will likewise pray for the same to His Father. The reading includes another concept of time of which Jesus spoke in His final days, in this case, “hour,” which are discussed in Episode 43 and Episode 44 in the AIC Video series, New Testament: Gospels, linked from the Digital Library page. In just a few days, the Disciples would discover exactly what Jesus meant in saying “that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation.” This dialogue appears only in the Gospel of John. There are no examples that I know of in Christian art which depict this event. The timeline in The Orthodox Study Bible: New Testament implies, by association with other events on the last days of Christ, that the location was somewhere in Jerusalem on Maundy Thursday. The dialogue is discussed, without illustration, in the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of John: Annotated & Illustrated. The volume is available through my Amazon Author Central page. Full details about the book are found on the AIC Bookstore page.

The Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for Fifth Sunday after Easter are discussed in Episode Three in our video series, Eastertide: From Resurrection to Ascension, linked from the Digital Library page. The audio-only version, in MP3 format, is linked from the Podcast Archive page. My Podcast Homily for Fifth Sunday after Easter is linked from the Podcast Homilies page. A related Podcast Homily for Fifth Sunday after Easter, based on Psalm 118, the appointed Psalm for Morning Prayer, is linked from the Podcast Homilies-Morning Prayer page.

Next week, my Blog post will be made on Ascension Day, May 14th, and will include commentary on readings for Ascension Day and Sunday after Ascension.

As always, thank you for your interest and support for keeping this site available, on-demand, 24/7. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!