Year
ABC
Ascension of the
Lord
Thursday 7 June 2012
Eucharistic Preface
Let
us lift up our hearts.
........We
lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our
God.
........It is right to
give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give
you our thanks and praise, O God,
for you have called us to a rich
hope
and a glorious inheritance among the saints.
You fixed
the world in place
and rule over all from your sacred throne.
You
formed a people for yourself
and through Moses and the prophets
you spoke to them
of the Christ who fills all in all.
As it
was written, he suffered and was killed,
but you raised him from
the dead
and he walked again with his chosen ones,
speaking to
them of your glorious kingdom.
You carried him into heaven on the
clouds
and made him head over all things for the church,
seating
him at your right hand
far above all rule and authority, power and
dominion,
and above every name that is named,
not only in this
age but also in the age to come.
Therefore with .....
©2002
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Short
Preface
(for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with
fixed prefaces)
We give thanks for your Son, Jesus,
who you
carried up into heaven
and seated at your right hand
so that he
might be everywhere present,
not only in this age but also in the
age to come.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton
LaughingBird.net
General
Prayer of Thanksgiving
(Preface reformatted for use
apart from communion)
With give you all
thanks and praise with shouts of joy, O God,
for you have called
us to a rich hope
and a glorious inheritance among the
saints.
You fixed the world in place
and rule over all
from your sacred throne.
You formed a people for yourself
and
through Moses and the prophets you spoke to them
of the Christ who
fills all in all.
As it was written, he suffered and was
killed,
but you raised him from the dead
and he walked again
with his chosen ones,
speaking to them of your glorious
kingdom.
You carried him into heaven on the clouds
and made him
head over all things for the church,
seating him at your right
hand
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,
and
above every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in
the age to come.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we
offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our
Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2002
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Declaration
of Grace / Absolution
As Jesus
Christ instructed his followers,
the forgiveness of sins is
proclaimed in his name
from the holy city to the ends of the
earth.
Sisters and Brothers,
........your
sins are forgiven;
................be
at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton
LaughingBird.net
Commission
& Benediction
Go out into the world.
and in
your words and in your lives
bear witness to the Christ who has
ascended
to be everywhere present.
And as you come to know
him,
may God give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation,
may
Christ Jesus lift up his hands and bless you,
and may the Spirit
open to you all the riches of Christ’s inheritance.
We
go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
........In
the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002
Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
Paraphrases
of the Scripture
Lections
for Ascension of the
Lord - Thursday 7 June 2012
Lections from The
Revised Common Lectionary.
Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on
Common Texts (CCT)
P. O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN
37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.
* Acts 1: 1-11
Dear Theophilus,
........In
my first book, The Gospel of Luke, I wrote an account of all
that Jesus did and taught from the time he started until the day he
said goodbye and was taken up to heaven. Before he left, he gathered
the apostles, who he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and spelled
out his final instructions.
........For
forty days after his suffering and death, he repeatedly showed up and
proved in many ways that he really was alive again. Face to face with
the apostles, he spoke with them about the dominion of God. While he
was still meeting and sharing meals with them, he put them on notice
that they were not to leave Jerusalem yet. “Instead,” he
said, “you must wait here for the gift I told you about - the
gift my Father promised. You remember how John baptised with water.
Well, you will be baptised with Holy Spirit in just a few days time.”
........When they were all together
for the last time, the apostles had one burning question: “Lord,
is this the time? Will you regain our freedom now and give us our own
king to reign over Israel?”
........Jesus
replied, “Only the Father can decide such things and the timing
is none of your business. Just focus on this: the Holy Spirit will
flood over you and drench you with power, giving you the passion and
courage to be my witnesses. Then you will be able to tell everyone
about me, in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, and even to the
ends of the earth.”
........That
was it - his last words. Right before their eyes, he was carried up
into the air where he soon disappeared into the clouds. They just
stood there stunned, staring into the sky. Suddenly two men appeared
next to them, dressed in white robes! They said, “You
Galileans! What are you standing here for, staring into the sky?
Jesus has been taken into heaven, but don’t worry. He’ll
be back, just as surely - and just as mysteriously - as he
left.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton
LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 47 (alternative)
We applaud you, LORD,
as everyone should;
we roar your name and sing for joy.
You
are an awesome God;
number one in the universe;
the great ruler
of all the earth.
You have subdued those who attacked us;
put
hostile nations at our mercy.
You picked out the best land for
us;
you favoured us with a prized inheritance.
Take your
place at the top of the dais, LORD God,
as we
sound trumpets and cheer in your honour.
You are our God, and
we’ll sing your praises;
you are our ruler, and we’ll
sing your praises.
You are the God who rules over all the
earth;
we’ll sing your praises in all our songs.
You
are the God who rules over the nations;
the throne where you sit
is one of a kind.
Leaders gather from every people on
earth
and, like Abraham’s descendants,
give their
allegiance to you, God.
They lay down their weapons
and honour
you as their ultimate superior.
©2001 Nathan
Nettleton LaughingBird.net
*
Psalm 93 (alternative)
LORD,
you are the great ruler.
........Majesty
enfolds you like a royal robe
........and
strength radiates from you.
You have fixed the world firmly
in its place.
........Your throne is
immovable, LORD;
........ever
was and ever shall be.
Surging floods have risen, O LORD,
........surging up with a mighty
roar;
........engulfing everything
in thunderous sound.
You are more impressive than the surging
waters,
........more powerful than
the crashing waves;
................you
are number one in all the universe, LORD!
Whatever you say is set in stone.
........The
place you live, O LORD, is clearly
sacred;
........its holiness will
outlast time.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton
LaughingBird.net
*
Ephesians 1: 15-23
........Having
heard of your deep trust in the Lord Jesus and your active love for
his people, I could hardly stop thanking God for you. And I’m
praying for you too. I ask the glorious God of our Lord Jesus Christ
to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will fill you with wisdom and
insight as you get to know God. That way you’ll get a clear
picture of all that God wants you to see:
..-..the
promised goal of the mission to which you are called;
..-..the
extravagant generosity of God’s provision for us;
..-..and
the immense capacity of the dynamic power which is put to work in us
when we trust God.
This dynamic power is the same energy that God
put to work in Christ when he raised him from death and enthroned him
in heaven. Now Christ sits at God’s right hand, reigning over
the entire universe, and there is not a single authority that can
overrule him, now or ever. Every religious hierarchy and military
regime; every legal jurisdiction and people-power movement; every
economic imperative and moral principle; God has put them all under
the feet of Christ. God has decreed that all things will answer to
Christ. The church, then, is central to what Christ is doing, for it
is his body, already filled with the presence of the one who is
filling each and every part of the entire universe.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton
LaughingBird.net
*
Luke 24: 44-53
........On
the last day that Jesus was on earth after his resurrection, he said
to his disciples, “The things I have said while I was with you
amount to this: everything written about me in the law of Moses, the
prophets, and the psalms is to be fulfilled.” ........As
he spoke they began to see how to read the scriptures with open minds
so as to understand what God was saying in them. Jesus said to them:
“What was written will now be clear to you: that the Messiah is to suffer and then rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that the people of every nation must be told of the Messiah’s call to turn their lives around and receive forgiveness for sin. You can get started here in Jerusalem. You have witnessed these things first hand, so you can tell everyone what you have seen and heard. And don’t miss this: I myself am sending you the gift my Father promised; so wait here in the city until you have been fitted out with God’s power.”
........Jesus then led his disciples
out as far as Bethany, where he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
Even as he was blessing them, he parted from them and was carried
into heaven. Falling to their knees, they worshipped him. They
returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy and were always in the temple
praising God.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton
LaughingBird.net