Tag: Easter 7B

A prayer after the Ascension

Wind in the Chimes: a prayer on the Seventh Sunday of Easter to be strengthened

O God, the King of glory … do not leave us comfortless

On the Seventh Sunday of Easter, we first ask that our God not leave us comfortless. Then we ask for the Holy Spirit to strengthen and exalt us.

Marion Hatchett in his book, Commentary on the American Prayer Book, (New York: The Seabury Press, 1981) tells us that Thomas Cranmer (the author of the precursor of this prayer in English) “translated the word ‘orphans’ [from a more ancient prayer in Latin] with a weaker term ‘comfortless,’ which is used here in what is now an archaic meaning, ‘without strength,’… as well as ‘without consolation.'”

In this week as we prepare to remember and celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, consider how the Spirit has strengthened you in your faith journey. In what moments of your journey have you relied upon the strength of the Spirit to sustain you?

Likewise, what experiences in your faith journey have led you to trust that God, the King of glory, is even now exalting us, exalting you, “to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before?”

More

  • The Collect: an Anglican/Episcopal Treasure. From the “Foreward” to The Collects of Thomas Cranmer edited by C. Frederick Barbee and Paul F. M. Zahl. This essay provides historical and liturgical background to this type of liturgical prayer.
  • A Pattern for Prayer by John D. Witvliet posted on Religion Online. The author believes the study of ancient liturgical materials facilitates special insight.  He discusses at length the understanding which lies in the structures and patterns of early collects and similar prayers, for preparing such prayers challenges us to draw on nearly the whole range of theological themes and motifs.

About Wind in the Chimes

Wind in the Chimes (renaming and reintroduction of Wind Chimes, 7/21/20)

Wind Chimes: September 25 2012 (an introduction)

They proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.…

Before the casting of lots: heartfelt prayer for God’s guidance (Acts 1:24-25)

… and the lot fell to Matthias

Acts of the Apostles 1:23, 26 NRSV

Welcome!

On Wednesday, May 8, 2024, we explored Acts 1:15-17, 21-26, the first reading appointed for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year B (May 12, 2024). Our handout included commentaries on the other appointed texts from the First Letter of John (1 John 5:9-13), the Psalms (Psalm 1), and the Gospel according to John (John 17:6-19).

In her commentary on the text from Acts—from a homiletical perspective—Barbara K. Lundblad highlights the two men put forward by the group gathered together after the Ascension but before the Day of Pentecost. We are asked to “acknowledge and celebrate the ordinary people who have carried the extraordinary gospel from one generation to the next.”

Pause, remember, acknowledge, and even celebrate, the ordinary people you have met in your faith journey who have shared the Good News of God in Christ with you.

From a commentary on Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Matthias becomes part of the inner circle; the other loses the toss of the dice. Even his name seems to be in question: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus. The truth is that we know very little about either one of these men.

Their lack of renown is a wondrous reality. In the next chapter Peter stands with the eleven to preach his Pentecost sermon. That would mean that Matthias must have been there even though he is not named. Where was Justus? Perhaps he was there too, for the narrator tells us that all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. …

Rather than being disappointed by having so little information, we can be grateful for the witness of those who are so little known. [The sermon this Sunday] can be a time to acknowledge and celebrate the ordinary people who have carried the extraordinary gospel from one generation to the next. Who is Justus in your faith journey?

Source: Barbara K. Lundblad, “Homiletical Perspective on Acts 1:15–17, 21–26,” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B, ed. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, vol. 2 (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008).

The Rev. Dr. Barbara K. Lundblad is the former Joe R. Engle Professor of Preaching Emerita at Union Theological Seminary.

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Most Wednesday mornings a group of us gather online to explore the readings that will be used in worship the following Sunday. Our handout this week features readings, commentaries, and notes for the Seventh Sunday of Easter (May 12, 2024) in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary. Please: View or download the handout we used to guide our discussion and tune our hearts to the Spirit.

View the Revised Common Lectionary readings appointed for Sunday, May 12, 2024, on the Revised Common Lectionary site curated by the Vanderbilt Divinity Library.

Please return to this site throughout the week to keep learning.

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About casting lots

Be well. Do good. Pay attention. Keep learning.