The Ascension of the Lord (C)
As he blessed them
he was carried up to heaven
The Word This Week
Recently the bishops of
Notes for Readers
First
The writer is Saint Luke, and the first lines of this reading are a link between the Gospel which bears his name and this book. The Gospel dealt with everything Jesus said and did until he was taken up into heaven; Acts will tell the story of what happened next. The first paragraph is a summary of what happened in the forty days between the resurrection and today: Jesus showed himself alive to them (the Apostles) and instructed them. In the second paragraph they have gathered together (later Luke tells us it was on top of the
Second
In the first half of this reading, there are three key concepts: hope, glory and power, which are gifts for us. Where do we find this hope and glory? What power has God exercised for us? Paul gives the answer in the second half (beginning from This you can tell
) We know about these things because of the resurrection and ascension. Because Christ has been raised, because Christ now fills the whole creation, THEREFORE we know that God gives us hope, God promises us glory, and God exercises power on our behalf. This is a difficult reading to proclaim: you must understand the way the two halves fit together. If you catch the passionate quality of the second sentence, it will help to get this reading across: underline so that you can see
, rich glories and infinitely great, and then in the next line emphasise This you can tell
Wordsearch
Click on the link to get this week's Gospel based Sunday Wordsearch. Feel free to copy and paste it into your parish publications.