Bishop Eaton Issues Statement on Travel Ban

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

June 5, 2025

“When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” —Leviticus 19:33-34

‍Dear church,

Yesterday the Trump administration announced a travel ban to the United States from 12 countries, several of which are majority-Muslim countries. The ban is scheduled to take effect on Monday, June 9, and will suspend issuing of immigrant visas that can lead to permanent residency for those from Afghanistan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. This proclamation will also impose visa restrictions on another seven countries, including Cuba and Venezuela in the Americas.

As Lutherans, we should be concerned by these actions. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has set us free from ourselves to serve our neighbor. This expanded policy separates families from loved ones already here. Further, it prevents people — especially those escaping perilous or life-threatening situations in several of these nations — from coming to safety in the U.S. It does not enhance our safety or reflect our vocation as Christians.

Our church has a strong history of hospitality for refugees and immigrants. After World War II, when 1 out of every 6 Lutherans in the world was a refugee or displaced person, Lutherans resettled some 57,000 refugees in the United States (ELCA social message “Immigration”). Today, with more than 60 million displaced people in the world, we continue God’s work of welcoming refugees through advocacy and our vital partnership with Global Refuge. Through AMMPARO, the ELCA welcomes and accompanies asylum-seekers and refugees already in our country from many of these same countries.

The ELCA also has companion Lutheran churches in many of the countries affected by the ban, churches that, like us, are members of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). (In several instances, our church has developed strong partnerships with these churches over many decades.) Accompaniment of these ELCA partners requires our solidarity with and advocacy for them.

Because many of these nations are majority-Muslim and predominately Black and Brown communities, the expanded policy will have the impact of racial and religious discrimination. Over the past several years, the targeting of Muslims has had a direct and negative impact on our interfaith partners, who are harmed by not only the policy but also the rhetoric surrounding it. Together with other Christians and Jews, we are standing with Muslims through the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, embodying our commitment to opposing “all forms of religious bigotry, violence, discrimination, and persecution and [to standing] in solidarity with those who experience them, whether they are Christian or of another religion or worldview” (“A Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment: A Policy Statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America”).

The travel ban offends our values of mutual respect for all God’s children, each created in God’s image. Furthermore, this ban contradicts our church’s and our nation’s commitments to be a place of welcome and safety for others.

The ELCA social statement For Peace in God’s World reminds us that “the church is a disturbing presence when it refuses to be silent and instead speaks the truth.” On this policy, we, as Lutherans, cannot be silent. The history of our church, the life-giving relationships we share with other Lutherans worldwide, and our commitments to and with interreligious partners are the basis not only for our concern but also for our continued accompaniment, advocacy and action.

In peace,

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 

Readings and Psalm for June 29, 2025, Third Sunday after Pentecost

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

We have no good apart from God. That makes Jesus’ call to follow him an invitation to freedom. This is freedom to revel in the Spirit’s fruit: love, joy, peace, and patience. This is freedom to not be imprisoned by anything that would keep us from the fullness of the life God has given us. This is the path of life.

Prayer of the Day

Sovereign God, ruler of all hearts, you call us to obey you, and you favor us with true freedom. Keep us faithful to the ways of your Son, that, leaving behind all that hinders us, we may steadfastly follow your paths, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Readings and Psalm

1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21
Psalm 16
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Luke 9:51-62

First Reading: 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21

15 Then the Lord said to [Elijah,] “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.”
  19 So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. 20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” 21 He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

Psalm: Psalm 16

1 Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you;
 I have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, my good above all other.”
2 All my delight is in the godly that are in the land,
 upon those who are noble among the people.
3 But those who run after other gods
 shall have their troubles multiplied.
4 I will not pour out drink offerings to such gods,
 never take their names upon my lips. 
5 O Lord, you are my portion and my cup;
 it is you who uphold my lot.
6 My boundaries enclose a pleasant land;
 indeed, I have a rich inheritance.
7 I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
 my heart teaches me night after night.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
 because God is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 
9 My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices;
 my body also shall rest in hope.
10 For you will not abandon me to the grave,
 nor let your holy one see the pit.
11 You will show me the path of life;
 in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

Second Reading: Galatians 5:1, 13-25

1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

  13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. 14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

  16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

  22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Gospel: Luke 9:51-62

51 When the days drew near for [Jesus] to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 Then they went on to another village.
  57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

From sundaysandseasons.com. Copyright © 2025 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS022632. New Revised Standard Version Bible. Copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Revised Common Lectionary, Copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts, admin Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission.

Readings and Psalm for June 22, 2025, Second Sunday after Pentecost

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

Sunday’s texts paint startling pictures of the horrific nature of sin. The church’s repeated celebration of holy communion counters that tragic reality in a continued showing forth of the death of Jesus until he comes again. It is a dramatic declaration of “how much God has done for you.”

Prayer of the Day

O Lord God, we bring before you the cries of a sorrowing world. In your mercy set us free from the chains that bind us, and defend us from everything that is evil, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Readings and Psalm

Isaiah 65:1-9
Psalm 22:19-28
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 8:26-39

First Reading: Isaiah 65:1-9

 1 I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask,
  to be found by those who did not seek me.
 I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
  to a nation that did not call on my name.
 2 I held out my hands all day long
  to a rebellious people,
 who walk in a way that is not good,
  following their own devices;
 3 a people who provoke me
  to my face continually,
 sacrificing in gardens
  and offering incense on bricks;
 4 who sit inside tombs,
  and spend the night in secret places;
 who eat swine’s flesh,
  with broth of abominable things in their vessels;
 5 who say, “Keep to yourself,
  do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
 These are a smoke in my nostrils,
  a fire that burns all day long.
 6 See, it is written before me:
  I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
 I will indeed repay into their laps
  7 their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together,
 says the Lord;
 because they offered incense on the mountains
  and reviled me on the hills,
 I will measure into their laps
  full payment for their actions.
 8 Thus says the Lord:
 As the wine is found in the cluster,
  and they say, “Do not destroy it,
  for there is a blessing in it,”
 so I will do for my servants’ sake,
  and not destroy them all.
 9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
  and from Judah inheritors of my mountains;
 my chosen shall inherit it,
  and my servants shall settle there.

Psalm: Psalm 22:19-28

19 But you, O Lord, be not far away;
 O my help, hasten to my aid.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
 my life from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth!
 From the horns of wild bulls you have rescued me.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
 in the midst of the assembly I will praise you. 
23 You who fear the Lord, give praise! All you of Jacob’s line, give glory.
 Stand in awe of the Lord, all you offspring of Israel.
24 For the Lord does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty;
 neither is the Lord’s face hidden from them;
 but when they cry out, the Lord hears them.
25 From you comes my praise in the great assembly;
 I will perform my vows in the sight of those who fear the Lord.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
 Let those who seek the Lord give praise! May your hearts live forever! 
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
 all the families of nations shall bow before God.
28 For dominion belongs to the Lord,
 who rules over the nations. 

Second Reading: Galatians 3:23-29

23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Gospel: Luke 8:26-39

26 Then [Jesus and his disciples] arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”—29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
  32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
  34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

From sundaysandseasons.com. Copyright © 2025 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS022632. New Revised Standard Version Bible. Copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Revised Common Lectionary, Copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts, admin Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission.

Readings and Psalm for June 15, 2025, Holy Trinity Sunday

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

“O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Today we celebrate the holy Trinity. Paul writes that through Jesus we have peace with God, whose love pours into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, giving us lasting hope. We celebrate the gracious One-in-Three, eternal Three-in-One, as we worship in community; as we share water and word, bread and wine; and as we bring God’s love and hope to our neighbors.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty Creator and ever-living God: we worship your glory, eternal Three-in-One, and we praise your power, majestic One-in-Three. Keep us steadfast in this faith, defend us in all adversity, and bring us at last into your presence, where you live in endless joy and love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Readings and Psalm

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15

First Reading: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

1 Does not wisdom call,
 and does not understanding raise her voice?
2 On the heights, beside the way,
 at the crossroads she takes her stand;
3 beside the gates in front of the town,
 at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
4 “To you, O people, I call,
 and my cry is to all that live.

22 The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
 the first of his acts of long ago.
23 Ages ago I was set up,
 at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
 when there were no springs abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains had been shaped,
 before the hills, I was brought forth—
26 when he had not yet made earth and fields,
 or the world’s first bits of soil.
27 When he established the heavens, I was there,
 when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 when he made firm the skies above,
 when he established the fountains of the deep,
29 when he assigned to the sea its limit,
 so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
 30 then I was beside him, like a master worker;
and I was daily his delight,
 rejoicing before him always,
31 rejoicing in his inhabited world
 and delighting in the human race.”

Psalm: Psalm 8

1 O Lord our Lord,
 how majestic is your name in all the earth!—
2 you whose glory is chanted above the heavens out of the mouths of infants and children;
 you have set up a fortress against your enemies, to silence the foe and avenger. 
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
 the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
4 what are mere mortals that you should be mindful of them,
 human beings that you should care for them? 
5 Yet you have made them little less than divine;
 with glory and honor you crown them.
6 You have made them rule over the works of your hands;
 you have put all things under their feet:
7 all flocks and cattle,
 even the wild beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
 and whatever passes along the paths of the sea.
9 O Lord our Lord,
 how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

Second Reading: Romans 5:1-5

1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Gospel: John 16:12-15

[Jesus said,] 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

From sundaysandseasons.com. Copyright © 2025 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS022632. New Revised Standard Version Bible. Copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Revised Common Lectionary, Copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts, admin Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission.

Readings and Psalm for Sunday, June 8, 2025, Pentecost Sunday

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

On Pentecost, we celebrate that we have been given an Advocate to accompany us. Poured out in wind and fire, water, wine, and bread, the Holy Spirit abides in and among us. We give thanks that God speaks to each of us, no matter our origins, language, or life path. Filled with the Spirit of truth, we go out from worship to proclaim the saving power of Christ’s love and the freedom of God’s grace with all the world.

Prayer of the Day

God our creator, the resurrection of your Son offers life to all the peoples of earth. By your Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love, empowering our lives for service and our tongues for praise, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Readings and Psalm

Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Romans 8:14-17
John 14:8-17, 25-27

First Reading: Acts 2:1-21

1 When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
  5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
  14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
 17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
 that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
  and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
 and your young men shall see visions,
  and your old men shall dream dreams.
 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
  in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
   and they shall prophesy.
 19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
  and signs on the earth below,
   blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
 20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
  and the moon to blood,
   before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ”

Psalm: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

 24 How manifold are your works, O Lord!
  In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
 25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide, with its swarms too many to number,
  living things both small and great.
 26 There go the ships to and fro,
  and Leviathan, which you made for the sport of it.
 27 All of them look to you
  to give them their food in due season. 
 28 You give it to them; they gather it;
  you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.
 29 When you hide your face, they are terrified;
  when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
 30 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created;
  and so you renew the face of the earth.
 31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
  O Lord, rejoice in all your works. 
 32 You look at the earth and it trembles;
  you touch the mountains and they smoke.
 33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
  I will praise my God while I have my being.
 34 May these words of mine please God.
  I will rejoice in the Lord.
 35b Bless the Lord, O my soul.
  Hallelujah! 

Second Reading: Romans 8:14-17

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Gospel: John 14:8-17, 25-27

8 Philip said to [Jesus,] “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
  15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
  25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

From sundaysandseasons.com. Copyright © 2025 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS022632. New Revised Standard Version Bible. Copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Revised Common Lectionary, Copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts, admin Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission.

Readings and Psalm for June 1, 2025, Ascension of Our Lord

Posted on by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

(Moved from May 29, 2025)

The risen Christ ascends into heaven and his followers are assured that the Spirit will empower them to be witnesses throughout the earth. The disciples are told to not gaze up into heaven to look for Jesus (Acts 1:11); we find his presence among us as we proclaim the word and share the Easter feast. We too long for the Spirit to enliven our faith and invigorate our mission.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, your only Son was taken into the heavens and in your presence intercedes for us. Receive us and our prayers for all the world, and in the end bring everything into your glory, through Jesus Christ, our Sovereign and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Readings and Psalms

Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47
Ephesians 1:15-23
Luke 24:44-53

First Reading: Acts 1:1-11

[Luke writes:] 1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
  6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Psalm: Psalm 47

 1 Clap your hands, all you peoples;
  shout to God with a joyful sound.
 2 For the Lord Most High is to be feared:
  a great king over all the earth,
 3 who subdues the peoples under us,
  and the nations under our feet;
 4 who chooses our inheritance for us,
  the pride of Jacob, whom God loves. 
 5 God has gone up with a shout,
  the Lord with the sound of the ram’s horn.
 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
  sing praises to our king, sing praises. 
 7 For God is king of all the earth;
  sing praises with a song.
 8 God reigns over the nations;
  God is enthroned on high.
 9 The nobles of the peoples have gathered as the people of the God of Abraham.
  The rulers of the earth belong to God, who is highly exalted. 

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23

15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Gospel: Luke 24:44-53

44 [Jesus said to the eleven and those with them,] “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
  50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

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