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May 09, 2024

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9May
Thursday | 10:27

Lectionary Theme: Feast of Ascension of our Lord (40th day after Easter)

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    1. Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

    2. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

    3. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”

    4. Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.

    5. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”

    6. Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

    7. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.

    8. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

    9. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.”

    10. He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.”

    11. As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.

    12. Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. Elisha Succeeds Elijah

    13. He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.

    14. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

    15. When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

    16. They said to him, “See now, we have fifty strong men among your servants; please let them go and seek your master; it may be that the spirit of the Lord has caught him up and thrown him down on some mountain or into some valley.” He responded, “No, do not send them.”

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    1. I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

    2. with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

    3. making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace:

    4. there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,

    5. one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

    6. one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

    7. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

    8. Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high, he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.”

    9. (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

    10. He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.)

    11. He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers

    12. to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

    13. until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

    14. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming;

    15. but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

    16. from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

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    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.” The Ascension of Jesus

    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.” Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

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    36. While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

    37. They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost.

    38. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

    39. Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

    40. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

    41. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”

    42. They gave him a piece of broiled fish,

    43. and he took it and ate in their presence.

    44. Then he said to 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.” The Ascension of Jesus

    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.