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Seventh Sunday of Easter • Year C
June 1, 2025
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Historical Collect
O King of Glory and Lord of countless angels, in triumph you ascended to the highest heaven. Abandon us not to be orphans, but keep your Father's promise to send your Spirit of truth. You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Gregorian Sacramentary, 6th Century)
Thematic Collect
Redeeming God, shape and unite your church, that we may be one just as you are One. Unite our wills, teach us to delight in your Word, trust in your promises, and love others as we have first been loved; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
The Common Thread
The Lord has commanded that his blessing would come to pass. And this is his blessing: salvation and eternal life. Scripture has to be fulfilled, so those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will see his face in heaven. Just as the condemned are known by the mark of the beast, the servants of God will be known to him by the mark of the Lamb upon their foreheads. The Lamb of God is coming again soon, and those who believe in him will live to see his glory. In the meanwhile, the Church is to live together in brotherly love so that the world may know and believe the Father sent his Son to redeem the world from sin and death.
First Reading • Acts 1:12–26
The company of believers were devoting themselves to prayer. The NRSV carries more weight here than the ESV, saying that they were “constantly devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14). It is remarkable what may happen when believers are devoted to God through prayer. Clarity of history occurs. It could have been a time of great despair but instead the Spirit spoke through Peter, whose words hitherto had often been suspect. In light of his clarifying words, they moved to fill the void left by Judas’ death. How they did this required great faith. They cast lots believing God would cause the lot to fall upon the man whom he willed to be the new twelfth apostle. It was a good thing they were devoted in prayer.
Psalm • Psalm 133:1–3
This Psalm would have been a comfort to the believers gathered in prayer in our First Reading today. God’s purpose remains certain even when events might suggest otherwise. What has the Lord ordained? In spite of the happenings of the world around us, God’s blessing is everlasting life. It remains for us to live together in a unity that speaks to our belief in his blessing.
Second Reading • Revelation 22:1–6, 7–11, 12–20
The blessing ordained by God is seen in John’s vision. What better depiction of God’s blessing is there than that the desire of Moses would be shared by all God’s people? There, we will see his glory; we will see him face-to-face. Never again will the way seem darkened for the Lamb will be our everlasting light. May it be so even here and cause us to dwell in unity.
Gospel • John 17:20–26
This is the prayer of Jesus: that we dwell together as one people, united in his purposes. Only such a Church empowered by the Holy Spirit will cause others to see that the Father has sent his Son and that Jesus sends us into the world with the Gospel. This requires such a belief that leads to salvation and the beholding of the glory of Jesus which is itself life eternal.
Resources
Links to Worship Resources for this Service
