This past Sunday was the Feast of Pentecost, a day in which our focus turns especially to God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. Born again of water and the Spirit–having received the Spirit of adoption–you are directed to the love of God your heavenly Father in and through Christ Jesus. Christ has accomplished your salvation through His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave! Now, with Christ having ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit continues the work of actually proclaiming and delivering Christ and the gifts of Christ to you. It is the Holy Spirit who brings you to and keep you with Christ in the one true faith. And strengthening you in the faith through proclaiming Christ to you, He also proclaims and delivers Christ to those around you in your daily live (at least in part) through you. Hear more in this sermon from Father Leigeber.
This past Sunday was Exaudi, the Sunday within the Octave (eight day celebration) of Ascension. So, having just celebrated the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord last Thursday, what does it mean for us today that Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father? Is He no longer with us? Are we left to fend for ourselves until He appears in glory on the Last Day? That can’t be the case, since He promised His disciples and the Church His ongoing presence. God always keeps His promises; so we know that, even thought we can’t see Christ with our physical eyes, that He continues to be with us. Then how is He with us? How do we know that God continues to look upon us with His mercy and grace in Christ? What assurance do we have? The truth is that God has given us very particular means through which He gives us that assurance and confidence. Listen to the sermon from Father Leigeber to hear more.
A local, urban take on an ancient Christian tradition.
An “Urban Rogation Procession” for the entire Jonesboro community will be held Tuesday, May 27, beginning at 6:00pm, in downtown Jonesboro. The procession will begin in front of the Municipal Center (300 S Church St) and will continue through downtown, giving thanks to God for His blessings and asking for His continued blessing and care upon: hospitals and healthcare workers, the homeless and neglected, the unemployed, children and schools, commerce and industry, agriculture and the arts, and our city.
What are Rogation Days and what is an “Urban Rogation Procession”?
Very quickly after Jesus’ ascension into heaven on the fortieth day after Easter and His sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, a Church calendar began to take form. Christians wanted to organize their lives around the life of Jesus, and so they began to observe annually days like Christmas (to celebrate Jesus’ birth), Epiphany (to celebrate the visit of the Magi to the infant Christ), Good Friday (to commemorate and give thanks for His crucifixion for our sins), Easter (to celebrate Jesus’ victory over sin and death in the resurrection), and so on.
Quickly, days were also added to the calendar to commemorate other people and events that were especially important in the Church’s life—like the days on which various apostles were martyred, the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and others—including days dedicated to repentance and prayer. The Rogation Days fall into that final category.
For about fifteen hundred years now, these days of repentance and prayer have been historically observed on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord. The name “Rogation” is derived from the Latin rogare, which means “to ask” or “to pray.”
According to tradition, Rogation Days were introduced into the Church’s calendar about the year 470 by Saint Mamertus, Bishop of Vienna, when the ripening crops were threatened by a volcano. Following that example, the primary focus of the Rogation Days has been that of asking for God’s blessings upon the fruits of the earth. Throughout most of history and around the world, there have been processions to fields and gardens on these days each spring, giving thanks to God for the ways He provides for our body and life and asking that He would bless the crops and give a bountiful harvest.
Particularly in a modern urban context, many of the ways which God uses to bless us and take care of us in our bodies goes beyond just a successful crop of food. The “Urban Rogation Procession” is being held to thank God and pray for His blessing also upon the other ways He cares for our body and life in society, like the ways listed above. We will also pray for peace in the world, and many of the same prayers that were used in the first Rogation procession all the way back in the year 470 will also be prayed.
Please join us Rogation Tuesday for this local, urban take on an ancient Christian tradition. Sponsored by All Saints Lutheran Church (allsaintsjonesboro.org).
All Saints Lutheran Church and School 