EXAUDI
This Sunday denotes the transition between the ascension of Christ a few days before and the Feast of Pentecost in eight days. The Latin word “Exaudi” means “hear,” part of a prayer to God by those who have been orphaned and alone. Since Jesus has promised to send the Comforter, this Sunday is a time of expectant waiting. The tone of this Sunday is not the joy of Easter, but the emotion of longing for the Lord who has gone away and a desire to be filled with grace from the Holy Spirit.
The Introit: This Introit is the longing petition to see the Lord’s face once again. At His ascension, the angel promised that Jesus would come again. Today we pray with the apostle John, “Even so come, Lord Jesus.” The Kyrie becomes the song of exiles and orphans as we ask for God’s mercy. In the Gloria in Excelsis we look up to the Lord, who sits in glory at the right hand of the Father.
The Collect: Here we pray for a truly Christian life, for a devout will and a pure heart. For our Lord stated that His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him. So we pray that God’s will be done among us as we use the gifts God has given to us to serve our Savior by helping our neighbor and those of the household of faith.
The Gradual bids us look heavenward where “God sits upon the throne of His holiness” and reigns over all things. It then reminds us of Christ’s promise that He will not leave us orphans, but He will come again and we will rejoice. While we must wait for Christ’s return, we rejoice that Jesus comes to us in the Gospel and His Supper to give us forgiveness and to assure us that we will see Him again in heaven.
The Paraments are white to symbolize the joy and gladness that the message of Jesus’ rising from the dead gives us. It also symbolizes that righteousness that Jesus won for us on the cross that He gives us through faith in Him. As Jesus lives in glory, the while color reminds us of the glory and joy that He will give us in heaven.