Ascension

Read Acts 1:1-11.

Today is one of the most forgotten holidays on the Christian calendar, yet it's an important part of our story. Today is Ascension Day, forty days after Easter and ten days before Pentecost. It is the day we remember Jesus' return to the Father, his ascension ("going up") as described in Acts 1. Thus began the ten days of waiting, when the disciples were praying and hoping and anticipating the arrival of the Holy Spirit, an event which is described in Acts 2 and which we celebrate on Pentecost.

Ascension Day, in my own tradition, is one of three "non-Sunday" holy days that John Wesley encouraged (or expected) the early Methodists to celebrate (the other two being Good Friday and Christmas Day). His brother, Charles, published a collection of hymns for this day, which you can find here if you're interested.

But what does this day mean today? Why should we bother at least stopping for a moment and remembering Ascension Day? A couple of reasons come to mind. First, while the disciples may have thought they preferred to keep Jesus around (after all, we all tend to prefer "the way things are" to "the way things might be"), the reality is that Jesus had promised something better was coming. "Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7). The Ascension means the Holy Spirit (the Advocate) is coming.

Somewhat related, it also means that Jesus is fulfilling the promise he made in Matthew 28, to be with us always. There's a great line in the Easter hymn "Christ is Alive" by Brian Wren that describes this Biblical truth:

Christ is alive! No longer boundto distant years in Palestine,but saving, healing, here and now,and touching every place and time.

Because Jesus as ascended, he is available to us always, with us everywhere, for all eternity. And because his resurrection is a promise of our own (1 Corinthians 15:20-24), the Ascension reminds us that there is more beyond this life. Where Jesus has gone, we who trust in him will also go when this life is over (cf. John 14:1-4). He has shown us the way to the Father.

In a day when the world often seems so bleak, in a time when many give up hope, the Ascension comes along as a reminder once again that the worst thing is never the last thing. There is more and there is always hope.