Ascension-The Forgotten Festival

The Forgotten Festival Acts 1, Luke 24

We pause to observe what many refer to as the FORGOTTEN FESTIVAL of the Christian Calendar. There are FIVE MAIN FESTIVAL DAYS observed by Christians around the world. By “Festival Days” I mean chief holidays on the liturgical calendar. What are the Five? CHRISTMAS, the celebration of Jesus’ birth, we’re pretty good at observing that; EPIPHANY , which comes on the heels of Christmas--we all know about the visit of the WISE MEN to the Christ Child, that’s what Epiphany’s about; EASTER, our most recent celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. What’s left? PENTECOST, that’s fifty days after Easter--we know about Pentecost because a lot of people dress in red that day. That’s number four. So what’s the fifth one, the oft forgotten one?

The answer is ASCENSION, which actually falls on a Thursday each year . Ascension is the one that usually gets left out!

So what's Ascension Day about? Two places you go to find out, ACTS chapter 1, and the Gospel according to St. Luke, chapter 24. These two describe the Ascension of Jesus into heaven.

Ascension comes on the heels of our Easter celebration. We all know that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter. He appeared to the disciples numerous times over the next forty days, showing them his hands and feet, and eating and drinking with them. He wanted them to know that it was really him, RISEN from the dead! No fake, no imposter, no ghost, no illusion. Well what happened to Jesus then? Why isn’t he walking around on the earth today, making guest appears on Good Morning America and The View and other talk shows? Why isn’t he walking the streets of Chicago and New York city and Buffalo, New York? The answer is that after 40 days HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN! 40 days after the resurrection, he took the disciples upon on the Mount of Olives, in the vicinity of Bethany. He lifted up his hands; he blessed them; and having done that, he was taken up into heaven!

THE BOOK OF ACTS goes a little more in depth. It says after giving the Great Commission, the command of Jesus to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel, he was, quote, “taken up before their very eyes, and a CLOUD hid him from their sight.” In other words, his visible presence was WITHDRAWN! Instead of a localized presence, Jesus would now be everywhere, everywhere his WORD is proclaimed and his sacraments administered, THE HOLY SPIRIT attending these things-so that hearts everywhere might believe that Jesus died for them and rose again WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF SEEING. NOW Christianity would not be a localized event, but a world -wide phenomenon!

The bottom line is, ASCENSION IS about Jesus, who, having done all things necessary for our salvation, is TAKEN FROM THE EARTH from the top of the Mount of OLIVES in front of his astonished disciples.

THIS “FORGOTTEN FESTIVAL” was not so forgotten in the medieval church, from accounts of the way it was observed. It was a common practice beginning in the 14th century, and on to the 17th century in some places, to have a HOLE cut in the roof of the church, with a door on it. And each year on the FEAST OF THE ASCENSION, a STATUE of the RISEN CHRIST would be HOISTED UP by ropes up, up, up, through the hole in the ceiling of the church! Can you imagine! The people would stand up and cheer, with arms upraised! And then the workers on the roof, once Jesus had “ascended,” would throw down flowers on the crowd below, as a sign of blessing-- preferably red roses, in anticipation of the DAY of PENTECOST!

….AND THEN the little door in the roof would be closed up, until next Ascension Day… but everyone remembered that, 40 days after he rose from the dead, Jesus ASCENDED into heaven!

Maybe we should re-institute that practice, but I’m not sure what he trustees would think about cutting a hole in the roof of our church, and I’m not sure who would want to go up there to hoist Jesus up!

At any rate, what is the meaning of the Ascension for us, as Christians?

-First of all, the Ascension is God the Father’s way of saying : MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! That’s a phrase commonly used. We’re given an assignment; we complete it; and so, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

LUKE’S GOSPEL, right before the account of Jesus’ Ascension, records the following: “Jesus then opened up their minds so that they could understand the Scriptures. He told them: “It was necessary that the Christ suffer and rise again on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins preached in his name to all nations.”