Ascension

The Feast Day of the Ascension was set apart from the celebration of the Resurrection by the Church in Jerusalem in the 3rd century and was adopted by all of the Churches, both East and West, due to the importance of the event and its meaning to all Christians. The significance of the Ascension can not be over estimated. It is much more than an historical event at the close of Christ’s earthly ministry when 40 days after appearing to numerous witnesses in His resurrected body, the Apostles observed Christ, in His complete nature being fully God and fully man, carried into heaven.

We must always seek to understand the significance of these past events in the life of Christ and the early church because they were recorded not simply for the sake of antiquity but primarily as a means towards inspiring faith in those of us who would be reading about and thinking about the events of the past. We realize just how important this doctrine of the Ascension is because it was included in the Creeds as part of the most fundamental beliefs which all Christians must accept: “He ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the Right Hand of the Father”.

The Church sometimes falls into the error of believing that because the Lord is not visible, that He must somehow be either dead or so far removed from us, that our worship is an exercise in futility. Why bother to really rejoice, to really sing, to really pray with a solemn heart to one so distanced from us presently? We can rationalize the situation and say to ourselves, “of course, someday we shall meet with Him and at that time when we meet face to face, we will pray to Him in person, we will praise Him with song and joyful heart, but right now we are only in a practice mode – a kind of a rehearsal for Heaven” but do we realize that the truth is, that He is as present here today, as He shall be in heaven when the day of reckoning comes. He is spiritually present in the gathering together of his body and our present Lord is therefore worthy to be praised and worshipped with more than a token recognition of a solemn memorial service.

We read in the Epistle for Ascension Day, that having made provision for the Church by the commissioning of the Apostles and promise of the Holy Ghost, He then was carried bodily up into heaven. This is the great triumph that eternity was moving towards, when Christ should ascend into Heaven having conquered sin and Satan, with the keys of death and hell in His grasp. The Heavenly Kingdom is where the Saints of God may safely and with Faith place their hope; this is where Christ said He would go to prepare a place for us. This is where Satan fought with God, but has been cast out forever. This is where the angels and archangels continually praise Him, where the martyrs and saints cast their crowns before Him, where the scrolls of future events are held in His hand - this is where the One Sacred Altar of Christ’s Body and Blood has been set up and where Christ our high priest stands before the altar night and day offering up intercessions for us, His blood present on the altar cleansing us from our sins.

This is where, in His human and divine nature, He watches, prays, and awaits the Saints of God, who are engaged in a daily battle with the hosts of evil, and from where He shall return to vanquish his foes. His Ascension is the promise that where He is, we shall also one day be in our human nature.
Let us, like the Apostles who gathered on the Mount of the Ascension, rejoice in the knowledge that our Lord is with us today and forever. Heaven awaits us, but we do not have to die to enjoy the presence of our Ascended Lord, for He is here even now to meet us in our prayers, in the reading of His Word, and in the communication of His Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.