Ascension
The Rev. Michael K. Templin / Eastertide - Pentecost, 2023, Issue 6
The Church has celebrated the feast of the Ascension of Christ, or Holy Thursday, since the time of the Apostles, according to St Augustine of Hippo (Ep. liv. al. cxviii. ad. Januar.) Ascension Day marks the end of Christ’s work on earth and serves as a festal prequel to the great feast of Pentecost. The Paschal Candle, which is blessed on Easter Eve, is finally extinguished after the Gospel during the Ascension Day Eucharist. The smoke rising from the extinguished candle is a visual symbol of Jesus rising from the earth to heaven. The historic lectionary reads the account of our Lord’s Ascension from Acts 1, while the Gospel provides the account from St Luke 24 in the 28 BCP. The 1928 BCP treats the Ascension on par with the other major feasts like Christmas and Easter - eucharistic and office propers, daily collect, proper preface, an octave, and an antiphon at Mattins.
The liturgical minutia aside, we should focus on what the Ascension means for the Church and the world. Jesus tells us in John’s Gospel that he “came down from heaven.” The groundwork is laid that Jesus is a heavenly being, but even more than that, he is the pre-existent “I Am.” So, our Lord humbled himself, took on flesh, took on suffering, took on death, and was raised to everlasting life. Thus, the Ascension, in many ways, marks his reign or session as the risen Lord over all the earth, heavens, and even the underworld - not an inch of the cosmos remains from his sovereign kingship. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings; thus, Ascension Day is the enthronement of the Incarnate God.
So what does this mean for us? It provides assurance in the darkest times. A few days ago, children and teachers were targeted and murdered for their faith at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. There are Christians all over the globe struggling and persecuted for their faith. Currently, the Israeli government is trying to outlaw the proclamation of the Gospel. Human sexuality is no longer sane. Our loved ones die. Our loved ones divorce us. Our loved ones won’t speak to us. The litany could go on and on. I’ve seen and heard it all - intense pain abounds.
But if the Incarnation shows us that God loves us, Good Friday that God will die for us, Easter that God will not leave us is the grips of death, then most certainly, Ascension shows us that God is king over every single situation. He’s king in the good times, he’s king in the bad times, he’s king when it feels like we can’t go on anymore because of the pressures and pain of this world. And because he is king, there is always a way to look to him for help. He is in control, even when the situation is desperate. He sits on his throne. He will make all things new, even if we must suffer with him for a little while.
I’ve faced many dark days in recent years. And no matter how bleak the situation seemed, I always knew that Christ was somehow king in those situations. One hymn that comes to mind often when I’m hurting is Charitie Bancroft’s Before the Throne of God Above:
“When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin”
Whatever despair we might feel is nothing to that weight he carried for us on Calvary. Moreover, whatever foe persecutes us, even Satan himself is under our king’s feet. Jesus has dominion. So, as we walk towards Ascension-tide, I pray that you would meditate daily on the work and kingship of Christ. Then, after you meditate, I pray that you would be moved to proclaim his kingdom and to be a force of Christ’s goodness in the world as ambassadors to his everlasting kingdom.
The Rev. Michael K. Templin serves as assisting priest at St. Benedict’s Anglican Church and serves at the Reformed Episcopal cathedral Church of the Holy Communion in Dallas Texas.
