A Sometimes Overlooked Church-Year Holiday (Holy Day)

Dear Friends in Christ:

On our Church-Year Calendar, Thursday, May 21st, is “The Ascension of Our Lord”.

Since it doesn’t fall on a Sunday, it can very easily be overlooked. I am thankful for the following article that has helped me in my continued appreciation for this event in the life of our risen Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that it will do the same for you, and that you attach it to your weekly calendar and pause on May 21st to celebrate The Ascension:

“Then Jesus led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him…” (Luke 24:50-52)

“The ascension of Jesus is hardly regarded by most American Christians as a primary religious holiday. We generally find little meaning in it because we find little personal application in it.
Our first error, of course, is to place so much importance on ourselves. An event does not have to involve us in order to be important to be celebrated. The fact is that Christ’s ascension is one part of the larger truth of his exaltation, and his exaltation is a prominent theme in the New Testament.
The exaltation of Jesus completes his victory. It is also understood as a symbol of his vindication. It relocates him in his rightful place—the side of the Father, from which he had come in order to save us. We love to recall his birth in a manger, but that is not where he belongs. We give thanks for his death on the cross, but that, too, is not where he belongs. Our greatest celebration should be of his ascension: for it represents his return to the place where he really belongs.
In the meantime, there is an element of personal application in this holiday, as well. The ascension marks the end of his ministry, and the beginning of ours!” And we have his promise, “I am with you always!” (Matthew 28:20)

Prayer: “Almighty God, your blessed Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things. Mercifully give us faith to trust that, as he promised, he abides with us on earth to the end of time, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”

—Pastor David Fetter

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