Ascension Day celebrates Christ's exaltation. While on earth, He was a servant. Now in heaven, He is the ruler and Lord of all. By entering heaven as the representative of mankind, He completed the work of our salvation and guarantees the eventual glorification of all who love Him.
Just as Jesus went up in the clouds, He will return the same way. Again Luke described the scene:. This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.
Jesus himself had told his disciples that it was good for him to go away, because only then would he send them another Helper, the Spirit of truth John The Spirit descended on the church with power, inaugurating a new age in the history of salvation. Being, therefore, exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Having accomplished redemption through his suffering on the cross , the risen and exalted Christ now applies the salvation he has won, by granting the gifts of repentance and forgiveness of sins.
As Peter says in Acts :. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. The ascended and enthroned Christ cares for his suffering people as they bear witness to him.
Despite being a public holiday in more than a dozen countries although, sadly, not the UK , the festival has a relatively low profile outside the church.
For 40 days after his resurrection on Easter Sunday, the Bible says that Jesus travelled and preached with his apostles, preparing them for his departure from Earth.
Ascension Day marks the moment Jesus literally ascended into heaven before his disciples, at the village of Bethany, near Jerusalem. Ascension Day is celebrated across all branches of Christianity on the sixth Thursday after Easter, exactly 40 days after Easter Sunday.
However, because the Eastern Orthodox Church uses the older Julian calendar rather than the modern Gregorian calendar to calculate the date, Orthodox Christians will celebrate Ascension Day a week later than their Catholic and Protestant counterparts. Ascension Day is not a major event in most Protestant parishes, but in the Catholic Church the Feast of the Ascension is one of the Holy Days of Obligation, meaning that believers are obliged to attend Mass.
For this reason, some Catholic dioceses now mark Ascension Day on the Sunday after its traditional Thursday date, to enable more parishioners to attend services. Historically, the day was marked with a procession with torches and banners. A few of us do at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, in Franklin, Tennessee, and this is one celebration that is its own reward. Father Joe Davis resurrection-tn.
Skip to content Share Tweet. Share Tweet. Start typing and press enter to search Search …. We use cookies to provide you with the best possible experience on our website. By using our website, you agree to our Cookie Policy.
0コメント