The Ascension of Jesus into heaven is the completion of his revealing, saving and reconciling work on earth as the Incarnate Son of God, the Messiah of Israel and the Saviour of the world. It is thus the Feast to crown all other Feasts of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he who came down from heaven to take flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary must also take that same flesh & human nature, perfected and glorified, into heaven so that he becomes for his people the first-fruits of the new creation. Where he goes they also shall follow.
The COLLECT for Ascension Day assumes the truth declared in both the Epistle and Gospel for this Day that Jesus has ascended into heaven, God’s dwelling place. It goes on to request that we may also ascend – not yet in our bodies but in our hearts & minds – to be with him so that our union with him now is deep and our communion with him is real.
Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
In the COLLECT for the Sunday after the Ascension, the fact of the Exaltation of Jesus to the right hand of the Father in heaven is celebrated. Then the petition is made for the gift of the Holy Ghost, whom the Exalted Lord Jesus with the Father sends to his Church to be his Representative and our Counsellor, Comforter and Advocate. By his presence and power, we, the people of God on earth, are able to ascend in heart and mind to be with Christ in glory and thus to be genuinely heavenly minded for our humble service on earth. This Collect looks forward to the Feast of Pentecost, White-Sunday, the original time when the Holy Ghost was first given to the assembled disciples of Jesus (Acts 2).
O God the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven: We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless; but send to us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
The EPISTLE (Acts 1:1-11) and the GOSPEL (Mark 16:14-20) for the Feast of the Ascension provide us with two different but complimentary accounts of the Ascension itself. It was the last of the appearances of the Resurrected Lord Jesus to his disciples. For forty days he had made himself known to them in marvellous and dramatic ways in order to prepare them for his going away and the coming of the Comforter & Counsellor. Now he is taken up from them by a luminous Cloud of glory which got underneath him to lift him as when a dolphin assumes it rider. This Cloud is the Shekinah which descended upon the Tabernacle in the wilderness and the new temple built by Solomon (Exodus 13:21; 40:34; 1 Kings 8:10-11). It is the symbol of the presence of the LORD and is the best way of making it clear where Jesus is going – not on a journey to far away planets but into the presence and glory of the Father Almighty.
He goes away to be active for his people on earth as their exalted High Priest, King (Lord) and Prophet, the One Mediator between God the Father and man. His going away is not a signal for inactivity by the disciples. Rather his going away opens the possibility of the disciples (empowered by the Spirit who is to come from him) continuing the work on earth begun by him, who said, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel….”
The EPISTLE (1 Peter 4:7-11) and the GOSPEL (John 15:26 – 16:4) for the Sunday after Ascension Day are intended to prepare us for a right appreciation of the Festival we call Whitsunday, the forthcoming celebration of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the exalted Lord Jesus to his Church. In the Epistle, there is a call to fervent prayer and to the right use of the gifts that God gives to us through his ascended and exalted Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Gospel, we are taught more concerning the identity of the coming Holy Ghost, that he is the Spirit of truth. Further, we learn that those disciples in whom he dwells, and who do the work of Christ by his guidance and strength, are very likely to be persecuted for their union and association with Jesus Christ.
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon.),
Christ Church, Biddulph Moor & St Anne's, Brown Edge
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