Next Thursday, May 29, is the 39th day AFTER Easter Day or the 40th Day OF Easter. The 40th day of Easter is always a Thursday because Easter Day is always a Sunday. And, since Easter Day is determined by the lunar calendar (the Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox on March 21), the earliest date for the Feast of the Ascension is April 30 and the latest is June 3.
This may be more information than anyone ever wanted to know about the Feast of the Ascension. As holidays go, the Ascension seems to lack broad public appeal. It is easy to miss, easy to overlook. There are no sales, decorations, or an Ascension Day Tree; no Egg hunts, presents, or special feast; no wearing red and speaking in many languages. Even Trinity Sunday has the notorious challenge of preaching on the Trinity and memes about Trinitarian heresy; and All Saints’ gets to be celebrated twice if November 1st isn’t a Sunday. Poor Ascension Day.
In reality, the Feast of the Ascension is probably one of the most overlooked Feasts in the Church year, and this is even though the Feast of the Ascension is one of the 7 Principal Feasts of our Church year: It ranks right up there in importance with Easter Day, The Day of Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, All Saints’ Day, Christmas Day, and the Epiphany.
The Ascension should be noticed and celebrated!
Why? Because the Feast of the Ascension is God’s promise and gift that in the Ascension of Jesus in human form, we are with him in heaven while he remains present with us on earth. We are His body on earth as it is in heaven, and so He is present with us, suffers with us, rejoices with us, and reminds us of our holy calling to serve and love His body on earth as it is in heaven. We are at the same time His body in heaven where he is also present to us. On the Feast of the Ascension we celebrate that we rise with Christ.
St. Augustine of Hippo (346-430AD) in one of his many Ascension Day sermons expresses the wonderful joy and hope of the Ascension that is ours as the body of Christ:
“Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. …For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies.
Christ is now exalted above the heavens, but he still suffers on earth all the pain that we, the members of his body, have to bear. …Why do we on earth not strive to find rest with him in heaven even now, through the faith, hope and love that unites us to him?
While in heaven he is also with us; and we while on earth are with him. He is here with us by his divinity, his power and his love. We cannot be in heaven, as he is on earth, by divinity, but in him, we can be there by love.
So the Apostle says: Just as the human body, which has many members, is a unity, because all the different members make one body, so is it also with Christ. He too has many members, but one body. Out of compassion for us he descended from heaven, and although he ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in him by grace. Thus, no one but Christ descended and no one but Christ ascended; not because there is no distinction between the head and the body, but because the body as a unity cannot be separated from the head.” (Sermon 263A 396-397AD, edited for content)
Let us Rise with Christ where His body belongs by his love and grace; and let us serve this world as His body on earth as it is in heaven–a body of many members, all manner of our siblings in Christ.
The Collect for Ascension Day
Gant, we pray, Almighty God, that as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into heaven, so we may also in heart and mind there ascend, and with him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Other NOTES from Bishop:
- St. Mark’s, Nenana, is having an Ascension Day service Thursday the 29th at 7 pm. The service will be available on St. Mark’s Facebook page, too. All are welcome in person and online.
- Spring is Deanery Season.South Central Deanery held their Convocation this year May 1-3 in Homer.Southeast held Convocation May 9-10 at Holy Trinity in JuneauInterior Deanery Convocation will meet June 7-8 at the Tanana Spirit Camp.
Arctic Coast Deanery is TBD
- The Bishop will be in Washougal, WA over Memorial Day weekend celebrating the 100th Birthday of Patricia’s mother, Bea.
- The weekend of May 30-June 1, the Bishop will visit St. James the Fisherman in Kodiak.
