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On the 40th day after Easter, Christians of all denominations celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension.
But what is at the center of this solemnity? Ascension Day tells of the return of Jesus Christ to his Father in heaven (‘Análēpsis tou kyríou’, ancient Greek for ‘Assumption of the Lord’ or ‘Ascensio Domini’, Latin for ‘Ascension of the Lord’).
Meaning and history
The feast of the Ascension focuses on Jesus’ last encounter with his disciples; at this encounter, “[…] he was taken up before their eyes, and a cloud received him and withdrew him from their sight” (Acts 1:9). This ascension ends the appearances of Jesus and the assumption into the cloud symbolizing God symbolizes his final entry into the glory of God.
The Ascension was only celebrated as an independent festival 40 days after Easter from the fourth century onward. Prior to this, the ascension of the resurrected Jesus was celebrated together with the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as part of the 50-day Easter celebration. The number 40 has a special significance in the Bible – the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 days, and Jesus’ time of fasting in the desert also lasted 40 days in preparation for his public ministry. So the number 40 symbolizes times before a conclusion, before a new beginning. And this is also how the biblical passage from the Acts of the Apostles is to be read: ‘For forty days he appeared to them, speaking of the kingdom of God’ (Acts 1:3).
Origin of the holiday
The holiday is derived directly from the writings of the New Testament. The Gospel according to Luke (Luke 24:50-52) and the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:1-11) tell of the resurrected Jesus, who appeared to the disciples for forty days and was then raised to the right hand of God in heaven.
The ascension of Jesus is also mentioned in Matthew 26:64, John 14:1-3, Ephesians 4:8-10, 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and Hebrews 2:9 4:14.
Customs and celebrations
In many parishes, the feast of First Communion is usually celebrated around Ascension Day.
In some parishes in German-speaking countries, a special custom is still practiced today, which in earlier times probably served to illustrate the mystery of the feast, as it is re-enacted: A wooden figure of Christ is pulled upwards through an opening in the church ceiling—the so-called ‘Holy Spirit’hole’—symbolizing the floating of Jesus Christ to heaven.
The nine days between Ascension Day and Pentecost are regarded as a time of preparation for Pentecost (‘Pentecost Novena’), during which people pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Actuality
Heaven has remained a symbol of the transcendent, the sublime, and the infinite to this day. So, what does heaven mean for us today? English can give us an idea because, unlike German, it distinguishes between ‘sky’ and ‘heaven’: While ‘sky’ refers to the outer, geographical sky of nature, ‘heaven’ means the inner, spiritual sky, ultimately God himself, and as we know, he is everywhere and nowhere.
And so this feast, in particular, emphasizes the lasting presence of Christ in the church, even after his ascension. Or as theologian Peter Spichtig so aptly describes it: ‘Nothing would be more erroneous than to think that Christ retired into a well-deserved retirement after his ascension. Rather, his going to the Father is a beginning.’
So, doesn’t Christ’s ascension also have a message for us? God is invisible and omnipresent. Christ is already working ‘from heaven’, even if it may not yet be ‘heaven on earth’… in the offertory prayer for the day, however, we pray ‘[…] that we may rise above the earthly and seek what is above’ and Christ helps us to do this because he has left his footprints for us to follow. To where he already is, and to what all are called…
- hp/picture: pixabay.com
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