Ascension Day: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Ascension Day commemorates Jesus’ Ascension from earth to heaven on the fortieth day after his Resurrection. Officially, Ascension is one of the principal feasts of the church year. It’s a great day to have a special service—and to use lots of incense (Jesus disappeared in the cloud, after all). However, in practice, we often overlook Ascension, and not only because it occurs on a Thursday! The deeper reason we ignore Ascension is that we don’t understand its purpose. We know the what, but not the why. Like Mary Magdalene, we wish we could hold onto the resurrected Jesus and keep him here on earth!
The key to appreciating Ascension Day is to see how, when Jesus ascends, he accomplishes both his glory and our good. This becomes clear in the related doctrines of Jesus’ session and intercession, namely his royal seating at the right hand of God and his prayers for the saints before the Father. In other words, Jesus is now invested with the highest possible authority, and he uses his authority to pray for you and me.
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This should inspire us to rejoice in the Ascension, offering prayer, praise, and glory to our ascended Lord. Because he is exalted, and we are in him, we too are drawn up to heaven. As the Collect for Ascension Day puts it:
Almighty God, whose only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven: May our hearts and minds also there ascend, and with him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Matter of the Ascension
What happened at the Ascension? Luke gives us the most detail, telling the story twice at the end of Luke and the beginning of Acts. He explains how Jesus, after his resurrection, continued to meet and teach the disciples for a number of weeks, “appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Jesus told them that he would be ascending to God, but instructed the disciples to remain together in Jerusalem after he left and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Then on the fortieth day, Jesus took the disciples out of the city, and they saw him ascend:
And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
Luke 24:50-51
As they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
Acts 1:9
From an earthly perspective, the Ascension can feel a bit underwhelming. If we imagine ourselves with the apostles on that day, what we experience is the departure of Jesus into the sky. It feels more like a loss than a gain. I’m reminded of the humorous ascension iconography where all you can see of Jesus is his feet, disappearing into a cloud.
Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Meaning of the Ascension
The Ascension becomes more meaningful when we broaden our perspective, to consider not only the place Jesus from which he has departed (earth), but also the place to which he has gone (heaven). Jesus did not ascend to outer space, another solar system, or some other created place. As CS Lewis points out, “there is no question of a human body as we know it existing in interstellar space as we know it” (Miracles, 255). More to the point, even if Jesus’ resurrected body does have the ability to dwell in space (and why not?), to do so would not accomplish his purpose.
Jesus ascended to heaven because heaven was his home. It was from heaven that the eternal Son had descended, in order to become incarnate and take the form of a man. It was in heaven that he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, that he might walk in obedience to the cross for our salvation. In his Ascension, Jesus returned to the heavenly home of his Father, but this time with the body of a man. Having taken upon himself the sin of all prodigal sons, Jesus returned to his Father with great joy. I’m confident there was much rejoicing amongst the angels, and I would speculate that the Father called a great feast.
In my view, Ascension iconography is more successful when it depicts not only the disciples on earth but also the angels who receive Jesus into heaven. We see Jesus bringing our own human nature into heaven, and in the joy of heaven, we feel the joy of the feast.
Image courtesy of the Web Gallery of Art
The Session of Christ
When Jesus ascended, he was seated at the right hand of God. We call this the Session of Christ—a term that you might recognize from courts, legislatures, and schools, which are “in session” when their members are seated to do their work. Mark makes the connection between the Ascension and the Session explicit:
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
Mark 16:9
As Anglicans, we proclaim both the Ascension and the Session of Christ every week in the Nicene Creed. In it, we say “he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” Ascension Day gives us an opportunity to pause and think about what this really means. Put simply, it means that Jesus is on the throne. He is sovereign. God has enthroned his royal Son, fulfilling what he promised in Psalm 110:
The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!
Psalm 110:1-2
And just as the enthronement of Jesus should strike terror in the heart of his enemies, so it should be a great comfort to his people. We who call Jesus our Lord can live in the confidence that he has the ultimate authority, that the changes and chances of this world will not frustrate his ultimate design.
J.I. Packer puts it this way:
“So the message of the ascension story is: ‘Jesus the Savior reigns!’ In a weary world in which grave philosophers were counseling suicide as man’s best option, the unshakable, rollicking optimism of the first Christians, who went on feeling and proclaiming that life was wonderful and the world a marvelous place because Jesus was on the throne of the universe, was beyond comprehension.”
J.I. Packer, Growing in Christ, 70-71
The Intercession of Christ
The doctrine of the ascension includes not only the session but also the intercession of Jesus. We see this in the subtle detail of Jesus’ throne being “at the right hand of God.”
A “right-hand man” is a leader’s most trusted advisor and executive, the one whom he uniquely trusts to share his deliberation and carry out his will. We do not know how space and location work in heaven, but the point is clear: Jesus is exalted as God’s principal advisor and agent.
Most wonderfully, the scriptures testify that Jesus uses his proximity to God to intercede for the saints. Before God, Jesus functions as a priest, like the priests of the Old Covenant who sacrificed animals to make atonement for the people. But Jesus is a new and better priest because he lives forever, and his sacrifice is his own blood. The book of Hebrews puts it this way:
The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:23-25
Imagine that your personal teacher and friend were to become the President of the United States and to begin using his power on your behalf immediately. The Ascension is like that, only on a far more cosmic scale. It is the day that our Lord took the authority of heaven and earth, and immediately used it for our good.
How fitting it is that Jesus would use his authority in heaven to intercede on behalf of his saints. In Jesus, the offices of King and Priest are combined. He uses his session for the purpose of intercession. Or, as Bishop E. Harold Browne beautifully describes Jesus’ combination of roles:
Christ has ascended into heaven, and there he abides. He now occupies that Mediatorial throne, where he is to sit, till all enemies be made his footstool.
E. Harold Browne, An Exposition of the 39 Articles, Article IV
Hymns on the Ascension
“Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise”
This is the classic Ascension hymn by Charles Wesley. It begins with a straightforward depiction of the Ascension event on earth and heaven, and proceeds to explore the kingly and priestly roles of Christ in his session and intercession. We can find a whole theology of the Ascension contained in this hymn. The Alleluias added after Wesley’s death create a lovely bookend to the Alleluias of the Easter Hymn.
“See the Conqueror”
“See the Conqueror” was composed by Christopher Wordsworth, an Anglican Bishop and nephew of the famous poet. The hymn depicts the Ascension from the perspective of heaven. What would it have been like for the angels on the day he ascended to take his kingly throne? Here’s the second verse:
Who is this, who comes in glory?
With the trump of jubilee?
Lord of battles, God of armies,
He has gained the victory!
He who on the cross did suffer!
He who from the grave arose!
He has vanquished sin and satan!
He by death has spoiled his foes!
The video features a wonderful modern rendition by duo Jenny & Tyler:
“Before the Throne of God Above”
“Before the Throne of God Above” was written in the 19th century by Charitie Lees Smith, but has been revived in the modern church through a new tune by Vicki Cook. The hymn focuses on Christ’s intercession in heaven. It is the most personal and intimate of Ascension hymns, communicating in a powerful way the assurance and hope we have in Christ. This video is a reflective folk rendition by Sandra McCracken and Joseph Bradshaw.
In Conclusion: Countdown to Pentecost
At his last supper, Jesus explained to his disciples that it would be good for him to go away, so that he could subsequently send them a Helper in the Holy Spirit (John 16). Then, on the 40th day of his resurrection, just before his ascension, Jesus told his disciples to stay together and wait for the fulfillment of this promise:
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Acts 1:8
The disciples obeyed and remained together for the next 10 days, until they received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
Ascension Day, therefore, marks the beginning of a countdown, T-10 days, until Pentecost. We call this 10-day period Ascensiontide. It is characterized by the gathering of the church and by expectant prayer. Christ has ascended, is seated in glory, and prays for the saints. Here on the earth below, we look to Christ in heaven, trusting him to fulfill his promise, to pour out his Holy Spirit as we believe in him. Thus, the collect for the Sunday after Ascension:
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Image: Ascension of Christ by Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo (1550). Courtesy of Wikipedia. Digitally edited by Jacob Davis.
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