Apart from Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, I don't usually follow the liturgical calendar. But I'm due to preach this evening at an Ascension Day service. I wonder if we pay enough attention to our Lord's ascension. The event was full of meaning and significance. By his ascension Jesus returned to the Father who send him into the world. Being exalted to the right hand of the Father, he was made both Lord and Christ. Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness and crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. Christ did not abandon his human nature at the ascension. As Rabbi Duncan put it, "The dust of earth is now on the throne of the Majesty on High." Jesus' sovereign rule is conditioned by his humanity. We have a High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. He is able to sympathise with us in our weaknesses having been tempted on all points as we are, yet without sin. As Jesus ascended bodily and visibly into the glory cloud, so he will return, coming on the clouds of heaven. Then every eye will see him, even they who pierced him. Even so, come Lord Jesus! Thursday, May 01, 2008
Ascension Day
Apart from Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, I don't usually follow the liturgical calendar. But I'm due to preach this evening at an Ascension Day service. I wonder if we pay enough attention to our Lord's ascension. The event was full of meaning and significance. By his ascension Jesus returned to the Father who send him into the world. Being exalted to the right hand of the Father, he was made both Lord and Christ. Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness and crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. Christ did not abandon his human nature at the ascension. As Rabbi Duncan put it, "The dust of earth is now on the throne of the Majesty on High." Jesus' sovereign rule is conditioned by his humanity. We have a High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. He is able to sympathise with us in our weaknesses having been tempted on all points as we are, yet without sin. As Jesus ascended bodily and visibly into the glory cloud, so he will return, coming on the clouds of heaven. Then every eye will see him, even they who pierced him. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Do we pay enough attention to the ascension? I've read two books on the subject both by Dereks (Thomas and Prime). Both argue that it is more important than we think but I felt both were stretching it to fill a book on the subject and that the problem is probably that we don't pay enough attention to Christ rather than to the ascension as such. ;-)
ReplyDeleteNo doubt writers and preachers tend to think that whatever they are working on is the most important subject for them at the time. Why bother writing/preaching otherwise?
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should pay more attention to the ascended Christ rather than the event of the ascension in itself.