Ascension Day, like Easter Day, always falls on the same day of the week, moving around the calendar within its own orbit of a possible 35 days (between April 30 and June 3).
As we all experienced an early Easter this year (the earliest it can be, but for one day), so Ascension Day arrives earlier than usual.
This year it occurs on May 1, the same date it was for the first white settlers in 1788. As all liturgically minded Anglicans know, Ascension Day falls on a Thursday, being 40 days after Easter. Following Luke's account in Acts 1:3, the eleven apostles enjoyed a 40-day teaching seminar with the risen Lord, from that first Easter Day "until he was taken up to heaven". Here was an intensive training exercise, learning about the kingdom of God and about the responsibilities that would be theirs for the rest of their lives.
Christians regularly celebrate the death of Jesus and his resurrection, and even Lent appears for many as a period of quiet reflection and abstinence. However, I suspect that May 1 will pass for many this year without much reflection at all. Of course, there is no command in Scripture to celebrate any particular days, unlike the Old Testament saints for whom the regular reminder of weekly, monthly and yearly festivals was part of the rhythm of their lives. "These are a shadow of the things that are to come: the reality is found in Christ" (Col 2:16-17).
However, it would be a mistake to think that celebrations of anniversaries are unnecessary or unhelpful. Ask any wife if she thinks it is a matter of indifference whether her husband remembers their wedding anniversary!
Of course, an annual remembrance of the anniversary is futile if there is no complementary engagement with one's wife throughout the year. The anniversary should not be the focus, the marriage should be. To have the former without the latter is meaningless. So it is with Ascension Day.
What do we celebrate? We celebrate that Jesus has entered into heaven as our substitute and Saviour. He has taken glorified humanity into the Father's presence and represents us in human body and soul at the Father's side. He intercedes for us and beckons us to join him in glory (Acts 7:56). His entry into the Father's glory likewise assures us of our entry into glory. His ascension guarantees our ascension (1 Thess 4:15-18).
Such magnificent truths should command our regular reflection and praise. You may have missed the significance of May 1 this year, but don't ever forget that your daily life depends upon the reality of Jesus' sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for you before the throne.
In the words of the collect for Ascension Day: "Grant we pray, almighty God, that as we believe your only begotten Son 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."
Happy Ascension Day!
