Ascension is just as important as Easter
By Christopher Rankine, Hillhouse Parish Church
This week the church marks the Ascension of Jesus.
Sadly, this festival is not nearly as well known as Christmas and Easter, even within the church, yet it is just as important.
When celebrating the Ascension we often read the story in the book of Acts in the New Testament (the book of Acts is a history of the origins and development of the church after the Resurrection).
In this story we read of Jesus being taken up to heaven whilst the disciples stood near by.
The consequence of seeing the Ascension of Jesus primarily through the book of Acts, is that the focus of the story is the‘upward journey’into the sky – as if the story was all about Jesus becoming the first astronaut.
We need to remember that, in the time when the New Testament was written, people believed in a three-decker world, with heaven ‘above’earth and the underworld ‘below’.
In today’s scientific age it seems that the claims of the story in Acts can no longer be maintained – for we know the world is a globe and that heaven is not just above the sky.
Do we need to then say that the story of Jesus’ascension no longer has any relevance for today’s world?
In my view, Jesus’ascension is not just relevant but crucial for maintaining any hope that this world can change.
If we look at other versions of Jesus’ Ascension (especially the end of Matthew’s Gospel when Jesus appears on the mountain) we learn that the Ascension story is not about Jesus becoming an astronaut but that ‘all authority in heaven on earth’has been given to him.
The Ascension is really a political statement that this Jesus of Nazareth, who was raised from the dead, has now ascended to the throne – he is now the king of creation and through him this world can and will be redeemed. And in today’s world, that is a hope worth holding on to.
So this week celebrate the Ascension and our belief that the Jesus, whom this world crucified, now sits on the throne.