Feast of Ascension
Just as, starting with Ash Wednesday, Christians spent 40 days of Lent preparing for Easter to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, now, exactly 40 days after Easter, Christians all over the world celebrate another important feast called the Ascension of the Lord.
This year the feast of Ascension falls on May 17 and in many Western countries today is a holiday. In India, though, we celebrate it on the coming Sunday, May 20.
The Ascension of Jesus is found in the Acts of the Apostles, the fifth book of the New Testament, of the Bible. “…He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God… in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight” (Acts 1:3-9). Similarly, in Luke’s gospel we find, “When He had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven” (Luke 24: 50-51).
Christians belonging to all different denominations believe that though Jesus’ disciples and others were all taken aback by the totally unexpected event of His Resurrection, the risen Jesus kept appearing to them for 40 days at different locations before being taken to heaven. The Acts of the Apostles tells us that before Jesus was taken to heaven, He asked His disciples to stay on in Jerusalem and wait for what His Father had promised them.
Ten days after His Ascension, on the feast of Pentecost, as the disciples were in a closed room in Jerusalem, they received the Holy Spirit — the third person of the Holy Trinity. The feast of Pentecost this year falls on May 27. Pentecost Day is also known as the birthday of the Church, for, from this day onwards, filled with the power and gifts and free from all fear of persecution and death of the Holy Spirit, the disciples, went about preaching message of the risen Lord, just as Jesus had instructed them to.
The Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost are two of the 12 most important feast days in the Christian calender. With His ascension into heaven, Jesus completed His work of salvation on earth and with Pentecost the church began to proclaim the good news of the saving power of Jesus Christ to the world.
Father Dominic Emmanuel, a founder-member of Parliament of Religions, is currently the director of communication the Delhi Catholic Church. He can be contacted at frdominic@gmail.com
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