“The supernatural birth of Christ, his miracles, his resurrection, and ascension, remain eternal truths, whatever doubts may be cast on their reality as historical facts.” - David Friedrich Strauss
This Sunday, we will celebrate the Feast of the Ascension. Our namesake feast falls on the fortieth day after Easter each year, properly on a Thursday. Our practice has been to observe the feast on a Sunday when we are able to gather more robustly. This year, our celebration coincides with our Parish Picnic! Jesus was not the first to ascend within our scriptures. Enoch, the great grandfather of Noah, was the first, in Genesis. Later, the prophet Elijah avoided an earthly death and ascended into heaven (2 Kings 2:11). Although it is not recorded in our scriptures, the church teaches that others also ascended, including Jesus' mother Mary. Jesus’ ascension is captured in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The placement of this Biblical event is noteworthy as the Ascension does not come at the end of one of the Gospels, but at the beginning of the next chapter. The remainder of this book describes the first followers of Jesus as they continued doing the work Jesus instructed them to do. This work persists as we are called to live into our Baptismal Covenant each and every day. Join the celebration of this feast in worship and in fellowship this Sunday.
Blessings,
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