The Ascension of our Lord is often overlooked. It always falls on a Thursday, and, in our society, that makes it hard to celebrate properly.
However, Ascension is an important feast: it looks backwards and forwards at the same time.
Looking back, the Feast of the Ascension reminds us of how the Old Testament wrote about Christ’s suffering and rising. So, we shouldn’t have been surprised that Christ did, truly, rise from the dead, in the flesh no less!
Looking forwards, we anticipate the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Though Ascension points us both to the Feast of Pascha behind us and the Feast of Pentecost before us, it’s more than a “link feast.” It reminds us of our own glorification.
In today’s episode, we meditate on a few different themes of this feast.