by Stushie

Created on: January 31, 2010

Ascension Day is one of those ‘little feast days’ that are celebrated by the Christian Church. It's a special day of commemoration when Christians, particularly Roman Catholics and Anglicans, remember the sacred time when Christ ascended into heaven forty days after His resurrection. The story is mentioned in the first chapter of the Book of Acts, in verses 6-11.

The purpose of the celebration is to remind Christians that they are Christ's ambassadors and messengers in the world. The work of Christ's Gospel is carried on throughout history, according to the deeds that are performed and the faithful lives that are lived by Christians in every land and generation.

Just as the original apostles were left on their own by Christ to continue His work in the world, every generation of Christian believers must do the same. Without this continuance of the faith through service to God's Kingdom and mission to the Earth, Christianity would cease to exist after a couple of generations. Ascension Day challenges Christians to await the coming of the Holy Spirit in their lives and churches, so it is a feast of preparation for what ministries and missions are still to come.

Christ's ascendancy into heaven is also emphasized. His victory over sin and death is glorified in His return to heaven. Christ ascends to the Father, to be at one with God forever. All Christians are therefore called on Ascension Day to not only believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world, but that He is also exalted as the King of all Creation and Lord of the Universe.

There is also an element of Thanksgiving in the celebration of Ascension Day, for when Christ finally returns to God, the work of redemption is completed and the opportunity to forgive humanity's sinfulness is made available through Christ.

First century Christian practices suggest that the feast day was celebrated as early as 68 A.D., however it was not formally instituted as a feast of obligation until after 385 A.D. Ascension Day was officially put on the Christian calendar as a means of dealing with the then current heresies of Gnosticism, in which it was believed that Jesus was merely a phantom, an angel, or a spirit. The fact that the Ascension Day feast commemorates the bodily Resurrected Jesus ascending into heaven was an orthodox means of denouncing and casting aside Gnostic ideas.

The fortieth day after Easter is always a Thursday. Because Ascension Day is a feast of obligation for Roman Catholics, it usually involved taking time off work to celebrate mass. In recent times, the RC Church has allowed congregations across the world to celebrate the feast on the Sunday before Pentecost to accommodate its members. Most Christian denominations now commemorate Christ’s Ascension on that particular Sunday as well.

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