By Meg Newton
I used to teach fourth grade in a Christian school in New Jersey, and our class was responsible, every year, for our Ascension Day celebration. This year, Ascension Day is next Thursday, May 9, forty days after Easter Sunday, and I’m thinking fondly of the fourth graders in my class who acted out the events we read about in Mark 16, Luke 24, and Acts 1. Jesus had appeared to his disciples on a number of occasions over the forty days after his resurrection, and now, on this day, he gathered them together, blessed them, instructed them to be his witnesses, and then was “taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19).
My fourth graders always debated who would be the disciples, who would play the angels who appear after Jesus’ ascension, who would get to be the clouds (a vital role in our annual sketch), and, of course, who would be Jesus. The clouds were a fun, non-speaking role, because they provided the awe and wonder—every year, a few kindergarteners would be completely amazed by Jesus’ disappearance behind the clouds (ah, the magic of theater!).
But thinking back on those years and those kids, I wonder whether they remember Ascension Day now, and whether it holds any significance for them. I confess that I always intend to mark the day in some way with my own family, and it very often slips past me in the busyness of school and work schedules. But I encourage you to mark it on your calendars this year, take time to read Acts 1:1-11—the longest account of the ascension—and reflect on what it means that, as we say in the Nicene Creed, “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.”
Jesus’ ascension marked the end of his bodily, earthly ministry—and the completion and success of that ministry. It also marked a return to the glory that he’d set aside when he was born in Bethlehem, and is a reminder of his full divinity and holiness. As our risen and ascended Lord, Jesus now serves as our high priest and mediator, and he is present to us here on earth through his Holy Spirit. For Christians around the world, celebrating Ascension Day reminds us of all these truths, fills us with hope, and challenges us to follow in the steps of those first disciples by being Jesus’ witnesses and representatives in our communities, workplaces, and families. Happy Ascension Day to all of you!
Meg Newton is the associate pastor of Trinity Church in New Canaan.
