Ascension

I did not grow up in a tradition that formally celebrated Ascension or Pentecost. I knew the story of Christ ascending was important but I didn't know why.

 

According to the book of Acts, 40 days after the resurrection of Jesus, he took his disciples to the Mount of Olives. He told them to return to Jerusalem and await the coming of the Holy Spirit. Then he blessed them and was carried up into heaven.

 

The significance of Christ's ascension is manifold.

​

• It connects to Old Testament imagery of Moses ascending Sinai and returning with gift of Torah.

• It connects Jesus to the Exalted King in Psalms 24, 68 and 47 in which heaven and earth are united under His reign.

• It conveys the power of Christ our King "who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him." (I Peter 3:22).

• It commissions us to participate in the inaugurated Kingdom of God through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1-3).

• It prepares us for the return of Christ the King. Early Christian depictions of the Ascension purposefully left the viewer wondering if Christ is ascending or returning.

​

Meditations on Ascension

 

Over the next 10 Days, I invite you to engage these Ascension themes through a series of Lectio and Visio Divina meditations. This painting is entitled “The Flower: Zenith Rising.”  It is the second of three in a series called “The Witnesses.” Cody Wood is the Liturgical Artist in Residence for the Columbus Anglican Mission.

 

We invite you to take some time for contemplation and prayer, allowing God to move not only your heart, but your whole body, as you consider what it means to bear witness to Christ the King.

 

__________________________________