May: Ascension and Pentecost
Ascension Day and Pentecost both take place in the month of May. These two days are indispensable in terms of understanding our faith. Ascension Day and Pentecost usher in the next step in God’s redemptive plan, further revealing the nature of the Holy Spirit, and how the Spirit works in concert with the other two parts of the Godhead. Following the liturgical calendar Ascension Day and Pentecost are the last major church events before we enter the season known as Ordinary Time.
Acts 1:9-11
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
Why does ascension matter? Ascension Day maintains a storied and significant place in the Church’s history. It was referenced in several of Saint Augustine’s sermons in the 5th, stating that observance had begun during the Apostolic Age. The Apostolic Age is generally viewed as the time between the start of Jesus’ ministry and the death of the last apostle. With this framing in mind, we can see that Ascension Day has been around for quite some time.
Looking through the Bible we discover ascending is a motif which sticks around. If we visit the Old Testament, we find a myriad of accounts where ascension was crucial to the story. Starting back at the Exodus, we see Moses ascending to the top of Mount Sinai to meet God, 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles both share the story of King David bringing the ark up to Jerusalem with great jubilation. While the word ascension is not always used, these stories remind us that ascension took place throughout the Old Testament, dropping breadcrumbs about Christ’s eventual ascension to the right hand of God.
Acts 2:1-13
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”
Closely related to Ascension Day is the day of Pentecost. The day of Pentecost was - even with roots in Judaism - a watershed moment for the Christian Church. It was, yet another fulfillment of the promises of Jesus Christ. The greater promise reflected harkens back to the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9), where people were divided by language and cultural background. Now, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, those who speak a different language, are from another ethnic background, or nation, are all united together as one. The Holy Spirit, unifies, sanctifies, and assures us that we have been adopted into the family of God. This season of Pentecost may we search for what commonalities unite us as brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.
Peace to you,
Rev. Taylor Kibler
