Ruling, Reigning, Returning – Ascension Day

Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of Jesus’ ministry is His Ascension. Christians and pagans alike are baffled at the image of Jesus ascending into the heavens. Despite our professed allegiance to Christ as God and man who lived, died, and rose again, we cannot help but think like Post-modern pagans that what happened on Ascension Day is Christ disappearing not merely from sight but also in impact, in effect, and indefinitely. Should we speak our doubts out loud, then we would say that Jesus is away. 

But God is never away. Christ the God-man returns into His glory to rule and reign. Christ returns to the very glory He dwelt in since before the foundation of the world, even before He enacted the Father’s command “Let it be.” The glory that Christ provided Peter, James, and John a glimpse at His Transfiguration is the glory Jesus ascends to as He sits in authority all the while ruling both the heavenly and earthly realms at the right hand of the Father.  

We hear the fulfillment of the Psalms ringing throughout Ascensiontide. While the pagans rage and plot vainly, and as the rulers of the earth take counsel against the Lord God and Christ, “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.” (Psalm 2:1-4, ESV). Our King, the Lord Jesus Christ, reigns from on high and the Father in His infinite patience and love continues offering an open hand with a pardon to rebellious mankind. Mercifully and graciously, the Father advises the orchestrators and antagonizers of rebellion: 

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. 

• Psalm 2:10-12, ESV 

Ascensiontide is a time to look up and remember that God reigns even amidst the madness. His patience and His love is displayed through the promise that all His elect shall be saved, redeemed, and the lost sheep of Israel gathered together into one flock: that is, the Body of His Son, the ark of salvation, His Church. 

And to preview Pentecost Sunday, our mission that Christ gives His Church is to cast nets and fish for those same pagans who now mock Christ, as we once did. Yes, we especially once mocked and denied Christ, and yet when He revealed Himself upon the Cross, enthroned, high, lifted up, we were yet drawn to Him in this display of Divine love, and like the thief on the Cross we change our minds – we repent – and beg, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And even this late confession and repentance is a mustard seed faith to which our Lord promises, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43, ESV). Cast your nets, O Church, for the Spirit is at work in His Body because Christ reigns from on high. The Holy Spirit of God is active and present, even in us lazy servants of God, every time we share the Gospel: Christ has died for your sins and is risen – and not empty-handed, for: 

18 You ascended on high,
    leading a host of captives in your train
    and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there. 

• Psalm 68:18 

Simply put, Christ’s Ascension is crucial to our salvation. It is necessary. It renders humanity’s ability to enter into the Lord God’s presence without fear. It is why we receive it from the Scripture, profess it in the creeds, and confess it in our 39 Articles of Religion (Article 4). 

You may ask yourself, “Why is it necessary for salvation? Surely, he is exaggerating…”

I am not, and more importantly, do not take my word for it but take up the Holy Word of God into your hands, read, and believe. 

Read the rest at The North American Anglican.

The Boundaries of the Parish

Rogationtide rolls over us. An ancient call and reminder for us “to ask” (rogare in Latin, from which we drive the word, “Rogation”). Or as our Lord tells us, “Ask and it shall be given you.” (Matthew 7:7, KJV). Our Lord’s words should remind us to ask and ask in faith, as the Apostle James encourages. (“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6, ESV). We moderns are commonly cast about the waves of our desires, worries, and worldly fads. When we do ask, it is not in faith, not with prayer, and rarely with fasting, so we end up demanding from God instead of asking Him with the faith of a child. 

The Rogation Days are long forgotten in today’s barren wasteland posing as Christianity. Many of Christ’s followers believe Easter is “over” – as though Eastertide could ever end this side of Christ’s resurrection! Other Anglicans, Lutherans, Reformed, and Roman Catholics aimlessly drift from Easter to Ascension without any thought about what is happening this week during the transition. We are without excuse, we are inheritors of the old ways. Too many ignore our inheritance and deceive ourselves while patting ourselves on the back for “walking the ancient way,” yet all the while disregarding the old landmarks of our forefathers in the faith. In other words, we claim the ancient Western Christian path whilst ignoring the Rogation Days and disregarding the faith of our fathers.

Our ignorance can be corrected by returning to the prayer book. Ironically, for Anglicans, it is not the queen of the classic prayerbooks that has provided us the deepest resource to remind us about Rogation Days. The 1662 Book of Common Prayer mentions the days in the Kalendar without further context.  The American 1928 edition, on the other hand, provides a single collect, epistle, and gospel to cover all the Rogation Days, in addition to unique lessons for Morning and Evening Prayer for each of the three Rogation Days. The 2019 Anglican Church in North America’s Book of Common Prayer begs us to mark the Rogation Days by providing two collects and sets of readings (again to be spread across the three Rogation Days). Alas, but will we keep them? Or will we allow the world to move the ancient landmarks and yield ever more of our lives and our hearts to the distractions of the flesh?

Read the rest at The North American Anglican: https://northamanglican.com/the-boundaries-of-the-parish/