The problem of the forgotten holiday – Ascension Day

What is the forgotten holiday?  Actually, maybe not so much forgotten.  More like never really celebrated that much.  Ever.  I call it the "forgotten" holiday as a nod to Francis Chan's book - The Forgotten God.  Does that help to identify it?  If you live someplace like France, Germany, Norway or Sweden - you'll be wondering why I call it forgotten.  Your countries haven't forgotten.  But if you're like me, in the U.S. - or if you're in the U.K., Canada or Australia - you get it.  Maybe, no matter the country, you get it if you're Catholic.  So what is the forgotten holiday?  It's Ascension Day. From timeanddate.com, if we don't already know, we learn:

Ascension Day is the 40th day of Easter. It occurs 39 days after Easter Sunday. It is a Christian holiday that commemorates Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven according to Christian belief.

I wrote a little about this event the other day in Which is more important – Christmas or Easter? I suggested that, in a sense, Ascension Day was actually more important than either Christmas or Easter.  If you read that one, Good Friday was included.  The simple reality is that all four events are critical for Christians. Without Jesus dying, there could be no Resurrection.  No Easter.  Without Jesus being born - without Christmas - there's no way He could die.  So it's a series of events that must all take place.  In that order. Of course, that begs a question as to why Christmas and Easter became big famous holidays - but Good Friday didn't.  Likely because there's no way to turn that particular event into something nice and fluffy.  No giant overweight man giving out presents over the gruesome death of someone. And no way to justify Robin Hood-like bunnies stealing eggs from poor unsuspecting chickens, coloring them, and giving them to gleeful kids who don't yet realize that the objects of their delight had to have been stolen in order to be delivered by bunnies.  Bunnies that don't lay chicken eggs.

Ascension Day - forgotten?  or ignored?

But what about Ascension Day?  This is an awesome event.  Jesus returned to Heaven.  As was pointed out in the previous article on Christmas and Easter - if the "only" thing Jesus did was come back to life, the Christian goal of eternity in Heaven hasn't been accomplished.  So yes, this is a big deal.

Jn 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus being alive again, only to remain on earth forever, doesn't accomplish the mission.  When Jesus is our example - our proof that what He says is true - the things in this passage must be completed. There must be "many rooms" that have been prepared for us.  Not that they are literal "rooms", as in a motel room.  (See Dragons and the things God has prepared for those who love him for more on that thought.)  There's no way Jesus could begin to explain Heaven to us living on this earth.  Remember, He really only ever spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven in parables. Further, Jesus said He was going to return to Heaven to prepare a place for us.  If Jesus couldn't return to Heaven - if He stayed here Resurrected but still walking this earth - He could not prepare that place.  And if Jesus wasn't capable of getting Himself back to Heaven, how could we ever hope He could get us there? And so, this Ascension Day is huge,  Without Jesus being able to ascend back to Heaven, everything else He said in that John 14 passage would have been idle talk.  Lies.  Or statements from a deranged person. Now we see, the full sequence, for Jesus, must be born - Christmas dead - Good Friday resurrected - Easter returned to Heaven - Ascension Day And yet, many Christians around the world don't celebrate Ascension Day.  I wonder, other than Catholics, how many people even know there is such a thing.  Let alone - how many people know when it is?

Ascension Day as a public holiday

Here's something else from timeanddate.com

Ascension Day is officially celebrated on a Thursday on the 40th day of Easter (or 39 days after Easter Sunday). In countries where it is a public holiday, Ascension Day is a free day for many workers. Many people take a long weekend off because the day falls on a Thursday. The Friday in between is usually quiet, particularly in shops and offices. Despite Christianity being a minority religion in Indonesia, Ascension Day is a public holiday and special services take place at churches throughout the country.

Even Indonesia has Ascension Day as a public holiday.  Indonesia is primarily Muslim.  Christians are in the minority.  And yet, Ascension Day is a public holiday.  That's even more amazing when you look at the different beliefs about Jesus between Muslims and Christians.  For Christians, as we saw, His Ascension to Heaven is essential. But for Muslims, Jesus was a prophet, not the Son of God.  Further, Islam teaches that Jesus was never crucified.  Imagine the explaining that has to be done when a national holiday celebrates the Ascension of someone whom the Muslims acknowledge only His birth.  Not His death on the Cross.  Not Jesus being raised from the dead.  And not His ascension to Heaven.

Forgetting Ascension Day

Of all places, you'd expect Muslim countries would want to forget Ascension Day.  And of all places, you'd expect that majority Christian countries would remember and celebrate it.  Instead, too many of us have forgotten - or never knew about it.  That's sad. It's like all we want is to be brought back to life.  This life.  Not the one God promised.  Not the one where Jesus will be King.  No - we want the life we have now.  Where we are king.  The life where we celebrate Jesus' incredible resurrection with bunny rabbits handing out stolen chicken eggs.  Where life goes on as we want it to.  Where we create god in our image. We don't seem to even want to think about Ascension Day.  Because then we have to acknowledge that life as we now know it - it's going to end.  It will never be the same.  Never.  Ever. Life in Hell is way worse.  Anything good that we now have - it's gone.  Because that "good" was from God.   And God's not in Hell.  Only Satan and the things he created - which would be nothing. Life in Heaven won't be life on earth.  It'll be far better than we can currently dream of.  But it will be different.  And we're afraid of change.  Even if the One to whom we promised to dedicate our lives promises it will be infinitely better, we're afraid. Even though the Bible records God, Jesus, Angels saying so often, "Do not be afraid" - we're still afraid.

Something else forgotten

At the beginning, I said I'm calling this the Forgotten Holiday as a nod to Francis Chan's book, The Forgotten God. If you haven't read the book, it's about the Holy Spirit.  You know - the third part of the Trinity?  As in The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit?  Please check out Jesus is my co-pilot? if you'd like to know more about the importance of not forgetting about the Holy Spirit. But there's more to this connection than just that we tend to forget both the Holy Spirit and Jesus' Ascension to Heaven. Let's start off with this:

The Great Commission

Mt 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

All Christians should be familiar with the Great Commission.  In fact, every Christian should be actively fulfilling the Great Commission.  Unfortunately, it's that's not always the case - as you can see in The Great Omission from The Great Commission. But have you ever paid attention to the last part of it?  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. To be sure, Jesus returned to Heaven.  That's what this article is all about.  So how is it that He's with us always - when He's back in Heaven. Sure - the easy answer is that God is always present everywhere.  Omniscient.  But that's too easy.  How does He do this?  We are given an answer.  One we should know.  Acknowledge.  And make good use of.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

Jn 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”