Thursday, May 13 is the Feast Day of Ascension, "a movable feast", which may also be observed on the following Sunday.
Overview: The Feast of the Ascension commemorates the bodily ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of seven major Anglican observances, and is an ecumenical feast universally commemorated by almost all Christian churches.
The observance of this feast is an ancient tradition. At the beginning of the 5th century, St. Augustine says that it is of Apostolic origin and he speaks of it in such a way as to indicate that it was a universal observation of the church long before his time. Commemoration of this feast reminds us that before Jesus ascended into heaven, he leaves the disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit, names them as witnesses to the resurrection, and charges them to proclaim repentance and forgiveness. (adapted from https://www.stmartins-charlotte.org/ascension)
The Gospel assigned for this feast is Luke 24:44-53:
Jesus said to his disciples, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
Relevance: Something more is a phrase that has captivated my attention this year and has reframed my thinking about religious life. The rapidly changing landscape of religious institutions is shifting former models of corporate life and ministry, forcing change and the emergence of new paradigms for doing ministry and experiencing spirituality. But what hasn't changed is the individual, mystical experience of God. The presence of the living Christ was an authentic experience of the disciples. Though they had heard Jesus' promise of resurrection they doubted this to be possible. To have him again in their midst was an unexpected something more. To define their roles as witnesses, not only to his crucifixion but also to his resurrection, was something more. To be charged with a life-changing, life-engaging mission was to ask of them something more. To send to the disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit, to aid and sustain them in their vocation, was to leave them with something more.
As I navigate the evolving roles of the priesthood in a pandemic/post-pandemic world, I contemplate the something mores. A facilitator exclaimed recently in a Zoom clergy support group - "You are all bringing some big questions!" Yes. We have lots of big questions because there are a lot of big something mores, conditions unforeseen, situations requiring more than our training imagined. In this moment, we, with all the people of God, lean faithfully into the constant stream of the Spirit who gifts us with the something more of grace heaped upon grace as we grow in love ever ascending to something more.
A Collect for the Feast of the Ascension
O Lord, when your Son ascended into heaven he sent down upon the Apostles the Holy Spirit, as he had promised, that they might comprehend the mysteries of the kingdom. Distribute among us also, we pray, the gifts of the selfsame Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
