02 June 2011

The Ascension of our Lord (June 2)

Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.   Romans 8:34

Forty days has Christ been risen, and today He ascends to the Right Hand of God, to forever make intercession for us, as our High Priest.




Hymns:  LSB 491-495
XII Handel: Thou Art Gone Up On High (HT: my daughter's godfather)

Coloring pages: Free Christ Images St. Andrew Missal

Traditional Activities: picnicking (preferably on a mountain or hill), play-acting the Ascension, processions.

Food: fowl (since Jesus "flew" up to heaven; some countries serve cornish hens)

Other fun stuff: general grade-school activities

We are still in Easter, and on our way to Pentecost. Since I am new to the joys of the Church Year (only 7-8 years or so), I love discovering the deep, Scriptural theology embedded in each season, and how every season is not true and beautiful in itself, but only in light of all the other seasons and celebrations.  The first time of the church I loved was Advent.  I loved the overlap of looking forward to Christ's first and second comings, the mixture of anticipation and repentance, of welcoming The Year of Our Lord, and The End Times, and also looking forward to our final Resurrection, when He will be Our Judge, and that will be a good, not terrifying thing.  The second was Epiphany....

This year is the year of the Chief of Feasts for me.  I have never loved and appreciated Easter more than this year.  And I think the key to my appreciation is seeing the Easter season in its entirety: Lent, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost.  They follow one after another, and our whole life in Christ is slowly--or swiftly!--acted out: Our perpetual repentance, His gifts given to us at the Last Supper; His Passion for the atonement of the whole world; His Resurrection for our own bodily resurrection; His Ascension to assume the throne as King and plead as Priest; and the sending of the Pareclete, the Advocate, and the birth of the Church.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. 

Praise the Lord and forget not all his benefits.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

2 comments:

  1. Keeping with the fowl theme, we make bird-shaped cookies for our Ascension parties. Pretty and fun. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. For our Ascension dessert this year, we made cream puffs, representative of the clouds. A big hit. :)

    ReplyDelete