Top 5 Reasons to Celebrate Ascension Thursday
Join us For Ascension Thursday, @ 6PM
Christ Reformed DC is celebrating its first Ascension Day service this Thursday. Since this is a new practice for us we thought it would be wise to give the top five reasons to celebrate the Ascension in worship.
The Ascension of Christ is Neglected Today
If you, like me, did not grow up in a Dutch Reformed context, I would wager you have a 4/5 experience of celebrating the Evangelical Feast Days (see #3 below). Not only is this Christ Reformed DC’s first Ascension service, but it will also be the first Ascension worship service for many, if not most, of our members. As a correction to this imbalance we should follow the emphasis of our Savior in his Word, as Michael Horton noted:
“Jesus Did not downplay his ascension, but comforted his disciples with the promise of the Spirit and his Word.”
We should not downplay Christ’s ascension but rather “play it up” in our churches. And an Ascension Thursday service is one traditional way to do so.
2. The Ascension is a vital Part of Christ’s Work as summarized in our Creeds and Confessions
Out of our Creeds and Confessions, all but the Canons of Dort mention the Ascension. This distinct point was codified in the creeds. The brief creeds, short enough for recitation in worship at Baptism or Communion, all include the Ascension. It was not omitted from a single one in deference to brevity. Again Michael Horton is helpful:
“The Ascension is not merely an exclamation point to the resurrection, but a distinct event within the history of redemption.”
Part of being a Confessional and Creedal church is to recognize that the Ascension is its own distinct event, and that it has a place in the Reformed tradition.
The Catechism has four questions on the Ascension of Christ. The Ascension is, and always has been, a part of the life and teaching ministry of the Church. To neglect it now is to our detriment. As C.S. Lewis said,
“Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books.”
If I may apply Lewis’ observation to ascension Thursday: Ascension Thursday is a chance for us to challenge our modern assumptions about what is important about Christ’s work and see afresh what the scriptures and the church have seen as vital.
3. It is one of the Evangelical Feast Days
It is important to remember that the Reformation was a reformation of worship and practice, no less than it was a reformation of doctrine. Yet the Reformed churches on the continent retained five evangelical (read, gospel) feast days: Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost. We readily grasp the other feasts days and their importance. And many churches, even from traditions that at one point eschewed these days, recognize 4/5 (see #1 above). Ascension Thursday is retained because there’s Gospel in it, because it is a biblical event. Ascension Thursday is no “feast of Saint X,” it is no procession of relics. It is a celebration of a gospel event.
4. Ascension Thursday is a Chance to Sing Psalms and Hymns
Like reading old books, Ascension Thursday gives us the chance to sing old ( though sometimes new to us) songs through a new lens. We can sing Ascension Psalms like 47, “God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.” (v. 5, ESV) 68, “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.” (v. 18, ESV) and others that might be appropriate.
If you use the Trinity Psalter Hymnal Hymns 370-373 are for the Ascension. You can sing old Latin hymns, like one from the Venerable Bede “A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing.” Or the Anonymously penned “Christ, above All Glory Seated” When we (and our Children) sing Psalms and Hymns celebrating the Ascension, it reminds us that the Ascension of Christ is important enough to ring out in the church’s praise.
5. Having more worship services is a good thing
Unlike some of our reformed and presbyterian brothers and sisters we believe in celebrating worship services on days other than Sunday. We also believe this is a good, beneficial, practice. While we are more restrained than Anglican, Catholic, and Lutheran communions in the amount of days celebrated, we nevertheless believe it is important to mark the historic works of Christ in Worship.
While we typically preach continuously through one book at a time(lectio continua), we also preach through the catechism in keeping with our church order in the URCNA. This is a type of doctrinal or topical preaching. As an extension of the commitment to both models, our services honoring the “evangelical feast days” provide an opportunity for us to preach through the significant events of the Christian faith. Because Christ was, born, died, was raised, ascended, and poured the Spirit out on the church on real days in history. By his work he bridges the spiritual and eternal with history.
Given the above, you are invited to Church this Thursday to hear the Good News Proclaimed about our ascended Lord. We’ll meet at 6PM.