Today is Thursday. Tonight we’ll clap and ring the church bells for the NHS. As followers of Jesus, we have more reason to ring the church bells today. Today is Ascension Day or in the more expanded description, the Feast of Ascension.

May I be honest and state for the record that this is the one part of Jesus’ story that took me ages to understand. In part my problem was partly the result of my modern way of thinking about someone being away, and partly by the images, I remember from my Children’s Bible. Starting with the latter, I remember the light blue and white pictures of Jesus rising through the clouds like a superhero going higher and higher till he was out of sight. Link this picture to seeing your grandparents driving off, waving them good-bye until they were also out of sight, and voila, here is my understanding of Ascension.

Truth be told, I thought it a bit of a cheat. Jesus coming at Christmas time only to be away again around May. For more than half of the year we were left on our own… And then, I gleaned more insight into the meaning of Ascension. Insights that are still expanding, I hasten to add.

In a nutshell, it boils down to two things: coronation and empowerment:

• When Jesus ascended to heaven, he ascended in the way a king ascends to the thrown and NOT the way a space ship ascends into the blue ether. The Feast of Ascension was and is the day we celebrate the fact that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ is also King Jesus. Ascending the thrown in heaven he is ruler over all creation and his influence and power have expanded. Things have improved because of Ascension as Jesus is now exercising his majesty universe-wide. When Jesus promised that he will be with us always he meant it. He is therefore, not gone but reigning with power from on high.

• Secondly, with Jesus ascending the thrown, there is a strange parallel to the story of Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2 in the Old Testament. In said story, Elijah (the prophet of the Lord) ascended into heaven and his cloak fell on the shoulders of Elisha—meaning to say that Elisha was now the official prophet representing God to the people and the people before God. With the cloak falling over his shoulders Elisha was empowered to act as the spokesperson for God and the people.

With Jesus ascending into heaven his cloak, by way of speaking, has now fallen onto the shoulders of his followers. Empowered by the Holy Spirit—which came only days after Jesus ascended—Jesus followers are now empowered and sent out to continue the work of Jesus.

Putting it all together, we are reminded that on this the Feast of Ascension, we celebrate (1) Jesus ascending the throne as King Jesus and (2) our empowerment to continue his work on earth. Now that is some cause for celebrating and letting the church bells ring and ring and ring.

Wishing you a blessed Ascension Day.

Jaco