So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. Mark 16:19-20
Yesterday was Ascension Day, when Jesus left this earth just as He had told His disciples He would. In out time, life goes on as usual and most haven’t even heard of Ascension Day, let alone know what it is and that it has to do with Jesus. But it wasn’t always like this, as a matter of fact, it was celebrated as a Holiday.
Because it was celebrated all over the world, many traditions to observe it were born, which honestly have very little to do with Jesus ascending back into heaven. Most cultures, celebrated with a “fowl” dinner, (sorry, I jut couldn’t resist!) of any kind of flying game. And that depended on what you could afford. At least this makes sense, because Jesus was taken up in a cloud into heaven. So it would make sense you’d eat something that could fly. There also was to be no work, especially washing clothe or repairing them, since they were stitched together with a needle. It was thought that the stitching would draw lightening, because they were made with a needle. Sewing also represented binding or fastening anything together, that would be against Jesus freely leaving this earth.
My grandmother who was Pennsylvania Dutch didn’t want us to use anything sharp, such as a scissor or a knife. So whatever we had to eat was to be something you didn’t use a knife to eat it. Now for me, these are really far reaching traditions in relation to the Ascension of Jesus, but they lasted for hundreds of years. And some people still practice them.
But to me the real point of Ascension Day is that Jesus kept another promise that He would go back to His Father and sit at His right hand, the hand of favor. And now we are to continue the work He started, sharing the Gospel, showing others His love and grace, leading others to His cross of forgiveness and wherever we go miracles should follow, and that includes the greatest miracle our salvation! But what about other miracles like deliverance, healing and provision. Well since Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) it’s not that He isn’t there. So perhaps it’s because we don’t believe they should be happening with all our heart. I think God wants us to start (John 6:29).
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