Summer has not been same in our family without Channel 4’s cricket coverage and particularly Simon Hughes’ jargon-buster slot.
Our Bridge jargon-buster this month is ‘The Ascension’ which happens to be the name of our Parish Church. What does the term mean? – it sounds rather like the name of a Spanish holiday resort. Or possibly something out of Star-trek.
‘The Ascension’ is the event recorded in the New Testament when following his resurrection Jesus Christ returned to the unseen presence of his Father God in heaven. Acts 1v9-11 describes the event – ‘as (Jesus’ disciples) were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven".’ In this context, heaven has a double meaning – it means both the skies above and the unseen spiritual realm where God reigns in glory.
A vitally significant aspect of Jesus’ Ascension is that it was a physical event. The Son of God returned to the presence of his heavenly Father bringing with him his physical body.
At his Ascension, Jesus thus brought humanity into the presence of God, demonstrating that his death for sins is valid for any and every human being who puts their trust in him. In the presence of God, Jesus now pleads for the forgiveness of every believer in him, a plea His Father God will always accept because of the Son’s sin-bearing death. The other significant aspect of the Ascension is that it means that Jesus is now ruling the universe at the right hand of God. As St Paul put it in his letter to the Ephesians, God ‘made him (the risen Jesus Christ) sit in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but in the age which is to come; and he has put all things under his feet and has made him head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all’ (Ephesians 1v20-23).
So basically the name ‘Parish Church of the Ascension’ means Jesus is in charge of the universe and therefore every human being needs to put their trust in Him for the forgiveness of their sins. With all good wishes in Christ’s service,
Julian Mann
Vicar