05/14/2026
*Ascension Day
Ascension is not goodbye — it is the inauguration of Christ's reign over all creation, on behalf of His Church, until He comes again in glory.
This date reminds us that Christ's departure from earth was not abandonment — it was enthronement. The same body that was born of Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate, and raised on Easter Sunday now reigns at the right hand of the Father — not a location, but a position of universal authority and power (Ephesians 1:20–21).
Christ's glorified body is not locked away in some distant heaven; rather, His real presence fills all things (Ephesians 4:10), which grounds our confidence in the Lord's Supper and in every promise He makes to be with us.
Today we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord!
"After He rose from the dead, the Lord Jesus presented Himself alive to the apostles, “appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). When He ascended to the right hand of the Father, He did not orphan His Church, but He fills all things in heaven and on earth and gives gifts to His disciples. Even now, through His Church, He continues “to do and teach” (Acts 1:1), preaching “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 24:47) even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Though the cloud hid Jesus from the sight of His disciples then, and He remains hidden from sight even now, He remains with His people through His Gospel and Sacraments. He comes to us by the Word of His apostles, by the promise of His Father and by the power of the Holy Spirit, whom He pours out upon “the church, which is his body” (Eph. 1:22–23). In this holy Christian Church, we bless God and worship Christ with joy, for in His Church He blesses us with forgiveness, lifts us up in His hands and seats us with Himself “in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:20)."
Lectionary Summary provided by our sister Synod, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
