DID you celebrate Ascension Day? I get the feeling that too few of us do so today and that’s sad because in many ways it’s as important as Easter Day itself.

Ascension Day of course, is the annual reminder of the day the disciples watched Jesus ascend into heaven in the belief that He would come back again at some unknown time in the future.

There are those who find it hard to believe this really happened of course, and I can understand why. It seems like something out of ‘Star Wars’, and given the mess the world is in it does sound a bit far-fetched to claim that Jesus is in control of history, that He is going to return to create a new world, dead people will be raised to life and everyone will live together in perfect harmony.

But is it just a pipe dream, a tale told by idiots and signifying nothing? I think not. I prefer to trust the testimony of those who were convinced that it did and believed the whole world should hear about it even if that meant martyrdom.

But why? Well, Ascension Day is a stark reminder that Jesus claimed to be ‘Lord’ of all, and everyone needs to acknowledge that. Sadly, we can be tempted to think we are ‘doing Jesus a favour’ by going to church and becoming Christians. Nothing could be further from the truth. The apostle Paul knew that, which is why he told his friends in Rome that he had been given the privilege of calling people to the ‘obedience’ that comes from faith. The opposite of obedience of course is disobedience and so it makes sense to take a serious look at the evidence - just in case the day really is coming when ‘every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord’. Every knee and every tongue without exception!

Ascension Day is a wonderful encouragement too because it means that we can look forward to the day when goodness will win, and light will finally triumph over darkness. The King stressed this very clearly when addressing the US Congress in April. “For many here and for myself,” he said, “the Christian faith is a firm anchor and daily inspiration that guides us not only personally, but together as members of our community’ adding ‘it is faith in the triumph of light over darkness which I have found confirmed countless times.”

I guess there will be those who think he is deluded. I don’t, because I’m sure he’s come to terms with ultimate reality. We live in a dark, sad, uncertain world but Ascension Day reassures us that we can look forward with confidence to the day when the only tears Christians will know will be tears of joy.