Author’s note: For most of the 1990s, I wrote a monthly devotional called Settings, taking my title from Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind on things above.” In May 1995, I wrote the following reflection, which I’m still rather fond of. (Actually, what follows is about half of what I first wrote, but I think this condensed and gently edited version still conveys the spirit and intent of the original.)

Tim turns five this month. His birthday falls on Ascension Day.

Ascending to the ranks of the five-year-olds is a significant milestone, for it means that this fall Tim starts kindergarten. No longer will he be numbered among the preschoolers.

Perhaps the major practical effect on Marge and me (after, of course, preparing for and cleaning up after the requisite celebration) is that we will no longer be Tim’s principal instructors. Certainly, we will remain involved in both the formal and informal aspects of his ongoing education. But it would be foolish to deny that this part of our interactions with him will change.

Although the transition was not unexpected, its abruptness and irrevocability have caught me somewhat off guard. And perhaps it was my sudden recognition of this inevitable alteration to our relationship that led me to reflect on the confluence of Tim’s fifth birthday with that day the Christian calendar marks as Ascension Day.

As Luke describes Jesus’ ascension, “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1:10). Jesus’ sudden departure seemed to leave his disciples stunned. Jesus no longer would be physically present with his spiritual children. Instead, his presence now would be mediated through the Holy Spirit. Historically, the Christian Church has used Ascension Day to articulate and celebrate that change.

Ascension Day is the sixth Thursday (the 40th day) after Easter. However, at least in my experience, most Protestants tend to overlook this important celebration. Perhaps as a result, the theological significance of the Ascension seems to receive correspondingly little attention in our daily Christian lives. That is an unfortunate oversight, for, as John Leith notes:

“The ascension means that the earthly ministry of Jesus has ended … that the incarnate life of Jesus Christ is taken into the very being of God; that the ministry of Jesus Christ, formerly limited by space and time, is now universal by the power of the Spirit of God, that Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God; that he makes continual intercession for us and has opened for us the way to the presence of God; and that he has been given all authority in heaven and earth. … a new epoch in human history has begun with the sending of the Spirit and the mission of the church.”

To consider even briefly the implications of Leith’s observations is to gain a glimpse of the ascended Christ’s pervasive presence in our lives. For some 30 years God’s only Son had so emptied himself of his heavenly prerogatives that he was confined within space and time, ministering to individuals, the twelve, or perhaps several hundred people on any given day. Since his ascension, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, now ministers at every moment to all of his disciples.

Jesus’ ascension marked a new phase in his eternal ministry, with corresponding changes required of his disciples. Similarly, Tim’s fifth birthday marks a transitional moment – in his life and in mine. Both events, which occurred at specific moments in time yet are celebrated simultaneously this year, have implications that will continue to unfold far into the future.

So, although I suspect it will never become a terribly catchy jingle, I find myself inclined to sing “Happy Ascension Day to you.”