Feast of the Ascension

OBJECTIVE

To understand the significance of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ and be able to identify the difference between His Ascension and the Assumption of the pure body of St. Mary.

To know that God's purpose was not only to offer sacrifice, but also to renew humanity and to reconcile all human beings to Himself. And all that was done by our Lord Jesus Christ through His Incarnation, birth, baptism, crucifixion, death, Resurrection and Ascension. Therefore Ascension is the completion of the plan of salvation.

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 5 Minutes

The servant should ask the class to hold their hands out flat in front of them and then slowly lift them up to the sky.

The servant should then ask what just happened and guide the class towards a discussion of the energy used from the human body to lift the hand up and explain that gravity is pushing our body weight down and it takes energy to go against gravity.

The servant should then show a picture of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ and ask: if there is gravity, how was it possible for Jesus to Ascend?

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

Memory Verse - "Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1: 9-11)

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 15 Minutes

After introducing the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ to the class through the introduction and hook above, the servant should ask if the class knows the difference between the Resurrection and the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ (servant can refer to the lesson on the Resurrection for more information).

There are three main things we want to learn about/from the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into the Heavens:

  • Through His Ascension, He taught us about the afterlife
  • Through His Ascension, He taught us that He is not of this World, and neither are we
  • There is a difference between the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Ascension of the Holy & Pure Body of St. Mary into Heaven

Through His Ascension, He Taught us about the afterlife:

Our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven with His earthly body. This Ascension is evidence that His Glorified Body is not subject to the earth's gravitational laws. It is also evidence of His Divinity. He ascended before His disciples as they were looking. This scene strengthened their faith because the Lord not only resurrected using His Divine power, but He also ascended into heaven in front of them.

Thus, the Ascension makes us look up to heaven, where we hope to spend our eternity. The Lord's Ascension is also a guarantee of our ascension. Not now, but when He catches us up in His second coming and "we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17). When He "will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body." (Phil. 3:21).

Through His Ascension, He taught us that He is not of this World, and neither are we:

The Ascension teaches us that our Lord Jesus Christ is not from this world. He is raised up over the earth, in glory, to heaven. He said to His Apostles: "that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:3) Not on earth, but in heaven. However on earth, prepare yourself in order to be in heaven. I was with you when I made Myself of no reputation, and you will be with Me when I enter into My glory. Whoever can conceive this truth, and that he will be with the Lord in the likeness of a glorious body, will indubitably respect his soul, and will not debase his soul with sin, but rather he will prepare his soul to inherit the kingdom. This glory with the Lord on the clouds and in heaven, will not be inherited by those who cling to dust, to material matters, to the earth, and those who love the world.

Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ vs. Ascension of the body of St. Mary

It is important here to explain to the class that our Lord Jesus Christ ascended His own Body to heaven in front of his Apostles, through His Divinity (divine nature). No one ascended Him because He is God and He did that on His own, through His Power

However, when we look at the ascension or assumption of the Pure Body of St. Mary, we see that Angels came down and took her Human body up to heaven. This is because St. Mary carried in her body our Lord Jesus Christ while she was pregnant, thus, her body remained in perfect purity and could not be buried on earth normally

Symbolism in the Divine Liturgy

During the Divine Liturgy, there is no round of incense during the readings of the Catholicon, during which time the priest remains in the Sanctuary according to the Lord's command to His Disciples that they should not depart Jerusalem before the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Some Remarks Concerning The Round Of The Praxis: In coming out of the sanctuary to offer incense in the whole church the priest symbolises the Apostles when they left Jerusalem to preach Christianity throughout the whole world. The priest does not go around the whole church as in the round of the Pauline, which signifies the fact that the Apostles limited their preaching to Judea and the cities of Judah, whereas St. Paul preached Christianity to the whole world, and therefore encountered more tribulations during his travels than his fellow apostles did. The priest offers the incense from right to left to indicate that the Apostles returned from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem after the Ascension of the Lord.

In the days between the Ascension and the Pentecost there is no procession and therefore the Synaxarium is read, except for the Sunday when the Praxis tour is done with the icon of the Resurrection.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

What can we do in our lives to go against the "gravity"?

  • By doing what is right and just before the Lord, even if the world tells us otherwise. We sometimes have to go against the grain and that is totally fine.

How can we use the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ to better ourselves?

  • The Ascension teaches us to look up towards heaven. This should make us always think about eternal life and how we will get there and what we should do to get there.

What will happen to our bodies in heaven? Will we know each other?

  • As Christ ascended with a glorious body, so we also shall have a glorious body (Philippians 3:21).
  • We will know each other in heaven through the spirit.

What can we learn from the Ascension?

  • One, we are not from this world, just as our Lord Jesus Christ was not from this world.
  • Our Lord Jesus Christ was Divine and His Divinity is what He used to Ascend into the Heavens.
  • St. Mary's body was Ascended into the Heavens through Angels coming down to carry it up.

What details about the Divine Liturgy remind us of the Ascension of Christ?

LIFE APPLICATION - 3 Minutes

Sometimes in Christianity it seems that we are going against the world, just like how Jesus Ascended into the Heavens against gravity. This is acceptable because we live for Christ alone and our faith is not in alignment with the pleasures of this world.

The life application here is "do not be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, even if it is against the world."

The Feast of the Ascension teaches us also the principle of ascending. Spiritual life, or life with the Lord, is a perpetual ascension, a constant development upwards, till we arrive at the life of perfection. It is a continuous relationship to heaven. The church tower gives us an idea about the direction upwards, toward heaven, and the ascension over the level of the earth and earthly things.

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

Case of the Missing Person (Jesus Returns to Heaven) -

In this game, kids will try to figure out who's missing from the class. They'll get an idea of how some people must have felt after Jesus returned to heaven. (The Encyclopedia of Bible Games for Children's Ministry by Group Publishing, page 104.)

Ascension Building

To both show the definition of ascension, rising up, as well as reiterate the fact that it took 40 days, challenge the children to build an ascending tower. Give each player 40 sugar cubes. Instruct them to build a tower out of all of the 40 cubes. The tallest tower that stands upright for at least 40 seconds wins the game. Set a time limit on the building process, such as 30 minutes.

Balloon Ascension

Give each player a non-helium filled balloon. Instruct the children that they must keep their balloon in the air for 40 seconds by hitting it up each time it falls. If the balloon falls to the ground, they are disqualified. If they maintain contact with the balloon, such as holding it, they are also disqualified. At the end of the first 40 seconds, if more than one player kept their balloon in the air for 40 seconds, they move onto the next round. Keep repeating the game until there is one winner.

SERVANT RESOURCES

PARENT'S CORNER/HOMEWORK

Have the students read the accounts of the Ascension and compare:

  • Matthew 28:16-20
  • Mark 16:19
  • Luke 24:50-53
  • Acts 1:9-11
  • John 14:1-11 (Jesus' farewell discourse -- He prepares our place)