Holy Days

Ascension Day - 1 May

May continues the season of Eastertide, and 40 days after Easter comes Ascension Day.
It may seem crazy to call it Eastertide when Easter is clearly over - but these are the forty days during which the Risen Christ appeared again and again to his disciples, following his death and resurrection. The Gospel accounts give us little of Christ's teachings and deeds during those forty days. Jesus was seen by numerous disciples: on the road to Emmaus, by the Sea of Galilee, in houses, etc. He strengthened and encouraged his disciples, and at last opened their eyes to all that the Scriptures had promised about the Messiah. Jesus also told them that as the Father had sent him, he was now going to send them - to all corners of the earth, as his witnesses.

The Feast of Pentecost - 11 May

Pentecost was the old Jewish festival of Firstfruits, which took place at the beginning of the wheat harvest. It was exactly 50 days after the Passover, the time of Jesus' crucifixion. A feast day to celebrate the country's wheat harvest does not sound exactly world-changing, but that year, it became one of the most important days in world history. For Pentecost was the day that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit - the day the Church was born.

Our Lord had told his apostles that something big was going to happen, and that they were to wait for it in Jerusalem, instead of returning to Galilee. Jesus had plans for his apostles - but he knew they could not do the work themselves- they would need his help. And so the apostles and disciples waited in Jerusalem, praying together for several days. And then on that fateful morning there was suddenly the sound as of a mighty rushing wind. Tongues of flame flickered on their heads, and they began to praise God in many tongues - to the astonishment of those who heard them.

That morning the Holy Spirit came to indwell the apostles and disciples of Jesus: and the Church was born. The Christians were suddenly full of life and power, utterly different from their former fearful selves. The change in them was permanent. Of course Pentecost was not the first time the Holy Spirit had acted in this world. All through the Old Testament there are accounts of how God's Spirit guided people and strengthened them. But now, because of Christ's death and resurrection, he could indwell them. From now on, every Christian could have the confidence that Jesus was with them constantly, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 1 (15 - 26) the apostles had a task to do: Judas had committed suicide, and a new apostle needed to be chosen. He had to have been a follower of Christ from the Baptism to the Ascension, and also a witness of the Resurrection in order to qualify. In the event, the choice fell to one of two: Joseph Barsabas and Matthias. Lots were drawn, and Matthias was chosen. How confident he must have felt in his calling: what encouragement that would be when the going got rough in later years. St Matthias is thought to have ministered in Cappadocia and even Ethiopia. His emblem is usually an axe or halberd, regarded as the instrument of his martyrdom.