HYMN FOR ASCENSION DAY Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise

Text: Charles Wesley (1707-1788)                      Tune: Robert Williams (1782-1818)  Jesus' Ascension. Giotto, the Scrovegni Arena-Chapel 1 Hail the day that sees him rise, Alleluia!  to his throne beyond the skies. Alleluia!  Christ, the Lamb for sinners given, Alleluia!  enters now the highest heaven. Alleluia!  2 There for him high triumph waits; Alleluia!  lift your heads, eternal gates. Alleluia!  He has conquered death and sin; Alleluia!  take the King of glory in. Alleluia!  3 Highest heaven its Lord receives; Alleluia!  yet he loves the earth he leaves. Alleluia!  Though returning to his throne, Alleluia!  still he calls us all his own. Alleluia!  4 Still for us he intercedes; Alleluia!  his atoning death he pleads, Alleluia!  near himself prepares our place, Alleluia!  he the firstfruits of our race. Alleluia!  5 There we shall with you remain, Alleluia!  partners of your endless reign, Alleluia!  see you with unclouded view, Alleluia! f ind our heaven of heavens in you. Alleluia!  Ascension of Jesus Andrei Rublev REFLECTION Ascension Day has faded in the church calendar probably because the day is a weekday, Thursday, and not much noticed. In Europe the day has been a holiday for ever, but one has to search among the celebrants enjoying their day off with asparagus (spargle) dishes in Germany, for example, along with parades etc. for any explanation of what the Ascension was all about. Christians name it every time they confess the creed, “Ascended into heaven and is seated on the right hand of God the Father.” This says what the day is all about: Jesus’ coronation! He takes up his kingly role now and his rule is clear. The event is attracting more attention from the scholars. Now as I am teaching a bible study on the book of Acts, the centrality of the Ascension has stunned me. As I teach the book I feel as if I have never been attentive to the event at all, maybe even somewhat embarrassed by the idea of Jesus going up like a space ship into a place the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin told us was not there. A closer reading, aided especially by the recent book by Sarah Hinlicky Wilsom, Forty Facets of the Ascension, a very accessible work, written rather like a detective novel asking the question where is the body? has filled me with awe. (See at this link https://www.sarahhinlickywilson.com/?ss_source=sscampaigns&ss_campaign_id=6759395c61991e2ba6282f44&ss_email_id=675944bca69fa71f44e8d2e5&ss_campaign_name=Theology+%26+a+Recipe%3A+At+the+Table+Again+with+Babette&ss_campaign_sent_date=2024-12-11T07%3A52%3A34Z   Jesus gives them the great commission and then he disappears into a cloud. This is not a meteorological observation. It is the cloud that led the Israelites through the wilderness—the presence of God! And when the two men upbraid them for looking up, and tell them to go back to Jerusalem, we all wonder where he disappeared to. Heaven we say and I believe it. Now I think of it not so much as a place in my world of three or four dimensions, but another dimension I can only catch glimpses of now and then, if at all. And he will come again in the way he left. Meanwhile, he sends the Spirit in order to be present with us at all times. The richness of the event in the biblical story, prophesied and described throughout the psalter and Old Testament books is mind blowing. And it is fundamental to the Book of Acts. You have to read Sarah’s book to get the fullness of the event—I can only hint at it. So on Thursday when you are going about your ordinary duties of the day, “Hail the Day that sees him rise.” And thank God that Jesus is seated next to the Father interceding for us. Alleluia! “Still for us he intercedes; Alleluia! his atoning death he pleads, Alleluia!” We have someone who is there with the Father, one who knows our name and cares enough to tell his Father all about us.  Charles Wesley preaching HYMN INFO Considered to be the most popular Ascension hymn of the day, it was written by Charles Wesley. The original had ten stanzas, but they were cut down into the current version that seems to be the standard now. It captures the themes of the Ascension especially the account of Jesus' Ascension in Acts most clearly. Llanfair, the Welsh tune is probably the most favored of the tunes. Williams, blind from birth, became a basket weaver to support himself. He was also a highly respected Welsh musician. Wesley, after Watts, is the most well-known and beloved, as well a productive English hymnwriter of all time. His hymns did as much for the Methodist revival as his brother John’s preaching. (For more on Wesley see https://www.hymnfortheday.com/post/hymn-116-love-divine-all-loves-excelling LINKS The Mormon Tabernacle Choir https://youtu.be/jAAbsKihzuI?si=pHp15Hdge_mf2P_k North Stone and Basset parish https://youtu.be/_k1xfIx1d1w?si=eLXUd084_n8xD98B OCP Choir https://youtu.be/kPEqkzFywL8?si=mxEYNjxAkjvNvUR6