John 16:7 -It is to your advantage that I go away…

What a strange thing for Jesus to say! Jesus says this to his disciples shortly before His arrest and crucifixion. Yet, He's not referring to His death, but to His ascension—an often-overlooked event in the life of Christ.

This year, Ascension Day is Thursday, May 14. Because it always occurs 40 days after Easter, it never falls on a Sunday. Many congregations do not hold a special service that day, but something profoundly important happens in Christ’s ascension.

After His resurrection, Jesus no longer restrains himself from using His divine attributes. This is why He can suddenly appear and disappear, and even enter a locked room. He is no longer with the disciples day after day as He once was. Their relationship with Him—and the way He would now work among them—has changed.

Knowing this, Jesus prepares them by saying: “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.”

Jesus must depart for our benefit. While He was on earth in His resurrected body, He was physically limited to one place at a time. In His ascension, Christ is now present with His Church in a far more powerful way. He sends the Holy Spirit, who can be at work everywhere in the world at the same time—something the incarnate Christ could not do while on earth. At the same time, Jesus is truly present with us on every altar where His Supper is faithfully celebrated, giving us His very body and blood.

It remains a mystery why God chose to work in this way. Yet because Jesus Himself declares that His departure is to our advantage, we can trust that this change flows from His great love for us. Through His ascension, He blesses His Church with a new and better way of being present with us.

The account of the Ascension is recorded in Acts 1:6–11. Ten days later, on Pentecost, the Helper whom Jesus promised—the Holy Spirit—arrives in power. The New Covenant comes into full effect as the Holy Spirit now dwells within every believer.

Christ’s Ascension may not be the most celebrated of our church festivals, but it completely transformed how Christ works for us, with us, and through us. Through the Holy Spirit, He continues to gather more people into His Church. And one day—on a day known only to the Father—Christ will return in the same way He ascended. On that day, all who have been gathered into His Church will rejoice forever in all that He accomplished for us through His saving work, including His glorious Ascension.

✝️ Pastor Deming

The full newsletter can be found here:
https://www.faithmoorpark.com/files/pdf/2026/2026-05-Newsletter.pdf

Psalm 96:1-2
Oh, sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.

Many songwriters have drawn inspiration from the opening words of Psalm 96. Yet the psalmist is not calling God’s people to compose new hymns. He is calling us to sing about a new and mighty act of God— an act so great that it demands fresh praise from the whole earth.

The “old song” was Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the sea, God opened a way through the waters, drowned the enemy, and set His people free (Exodus 14–15). That rescue became the song of Israel, and the center of Israel’s praise. Exodus 15, Psalms 78 and 136 sing the song of God’s deliverance, and this rescue is referenced countless times in the Old Testament.

But God had always planned something greater than deliverance from the Egyptians. He would deliver his people from sin, death, and the devil himself. In the fullness of time, He sent His Son. Through His atoning death on the cross, and His glorious resurrection, Jesus Christ crushed Satan’s power and opened the way to eternal life. This is the “new song”— the song of deliverance in Christ.

Our Lutheran hymnal overflows with this new song. Some hymns tell about his life on earth— his incarnation, his death and resurrection. Some are thematic, and tell about Christ as Redeemer, the Word of God, or Baptism. And some of them are about our Christian walk— songs of hope and comfort, songs of witnessing, songs of prayer, songs of stewardship. Yet, all of these songs grow out of the great new song about Christ who lived and died for us.

Singing “a new song” is therefore not a call to write yet another hymn— though faithful new hymns are always welcome. It is a call to lift our voices in praise of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

That is why Easter is the new song the psalmist foresaw. Because of Easter all the earth should be singing his praise and blessing His name. Because of Easter, we should tell of His salvation from day to day.

Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

✝️ Pastor Deming

The full newsletter can be found here:
https://www.faithmoorpark.com/files/pdf/2026/2026-04-Newsletter.pdf