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