The Ascension and Exaltation Christology in the Bible and Liturgy (original) (raw)
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The Significance of the Ascension of Christ and Its Implications for Worship
Theological Journal Kerugma
The observance of the Ascension of Christ is not really a prime celebration in most Protestant churches. Even examples of congregational practices related to the celebration of Ascension Day throughout Christian worship history are scarce. Most Christians go through this celebration without much consideration on how the ascended Christ influences life in the here and now. Most would probably view Christ as the heavenly king and unconsciously ignore the fact that Christ ascended as the high priest who can empathize with his people. Although Indonesia treats this Christological event as a public holiday, the preparation leading to the celebration is not as significant as other commemorations like Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas. The consequence is that Christians do not have a meaningful worship experience that may inspire them to endure the life of daily discipleship. Thus, the focus of this article is on understanding the significance of Christ’s ascension and how the church can ...
2010
The aim of the present dissertation is to analyse and interpret the Ascension of Jesus as described in Luke-Acts, and to examine both the Jewish rapture traditions and the early Christian reception and interpretation of the Lukan accounts. In my research, I tried to explain how the Ascension event was shaped by Luke and the impact it had within the Christian Church of the first centuries. The first chapter tackles the history of research on the Ascension and the proposed methodology. Following this, the second section of the thesis analyses the Jewish assumption (rapture) traditions found in both canonical and pseudepigraphal writings. The common elements between these traditions and the Ascension of Christ are observed in order to establish a certain dependence of the Ascension narrative on Jewish rapture accounts. In the third chapter, I examine the two Ascension accounts in Luke-Acts (Lk 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11) and aim to explain the apparent inconsistencies between them. Certain aspects, such as redundancy and variations, are discussed in detail in the third section of this chapter. The fourth chapter focuses on the reception and interpretation of the Lukan Ascension narratives within the early Christian Church (the pre-Nicene period). Finally, a summary of the entire thesis and some final remarks are drawn in the conclusion of the present study. Two excursuses relevant to this research are included in the appendices: the first on the Jewish Hekhalot literature and Merkabah mysticism; and the second examining the Ascension in the Gospels according to Mark (16:19-20 of the ‘longer ending’) and John (20:17).
THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST: THE ELEVATION–ACCLAMATION IN DEUTERO-PAULINE HIGH CHRISTOLOGY
2019
The purpose of article is to analyse cultural meaning of keywords in the text Ephesians 1:20-23 and to find what may have been the author's main motive for using these words in such ambitious and powerful constructions. Subsequent is form-critical and historical analysis of the keywords in the context of this Christological statement. The main topic of the paper is centred on four ancient Greek words that are related with principalities, powers, and all things in the above mentioned statement. We can conclude that the author of the Deutero-Pauline epistle used Hellenistic epistolography with citations from Hebrew scripture and fashioned the form of the statement according to his own liturgical purposes.
Changed From Glory Into Glory: The Liturgical Formation of the Christian Faith
Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, 2021
This article is an attempt to flesh out this ancient idea of lex orandi, lex credendi by clarifying both the nature of lex credendi, religion, and lex orandi, liturgy, constructing a framework for understanding the dynamic formative relationship between the two. After doing so, the article briefly surveys this relationship through the course of church history, noting the importance liturgy plays in both forming and revealing the Christian Faith. Finally, it highlights the necessity to recover a lost understanding that worship involves more than simply expressing devotion to God through songs Christians enjoy; rather, worship forms the very core of who Christians are.
Abstract This essay argues that the Anglo-Saxon writer Cynewulf crafts a specific kind of identity for himself in Christ II: Ascension by associating his poetic abilities with the spiritual gifts given to the apostles at Pentecost, gifts that strengthened and enabled them to preach the Gospel message. Cynewulf’s interpretation of the apostles as representatives of imperfect humanity, and his particular understanding of their role in Christ’s Ascension, permits the poet to chart a spiritual trajectory for himself and his audience modeled on the experiences of the apostles as a group. His choice to diverge from the biblical narratives of the Ascension by showing the apostles grieving (instead of rejoicing) at Jesus’ departure to heaven highlights the apostles’ initial spiritual weakness and confusion, enabling a sympathetic connection between these saintly figures – more commonly represented as courageous heroes – and Christians living in the post-apostolic age. In addition to recognizing his own spiritual infirmity in the apostles’ humanity, Cynewulf also recognizes that all people share the gifts of the Holy Spirit which Christ sent to the apostles. These gifts were often associated with language and eloquence. Cynewulf’s use of his poetic gift to spread the message of Christ’s continuing presence associates him with the apostles and opens up the possibility of overcoming his sinful human nature, allowing him to hope that he, and by extension his audience, may someday sail the ships (ceolas, line 411b) of their souls into the ‘port’ of heaven (þære hyðe, lines 425a-27b).