Easter
The center of the church's year is Easter Day. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead that lies at the center of /christian faith. The resurrection, St. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, is of "first importance" (15:3) because "if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and our faith has been in vain(152:14). Christ conquered death, enabling Christians to receive the gift of new life through baptism into Christ's body.
The fortieth day after Easter, always a Thursday, is called Ascension Day since the gospel tells us that Jesus was carried up into heaven on that day. Instead of feeling sorrow over the separation, the disciples returned to Jerusalem with "great joy" (Luke 24:52) because Jesus has promised to be with them always. This apparent separation was actually a transformed relationship: Jesus would be present to the whole church throughout the world, rather than confined to the small limits of Palestine.
Source: Welcome to Sunday by Christopher L Webber (Morehouse Publishing: Harrisburg, PA, 2003. pp. 53, 54).
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