The Church's holy days were established to teach the faith. A special day, especially if it is marked with decoration and celebration, a festival, is a wonderful way to learn. Christmas and Easter, of course, are the best examples. Those two holy days teach the major doctrines of our faith: the Incarnation, and the Crucifixion-Resurrection.

But there are others, such as Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity, which come in rapid succession this time of year, one right after another. Each one celebrates an important and distinctive feature of the Christian faith. This Sunday is Ascension Sunday, so we will look at that doctrine using the gospel lesson for this morning, Luke's description of that event.

According to Luke, Jesus appeared to his disciples during the forty days following the Resur…