Homily Four on the Ascension of the Lord
By St. John of Kronstadt
By St. John of Kronstadt
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
"Magnify, my soul, Christ the Life-Giver, who ascended from earth to heaven."
Thus, our Lord and Savior ascended from the earth to heaven. – Why did He ascend to heaven, and why did He not remain visibly with us until the end of the age? Firstly, by His ascension from the earth to heaven, He demonstrated the image and path of our ascent from earth to heaven; secondly, in order to send us the consubstantial and all-powerful Holy Spirit, the Comforter; thirdly, to prepare a place for His faithful followers.
The Lord, by His ascension from earth to heaven, showed us the image and path of our ascent to it. The Lord was an example for us in everything: an example of holiness, meekness, humility, gentleness, patience, unceasing prayer, dispassion, complete love for God and humanity, unquestioning obedience to His Heavenly Father. He needed to serve as an example for us in this too, that is, an example in ascent to heaven. For why did the Son of God descend to earth? To raise us up to heaven. - Thus, my brethren, while living on earth, try to ascend to heaven more often with your mind and heart, there, where our Lord and Savior ascended; do not cling to anything on earth, for the earth is not a fatherland, but a place of wandering, a place of struggle and exploits, and earthly goods are not our life, not objects of love of our heart, but only necessary aids for our flesh. Try to be in spirit always above the earthly, all earthly things; do not immerse yourself in them, do not merge with them: but he who has a passion for them immerses himself in them and merges with them. Now this passion for earthly life, for its pleasures, and at the same time the alienation of hearts from the upper heavenly fatherland have especially intensified in Christians: Christians forget the purpose of their life, they forget the Christian calling, Christian duties, the vows given at baptism, to be executors of the commandments of Christ all the days of their life. - Ascend, my brethren, ascend from the earth to heaven, to your true fatherland, your eternal fatherland. Look with your noetic eyes at the Ascending One: this is your path laid to heaven, the path that was previously impassable from the prince of the power of the air, the devil and his hasty force of evil spirits, but now for those who believe in the Lord and keep His commandments has become free; by this path many Christians, ascetics of piety, have already ascended to heaven.
The Lord ascended from earth to heaven in order to send down to us the consubstantial and all-powerful Comforter, the Spirit. The Lord Himself spoke of this to His disciples before His sufferings: "If I do not go away, that is, if I do not ascend to the Father, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go away, I will send Him to you; and when He comes, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:7, 8), and He will "bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:26). And so, soon after the ascension, the Lord sent to His Disciples and Apostles and to all who then constituted the little flock of Christ the Divine Spirit, who filled them all with extraordinary gifts: holiness, wisdom, the gift of tongues, the purest and most ardent love, zeal for the glory of God and for the salvation of human souls, peace, joy, boldness, dispassion for all earthly vicissitudes, dispassion for everything earthly, love for heavenly things. Therefore, receive the Comforter Spirit, may He be with you forever, and guide you into all truth; but remember that Jesus Christ, who ascended to heaven and sent the Comforter Spirit, He Himself is never separated from us by His Divinity, but remains steadfast, calling to those who love Him: I am with you, and no one is against you.
Finally, the Lord has ascended to prepare a place for His followers in heaven. "I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:3), He tells His disciples. Seeing from heaven the holy spiritual exploits of His followers and evaluating them accordingly, He prepares rewards for all, as a just Judge, and each of us will receive our due. "He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, but he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6). "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; one is the flesh of beasts, another of fish, and another of birds; and there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies - but there is one glory of the heavenly, and another of the earthly" (1 Corinthians 15:39–42). So at the judgment: everything will be evaluated according to its worth.
Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ ascended in order to prepare for each of us his own place, to take us to Himself. "I will take you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also" (John 14:3). Are we really better off on earth than in heaven? Oh, no, no! Away with all the delights of the world! Amen!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
