Homily Three on the Ascension of the Lord
By St. John of Kronstadt
By St. John of Kronstadt
"To this end has the most high God appeared on earth as a lowly man, because He wishes to draw heavenward all who cry aloud to Him: Alleluia!" (Akathist to the Theotokos, Oikos 8)
Although man was created from the earth in body, he was created for heaven. The earth was given to man as a temporary dwelling, as a place of preparation for a higher, heavenly life. But the pernicious violation of the first commandment by the first people inclined both soul and body to the earth and distorted the entire mental, moral and physical structure of human life. Earthly, temporary, physical aspirations, legal and illegal, took precedence over heavenly, eternal, spiritual aspirations. Human nature and human life became distorted and corrupted, and the human race corrupted its nature and ruined the divine gift - its soul, which God breathed into its nature in paradise.
In order to renew the physical and spiritual nature of man, to cleanse, sanctify and direct him to the path of salvation, it was necessary for the Son of God Himself to descend to earth, to become a man, and by His word, His life and His example to show him the true path of life, and by His blood to renew our nature corrupted by sin, in order to raise it to heaven. For this reason the high God came down to earth, that He might raise us to heaven. The Apostle says: "If you are risen with Christ, then set your minds on heavenly things, and not on earthly things" (Col. 3:1).
And the Lord raised up to heaven countless assemblies of saints after His resurrection from the dead and after His ascension into heaven, having freed from hades all who believed in Him and all who lived afterwards on earth, who believed in Him and labored truly for His name's sake even to our times and days. In the heavenly habitations now settle countless souls of people who lived in faith and piety on earth and were redeemed and justified by the blood of Christ. And to you and me, beloved brethren, the path there has been shown, and we must urgently strive there with all our thoughts, desires, intentions, cares, and deeds. We must not apply our minds and hearts to dust and clay, but to God and His eternal truth, to His eternal kingdom, for which He created us, and redeemed us, and numbered us among His Church on earth. The dust is earthy, i.e. the body, and to God is the heavenly, i.e. the soul; the body, this earthly temple, will be destroyed "and will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it" (Eccl. 12:7), says the Scripture.
So, do we always strive diligently upward, to where Christ God, our Hope, our Life, has ascended? Do we strive with our thoughts, desires, deeds? If our thoughts, desires, words, deeds are only worldly, carnal, earthly, if both in reality and in sleep we are most occupied and possess our heart, our soul, by the belly and generally carnal pleasures, or only earthly acquisitions and self-interest, only earthly advantages, earthly treasures, distinctions, only earthly speeches, then we are still earthly, have not loved Christ, our Redeemer, and do not hasten to Him, to be with Him forever, to see Him face to face. We still love the world, lying in evil, we are still slaves of sin, and not sincere slaves of Christ. The Apostle says: "If anyone loves the world, the love of the heavenly Father is not in him; for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15–17).
Thus, for whom the belly is God, he is not yet God's and works in vanity and corruption, for whom greed and acquisition, excess, are the work of life and the passion of the heart, and love for God and neighbor, help and alms to the needy are an extraneous matter; for whom earthly treasures, adornments, distinctions, advantages, conveniences serve as the edge of desires and the duty of the heart, he is not yet Christ's, does not love Christ with all his heart, does not strive for Him, does not wish to see Him and live with Him forever. If we wish to be with Christ, then let us strive to labor in heavenly virtue, in faith, in hope, in patience, in meekness, humility, gentleness, mercy, abstinence, purity and chastity.
Lord! Who has ascended from us to heaven, raise us, earthly ones, with You, and shake off from our hearts the extreme cares and worries of life, the passions that destroy the soul! Grant us, before our departure from here, to acquire the habit of every virtue, so that we may appear before You in this incorruptible garment. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
