XI. Ascension of our Lord and His Future Advent

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St. Philaret of Moscow

Elibron Classics

Sermon XI

The Ascension of our Lord and His Future Advent

Ascension Day

"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?" (Acts 1:10-11)

But to me it seems astonishing that you, ye men of light, should ask these men of Galilee why they stood gazing up into heaven.  How could they do otherwise than look up into heaven whither Jesus had just ascended, whither their treasure was transferred, whither their hope and their joy were removed, whither their life had disappeared.  If they at this time had gazed upon the earth, they might have been asked, as should be all the followers of Jesus Christ, who gaze upon the earth with a partial eye, – Why gaze ye upon the earth?  What can ye be seeking on earth, after that your and her only Treasure, found in Bethlehem, scattered abroad throughout all Judea and Samaria, which passed through the hands of wicked men at Gethsemane, in Jerusalem and Golgotha, was hidden under a stone in Joseph of Arimathea's garden, – and is now at last taken and carried into the treasury of heaven?  You have been told, and so it must be, that "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Mt 6:21); and therefore if your treasure is in heaven, then your heart must be there also; and thither should your looks, your thoughts, and your desires be directed.

The "two men in white apparel," who immediately after the ascension of the Lord appeared to the Apostles, and asked them why they stood gazing up into heaven, were without doubt themselves inhabitants of heaven, therefore it is not to be supposed that this was displeasing to them, or that they desired to direct the gaze of those men of Galilee elsewhere.  No.  They desire only to put an end to the inert amazement of the Apostles, when saying, "Why stand ye gazing up into heaven?"  Having aroused them from their amazement, they draw them into meditation, and teach them and us with what thoughts we should gaze into heaven, following our Lord Jesus Who hath ascended thither.  "This same Jesus," added they, "which is taken up from you into heaven, shall come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven."

Although our Lord had many times after His resurrection appeared to the Apostles, and become again invisible, and thus habituated them in some measure to these miraculous manifestations, nevertheless, when parting from them on Mount Olivet, He did not simply withdraw Himself, or become invisible, but ascending visibly above the clouds, became invisible to them only by reason of His immeasurable elevation from them.  There is no doubt then that this new way of withdrawal from them appeared to them extraordinary, and peculiarly significant even after their former experience of miracles.

They then beheld the exact fulfillment of His words which Mary Magdalene had recounted to them, "I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God" (Jn 20:17).  They could not but conclude that those joyful visitations by Him, those instructive conversations with Him, that palpable communion between them and His divine humanity during the forty days, were at that moment ended.  When neither hand nor voice could any longer reach Him, they followed Him with their eyes, eager to detain Him, "they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up."  We can conceive what an immeasurable bereavement the Apostles must have felt after the ascension into heaven of Jesus Who was all and everything in the world to them; and it is this very bereavement for which the heavenly powers hasten to console them, when telling them that "this same Jesus, which is taken from you into heaven, shall come."

Christian, if thou hast at all known the Lord Jesus, and "dost taste and see that the Lord is good" (Ps 34:8), surely thou must more or less perceive what a blank the whole world is without Him, and feel how void is thy heart when He is absent.

And so it should be; for all that is in the world is but "vanity of vanities" (I Jn 2:18-17), and vanity cannot satisfy the heart, created for truth by Truth itself; "for all that is in the world is lust," an object of, or attraction to lust, under various forms; and as "the world passeth away, and the lust thereof" (Ecl 1:2), or in other words, the objects which excite lust disappear, so however great the world, however varied its good things, however abundant the sources of its pleasures, they cannot fill that small vessel of the human heart, which being immortal, can only be satisfied by immortal life.  If, sensible of this emptiness of created beings, it appears to thee that the Lord, Who is thy truth, thy life, thy desire, and the fullness of all thy desires, withdraweth Himself from thee, hideth His face, and leaveth thee not only without comfort, but even in tribulation, not merely alone, but in the very midst of the enemies of thy salvation; if thy wearied sight cannot pierce the clouds covering the heavens, and the inscrutable ways of the Most High furnish thee nothing but uncertainty, then receive from the heavenly powers the word full of might, which is able to fill the void of thy heart, to lighten thy sorrow, to put an end to thy loneliness, to clear away the darkness, to solve all uncertainty, and to quicken thy spirit by a hope neither delusive nor corruptible, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven," shall come.

And to this same comforting and redeeming testimony of the future Advent of the Lord, the heavenly messengers add some information, as to the manner in which this Advent shall take place.  They tell us, that the coming of the Lord shall be in the same manner as was His going, or rather His ascension, "He shall come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven."  Surely the heavenly heralds speak not idly, as we earthly beings sometimes do, but in a few simple words deliver a grand precept to those who are attentive.  Let us then attend.

"He shall come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven."  In consideration the circumstances of the ascension of Christ into heaven, we may first note the blessing which He then gave to the Apostles, "And it came to pass," says the Evangelist Luke, "while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven" (Lk 24:51).  This circumstance of His ascension into heaven, and parting with His chosen ones, the Lord Himself will recall to the memory of His Disciples when "He shall come in His glory," and meeting them again shall invite them to an actual participation in His kingdom, for "then shall the King say to them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father" (Mt 25:31, 34).

What an endless current of the grace of Christ is thus revealed unto us, Christians!  The Lord begins a blessing, and before its completion, ascends into heaven; "for while He blessed them, – He was carried up into heaven."  Thus, even after His Ascension, does He still continue invisibly to impart His blessing.  It flows and descends continuously upon the Apostles; through them it is diffused upon those whom they bless in the Name of Jesus Christ; those who have received the blessing of Christ, through the Apostles, spread it among others; and thus do all who belong to the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church become partakers of the one blessing of Christ and His Father, "Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Eph 1:3).  "As the dew of Hermon, that descended upon the mountain of Zion" (Ps 133:3), so does this blessing of peace descend upon every soul that riseth above passions and lusts, above vanity and the cares of the world: as an indelible seal, does it stamp those who are of Christ, in such a manner that at the end of the world He will by this very sign call them forth from the midst of all mankind, saying, "Come, ye blessed!"

And now, my brethren, let us consider, how needful it is for us to endeavor to gain now and to preserve this blessing of the Ascended Lord, which descends upon us also through the Apostles and through the Apostolic Church.  If we have received and preserved it, we shall, at the future advent of Jesus Christ, be called together with the Apostles and the saints, to participate in His kingdom: "Come, ye blessed!"  But if, when He shall call "the blessed of His Father," this blessing either be not found in us, or we be found in possession only of the false blessing of men who themselves have not inherited the blessing of the Heavenly Father by grace and in the sacraments, – then what will become of us?  Yea, I say unto you, let us consider and ponder on this while we may.

Another circumstance to be noted in the ascension of the Lord, when we imagine to ourselves this expected coming, is, that the Lord ascended in the presence of the Apostles, visibly and solemnly.  "While they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight" (Acts 1:9).

What kind of a cloud?  A cloud of light and glory, like unto that which once overshadowed the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon.  There they saw the glory, but not the Lord of glory; afterwards they saw Him, but not in His glory; and therefore they did not recognize Him, nor did they glorify Him.  But here, neither does the glory hide the Glorified, nor does the Glorified One hide His glory.  The Apostles beheld the glory of the ascending Lord: the Prophet also saw and heard it, when he himself solemnly exclaimed: "God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with a sound of a trumpet" (Ps 47:5).  Thus when the heavenly heralds announced to us that He shall come in like manner as He was seen to ascend into heaven, they give us thereby to understand, that He shall come visibly and solemnly.  So also did the Lord foretell of Himself, "that the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him" (Mt 25:31).  So also does the Apostle explain that the "Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God" (I Th 4:16).

But wherefore, some may think, need we note these particulars which seemingly are more calculated to excite curiosity, than to afford instruction? for prophecy was granted, that we might know and receive with faith, an event ordained by God; but who is there that will not recognize the glorious Advent of Christ, even though he be not previously acquainted with the particulars thereof?  Be not too hasty, my beloved, in concluding that these particulars are unnecessary.  No!  The Apostles, the Angels, the Lord Himself, tell us nothing for the sake of curiosity alone, but every word is for instruction.  That the second coming of the Lord shall be a visible and solemn one, was foretold unto us, because there would be those who would tell us the contrary, when a spirit of deceit shall be sent forth upon unworthy, unfaithful, and corrupt Christians.  "The hour will come," or the time of temptation (perhaps "it now is") "when they shall say: Lo, here is Christ, or there!  Behold, He is in the desert!  Behold, He is in the secret chamber!" (Mt 24:23, 26).  Behold, He is with us, say the sectarians, who, having left the city of God, the spiritual Jerusalem, the Apostolic Church, flee not into the true solitude of peace and silence, but into a spiritual and sensual waste, where neither is there healthy doctrine, nor sanctity of sacrament, nor good principles of private and social life.  Lo, He is with us, say they who nourish heresy in secret,*[see page 128 and 379] pointing to their covert assemblies, as if the sun could shine only under the earth, or as if it were not the Lord Who hath said and commanded: "What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in the light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops" (Mt 10:27).

When ye shall hear such clamors and whisperings, remember, Christians, the angelic voice and its preaching regarding the ascended Lord: "He shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven," just as visibly, just as solemnly.  And therefore, "if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not."  Neither violent clamors nor crafty whisperings resemble either the voice of the archangel, or the trump of God.  "Go not forth," in the footsteps of those who shall call you from out the city of the Lord; remain in your places, and preserve your faith, until the true, glorious, and solemn coming of Christ.

The third remarkable circumstance in connection with the Ascension of the Lord, is, that it was unexpected and unforeseen by His disciples.  It happened, as far as we can learn, from the short accounts of the Gospels, in this way: Having appeared to them at Jerusalem, as He had done many times before, and when going away in their company, He conversed with them, as usually, concerning the kingdom of God, and especially of the approaching descent of the Holy Ghost, as is written: "And He led them out of Jerusalem, as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven" (Lk 24:50-51).  Not only did He by His will not apprise them of that great event, but even when questioned as to the time of the great events of His kingdom, positively refused to give them the desired information, "He said unto them, It is not for you to know the time or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power" (Acts 1:7).  His refusal to grant the knowledge of the times and seasons, evidently relates also to the time of the future Advent of Christ, and is especially connected with it.  He had previously warned His disciples, how unexpected this event would be, by comparing it to lightning, which is in nature the most striking instance of perfect suddenness.  "For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be" (Mt 42:27).  And in like manner doth the Apostle explain this: "The day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night" (I Th 5:2).

From this same unexpectedness of His second coming, our Lord Himself draws for us, Christians, a saving warning: "Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come" (Mt 24:42).  Do not be led away by curiosity, or credulity, when Christians, thinking to know more than Christ hath granted them to know, would number the days of His kingdom, and determine the time of His expected coming: "it is not for you to know the times or the seasons"; endeavor rather to know your sins, to number your transgressions, and to seek a limit to them in repentance.  Above all things, take heed, when you hear the blasphemers, foretold by the Apostle, saying: "Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" (II Pt 3:4).  Take heed, that the gloomy dreams of those sons of the world, who shut their eyes to the light of the world to come, do not darken your hearts, blind your minds, or lull your spirits into sleep, till the approach of that longed for and dreadful hour, "when the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" (II Pt 3:10).

"Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless" (II Pt 4:14). Amen.