Слово на Вознесение Господа нашего Иисуса Христа. Святого Иоанна Златоустого, архиепископа Константинопольского

Of course, every holiday that has Christ’s economy as its subject is joyful and gladdens the hearts of the faithful; Today's celebration is also joyful. We will show why it is joyful in our further speech. As it is written, God completed all His works in six days, and rested on the seventh (Gen. 2:2). Therefore, in the last days (Heb. 1:2), having deigned to seek and save the lost and become human, the Word of God in the same exact way conveyed to us, according to the number of days of peacemaking, the feasts that have His economy as their subject. So, the first root of the feasts of Christ is His carnal miraculous birth from the Holy Virgin and Mother of God Mary after conception. Through the latter, Christ God, who bows the heavens, appeared on earth to save the lost world. At the birth of Christ, the angels, appearing to the shepherds and explaining the extraordinary mystery of the miracle, exclaimed: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14). The second holiday is the appearance of Christ our God, when, having come to the Jordan, He showed all people the condescension of His ineffable compassion, and when the voice of the Father was heard from heaven, testifying about Him: this is My beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). And also the Spirit, who descended in the form of a dove, remained on Him, so that in one instant of time the entire consubstantial Trinity clearly appeared. A worthy eyewitness of Her was the Lord's Forerunner, John. The blessed Apostle Paul also says about this theophany: the saving grace of God appeared to all man (Titus 2:11). Since the salvation of all people arose from here, it is fitting that the holiday is always called great by the pious. The third of the holidays is the holy, venerable and all-honorable day of the saving suffering of Christ, our true God, when, nailed in the flesh to the cross, He destroyed the record that sin kept against us, and when with just one word He brought Adam into paradise - for the disobedience of the one expelled from it - as He says to the thief: today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43). Therefore, this holiday is very great and predominantly so, because Paul said: Our Passover, for us Christ was quickly devoured (1 Cor. 5:7). The fourth holiday is the glorious and reconciling us with God day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ our God, when, appearing to the inhabitants of hell, He crushed eternal faiths, broke bonds, rose from the dead, won victory over hell, resurrected with Him the righteous who were in the latter and, entering His disciples, gave them, as if as a reward, peace. Therefore, without any contradiction on anyone’s part, this glorious day is considered by the faithful to be the mother of holidays. The fifth holiday is the holy Ascension of the Lord into heaven, which we are now discussing. This holiday is the fifth of the others, since the “ascension” itself happened on the fifth day of the week. We must celebrate this event for the reason that today Christ raised into heaven the beginning of our mortality, i.e. flesh. Therefore, the Apostle says: raise us up with Him and make us sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6). From where the culprit of all evil and the father of sin - the devil, because of his excessive pride and extraordinary arrogance, was overthrown - there Christ, out of His great love for mankind, put in his place a man expelled from paradise as a result of the evil advice of the devil. So, a real holiday is worthy of honor and spiritual rejoicing. The sixth of the feasts is the sixth praiseworthy day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, when in the form of tongues of fire Christ sent from heaven to the holy apostles the gift of the Holy Spirit, which they had expected, according to the Lord’s promise. This holiday is also called Pentecost, due to the fulfillment of seven weeks (after the Resurrection of Christ). And this, of course, holiday is undoubtedly very great in the eyes of pious Christians. The seventh holiday is the expected day of the resurrection of the dead; The faithful are imbued with this hope: then the humane and impartial Judge Christ our God will reward everyone according to his deeds. This is true peace, about which the Apostle Paul said: let us strive to enter into this peace (Heb. 4:11). Then there will be the greatest holiday, filled with joy, gladness and rejoicing, for those who will inherit what eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and the heart of man has not sighed, what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9). Therefore, beloved, let us pray that we too will be given the opportunity to celebrate together with the righteous in the palace of the heavenly kingdom, not only for one or two or three days, but for endless centuries. So, having talked about the seven holidays, let us return to the speech about what we suggested at first. Our story concerns the current holiday, that is, the Ascension of Christ into heaven. David said: bow down the heavens, and come down: and darkness is under His feet (Ps. 17:10). He obviously foreshadowed the appearance of the Word from heaven to earth. He said: darkness is under His feet, thereby explaining the robe of the Divine in the flesh, so that, due to the humble and meek appearance of Christ, His coming was not recognized by the majority of the people. Again the same Prophet says: Lord, Thy ways are in the sea, and Thy paths are in many waters, and Thy footprints are not known (Ps. 76:20). If only they had understood, says St. Apostle, the Lord of glory had not been crucified (1 Cor. 2:8). And again the prophet David said: mount the cherubim, fly on the wing of the wind (Ps. 17:11). He said: on cherubim, since, while in heaven with the Father, the Lord walked on cherubim, and on earth, speaking with people, He was in no way separated from the cherubim and heavenly throne. Saying: on the wing of the wind, the Prophet alludes to the clouds on which he ascended, as it is written about this in the Acts of the Apostles: and the clouds were lifted up from their sight (Acts 1:9). Then the book of Acts goes on to say: And as he looked up to heaven and walked towards Him (1:10), the apostles were seized with indescribable surprise and fear fell upon them; their minds, mortal by nature and unfamiliar with this kind of spectacle, went into a frenzy. But perhaps someone will say that Peter, James and John had already contemplated something similar before, namely, the transfiguration of the Lord. Of course, they had contemplated something similar before: they saw both the transfigured Lord and the cloud that overshadowed Him; but they did not see such a cloud that would be carried into the upper layers of the air space and that would lift the Lord to heaven. Although in both cases the power and mystery of one God took place, this miracle is more sublime than that. Then Moses and Elijah appeared to Peter and those with him, talking with the Lord; now the cherubim throne, that is, an invisible force covered with a cloud, suddenly appeared and delighted the Lord, who was talking with His servants. Then Peter boldly answered: Lord, it is good for us to be here: let us make three canopies here, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah (Matthew 17:4). Now none of the disciples could speak or even open their mouths, but they, struck by the greatest fear, stood in amazement. Scripture then adds the following words: and behold, two hundred men were before them in white clothing, and also the priest (Acts 1:10, 11). This increase is not unnecessary. The fact that the men were dressed in white clothes serves as an indication of the greatest celebration. But what did they say? - “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to heaven? An extraordinary miracle frightened you; Have you forgotten Him who said: I will ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God (John 20:17)? Isn’t that why He said to you: I will not leave you orphans (John 14:18) - and again: My peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you (John 14:27)? Did He not promise to send you the Comforter, that is, the Holy Spirit? This Jesus, who ascended from you into heaven, will come in the same way, in the same way you see Him going into heaven (Acts 1:11). He will also come on the clouds of heaven, with glory and power. He will also come at a time when he will judge the universe in righteousness. The Father granted him every judgment. Don't you remember that, being with you, He said: all power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18)? Then the apostles, having come to their senses, returned home, glorifying and blessing the Lord, and awaiting the Divine gift, i.e., the coming of the All-Holy Spirit. So, what was said in the psalms was fulfilled: God arose with a shout, the Lord with a trumpet voice (Ps. 46:6)... With a shout, because the Cherubim with an unceasing voice sent up the thrice-holy song to God. In the voice of the trumpet, obviously, the Archangel, foreshadowing His ascension to heaven. But also the Holy Spirit, with a commanding voice, declared to the powers above: Take the gates of your princes, and take the gates of eternity, and the King of glory will come in. And the Powers said: Who is this King of glory? After this, the Spirit answered: The Lord is strong and mighty, the Lord is strong in battle (Ps. 23:7–8). He defeated the enemy, armed himself against the devil's tyranny, taking on a human body; extinguished the devil's flaming arrows; Nailed to the cross and having tasted death (although He, as God, is immortal), the Lord devastated hell and, appearing victorious, rose from the dead; and, having returned the lost sheep, here He goes back, carrying it on its shoulder to the ninety-nine sheep that did not stray from their path and were in the mountains, that is, grazing in heaven. The Lord is strong and mighty, the Lord is strong in battle (Ps. 23:8). And again the Psalmist says: The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory (Ps. 23:10). Therefore, as soon as the Powers heard: The Lord of hosts, exclaiming the usual praise in agreement, they received the Lord with joy and accompanied Him to the high and exalted throne (Isa. 6:1). What David said was fulfilled: The Lord said to My Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I will make Your enemies Your footstool (Ps. 109:1). About what nature did the Lord say: sit at My right hand? Is it not about that flesh that was received from us, and which received life from the Holy Virgin? It is quite clear that the Divine nature was eternally united with the throne of the majesty of the glory of the Lord... May Christ God make us all worthy of His eternal kingdom! To him be glory and power with the beginningless Father, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen. 82 See “The Triumphant”, 9th century, handwritten. Moscow Synod, bib. (284–CCLXXI), l.l. 341–343; Bibliot. Patr. Concionator., vol. IV, p.p. 405–406. Poly. Collection created, St. Chrysostom, ed. 1897, vol. III, pp. 857–861. In Curs. Compl. Patrolog. Migne is a word classified as Spuria. You might be interested in: