Слово на Вознесение Господне. Блаженного Августина

The glorification of our Lord Jesus Christ was accomplished by His resurrection and ascension. We celebrated the Resurrection on the first day of Easter; We celebrate the ascension today. Celebration for us is both days. He (Christ) has risen, may He show us an example of resurrection, may He ascend, may He protect us from above. So, the same Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who hung on the tree, now sits in heaven. Hanging on the tree, He paid our price, and sitting in heaven, He collects what He bought. When He gathers everyone, He will gather throughout time: then He will come at the end of time, and, as it is written, God will come in reality (Ps. 49:3), - He will come in reality, and not in secret, as He came before. He had to come hidden in order to be judged; but He will come manifestly to judge. For if He had come clearly first, who would dare to judge Him? If only they knew, says the Apostle Paul, they did not crucify the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8). And if He had not been killed, death would not have died. The devil is defeated by his victory: he triumphed when, having seduced the first man, he killed him, and having killed the second Adam, he lost his captive - the first. Thus, our Lord Jesus Christ won the victory when he resurrected and ascended into heaven, and what we heard was fulfilled: the Lion who was of the tribe of Judah conquered (Rev. 5:5). The same is called Leo, Who, like a lamb, was killed. He is a Lion in strength, and a Lamb in innocence; The Lion as invincible, the Lamb as humble. And so, the slain Lamb defeated by His death the lion, who went about seeking someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8), that is, the devil, who is called a lion not because of his strength, but because of his cruelty. The devil is walking,” says al. Peter, roaring like a lion, seeking someone to devour, and who would not have fallen to the teeth of this lion if the Lion of the tribe of Judah had not conquered? Against a lion - Lion, against a wolf - Lamb. The devil triumphed when Christ died; but by the very death of Christ the devil was defeated: he, as if in a trap, was caught in food. He rejoiced over death, like the ruler of death; but whatever he rejoiced about, he was caught. A trap for the devil is the cross of the Lord; the food that ensnares the devil is the death of the Lord. And now our Lord Jesus Christ has risen. Where is death now, hanging on the tree? Where are the curses of the Jews? Where is the arrogance and exaltation of those who nodded their heads at the cross and said: if you are the son of God, come down from the cross (Matthew 27:40)? The Lord did more than what they, cursing, demanded: for to rise from the grave means more than to come down from the tree. How great is the glory that Christ ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father? But we do not see this with our eyes, just as we did not see Him hanging on the tree. We contain all this by faith, we see with the eyes of the heart. For now, brothers, our Lord Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven; may our hearts also be lifted up with Him. Let us listen to the words of the Apostle: if you are risen with Christ, seek those on high, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Be wise above, not on earth (Col. 3:1, 2). Just as He, having ascended, did not retreat from us, so we are already there with Him, although what is promised to us has not yet happened in our body. He is already exalted above the heavens. And we should not lose hope of ascending into the perfect heavenly, angelic dwelling, although it is said: no one ascends into heaven except he who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven (John 3:13). This is said because of the unity by which the Lord is our Head, and we are His body. Therefore, when He ascended into heaven, we were not separated from Him. He who descended from heaven does not deny us heaven, but also, as it were, calls out: “Be my members if you want to ascend to heaven.” So, let us affirm ourselves in this union, let us love it with all the strength of our souls. Let us begin to think in the dwellings below that we are numbered among those above. Someday we will be distracted by the mortality of the body; now let us be stripped of oldness of spirit. And the body, without difficulty, will ascend to the heavenly world, when the spirit is not oppressed, the burden of iniquities. Amen 90. Bibliot. Patr. Concionator., vol. IV, p.p. 413–414; Wed Sunday Read XIII (1849–50), pp. 53–54. You might be interested in: