Word on the Day of the Ascension of the Lord

Christ in heaven! Christ in glory! What joy, what triumph for the angels! If they rejoiced at the descent of Christ to earth; what happened when they saw His return to glory? What happened when we saw condemned human nature glorified in the face of Christ Jesus? What happened when they saw Him humble Himself to the point of death, even death on the cross, receiving the name that is above every name, so that every tribe of heaven, earth and hell should worship before Him? Christ in heaven. Christ in glory. What are we? Or we can remain on earth without Christ! Oh, God forbid to be anywhere without Christ! If ever, then now it is especially necessary to encourage yourself to think about heaven, where Christ is. Christ in heaven. There in heaven is our homeland, there is our life with Christ. What is the earth to us? Place of exile. What is earthly life? The path of the poor wanderer. Why stay where you can’t live at home? The wanderer indifferently passes by everything that is not necessary for his destination, or that can only distract him from his goal. He uses on the road only what can strengthen his strength for the journey. His gaze, his thoughts, the desires of his soul strive for his homeland. There is nothing more beautiful than our homeland in heaven. The eye has not seen, the ear has not heard, the mind has not encountered anything like what the Lord has prepared for those who love Him. Why do we have so many worries, so many sorrows about earthly things? Sons of humanity! how long will the heart be heavy? Do you like vanity? One spends his entire life collecting piles of shiny dust. What doesn’t another do to rise two or three steps higher than others, to win the opinion of himself from the mighty of the earth, but who are the earth themselves? What is all this for? They will return to their homeland as if they were in a foreign land, like prodigal children. Isn’t it vanity and vanity that is harmful—everything that does not bring us any benefit for eternity, but only destroys our spirit with worries, leading to its eternal destruction? “Seek ye those on high, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Be wise on high, not on earth. ...Your life with Jesus is hidden in God” (Col. 3:1-3). What are we without Christ the Lord? He is our head, our life, our salvation and bliss. If we are not rushing to where Christ is, if our worries are not about heaven, if we are not striving to approach our King and Lord: what will happen to us when the visible heaven and earth burn, and nothing remains outside the Kingdom of Christ except hell? Oh, we need to philosophize on high, not on earth! Is it not possible that, in addition to worries about heaven, one can ascend to heaven after death? In this case, there is no need to worry about heaven on earth, especially since earthly worries are enough. Ascend to heaven without preparing yourself for heaven? It is forbidden! An involuntary transfer to heaven, due to the effect of death, not preceded by the purification of the spirit during life, not only cannot be beneficial for the soul, but will turn into destruction. The seeds of evil, sown by the will in the soul, cannot be plucked from it by any violence, and left in the soul ascended to heaven, they will open and turn into sources of torment. How can a sinful soul live where everything is not akin to it, everything is contrary to its dispositions? This would mean the same thing as making a fish live in the air, a deer in the water, or a stone fly in the wind. The element in which pure spirits and souls of the righteous bliss is unbearable for a sinner; she is too thin, too light for him, he cannot live in her, as if alien; the element with which he became familiar, in which he lived and can live, is of a completely different kind. Sinners, according to the false word of God, are children of the devil. They were born and raised, they lived and can live only by the element that was generated by the prince of darkness, otherwise - by the element of hell. No, my listeners, we need to be cleansed, we need to be enlightened in spirit in order to live where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. One must devote one’s entire life to being lifted up by one’s dispositions in heaven, and not to cling to the earth, so that one on high should be wise, and not on earth. But is it easy? Is it easy to ascend from earth to heaven? Well? Is it better to fall into the abyss than to rise to the heights, even with difficulty? To acquire perishable treasures, temporary benefits, do they not use labor? And to acquire imperishable treasures, eternal blessings – it’s as if it’s no longer worth the effort! The Son of God descended to earth for us, for us He was nailed to the cross, for us His head was crowned with thorns, for us His side was pierced by a lawless hand - and in order to be our eternal intercessor before the Father, He ascended to heaven: and we, who are not grateful to the love of our Lord, do not want to endure labor for our eternal life. Is it too difficult for the earthly to ascend to heaven? But is it really man who is taken from the earth and returns to the earth? No, these are only clothes that are taken off earlier by some, later by others, worn out by some, and brand new by others. What is a person? Without a doubt, that which remains whole and without a perishable shell; this is the breath of life that came from God, this is the spirit created in the image of the incorruptible and eternal God Himself. If so, then isn’t it natural for the spirit to strive for its beginning? Isn’t it natural for him to approach the imperishable, as his own image? Just as natural as it is natural for a stone to fall on the ground where it was born. It is not natural for our soul to find peace and joy on earth, because earthly things are not akin to it. Trust yourself: how do the fun and pleasures of the world resonate in your soul? Emptiness, boredom, sorrows. So, doesn’t the soul itself say that its rest is not on earth, but in heaven? What prevents people from using such a disposition of soul to have their thoughts and desires as often as possible with their Lord and Savior? There are also people who think a lot, but who think about everything, just not about eternity. What is this from? Is it not from ourselves? Is it not because of your ill-used freedom? If the spirit, constantly occupied only with thoughts about the earthly, worldly and perishable, itself becomes coarse and earthy, who is to blame? Let the fall of the first man spoil the natural aspiration of the immortal spirit, tilting it from heaven to earth: but we have been given the grace of Christ, powerful not only to return the spirit to its original rightness, but also to lead it to the highest perfection. Let the grace of Christ not remain in vain in us: with it neither the earthiness of the flesh nor the weakness of the soul will keep us on earth; with her the apostle, living on earth, ascended to the third heaven. But how can one train the mind to rush to heaven when earthly objects scatter it, turning it towards the earth? How does one train the mind to direct itself to the earth and not to the sky? Repeating the same thing. Let the same method be used to accustom the mind to heaven, and it will become accustomed. Start thinking more often about any object: this object will be closer and closer to you, will ascend into your soul, fill it with itself, displacing other objects. This also happens when a person often ascends in thought to heaven. Just as, leaving the heavenly for the earthly, one becomes accustomed to the earthly: so, leaving the earthly for the heavenly, one becomes accustomed to the heavenly. You shorten the hours of pious activities in order to use them for worldly affairs; sometimes you go to the church of God, but think about home; It’s the same way in church. Do the opposite. Do the things necessary for life: but do not extend this work beyond necessity, and free yourself from earthly affairs for the works of God. Not only should you never take away the days set aside by the Lord for serving Him for the work of vanity and sin, but also sanctify your working time with thoughts of the Lord. Are you starting work? Begin by invoking God's blessing. Are you finishing your work? Thank Him for your help. Let the thought of the Lord be connected with every deed, with every exercise; then everything earthly will turn into spiritual things for you, and your mind will not be on earth. Whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. If this or that passion oppresses the mind, it will lead it to sin: and a remedy has been indicated against this. This Jesus, who ascended from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him going to heaven, so the angels spoke to the apostles. This is a powerful excitement for the soul! The thought of the second coming of the Son of God is so gratifying for the saints in difficult moments of feeling helpless and, as it were, abandoned by heaven; so terrible for careless sinners, on whom a terrible sentence will be pronounced by the judge - the Son of God. So, drive away sinful thoughts with the fear of God’s judgment, ease the struggles of inner sorrow with the consolations of eternity. Bringing joy to the disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit! Send down Your life-giving Spirit to us who are weak, so that, enlightened and strengthened by Him, we may look at the heaven that has received You, not being distracted by the charms of the world. Amen. You might be interested in: