Проповедь на Вознесение Господа и Бога и Спаса нашего Иисуса Христа

So we celebrated Easter - the transition of our nature through Jesus Christ from death to life. Now the time has come to celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. During this exceptional event, the Lord blesses His disciples and moves away from them, although just recently they saw Him next to them and heard His voice saying to them: “Peace be with you!” Suddenly He began to ascend to Heaven on a cloud, as if on a chariot. Having ascended, He entered the Holy of Holies and sat down at the right hand of the Father - above all beginning and power. So He made human flesh co-altar with Himself - the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. The disciples continued to turn their gaze to Heaven in amazement when the angel who appeared told them: “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him going into heaven” (Acts 1:11). In the Ascension we celebrate the transition of our human nature received by Christ, not from the underworld to the surface of the earth, but from earth to Heaven. Before Christ there were many resurrections and many ascensions. The prophet Jeremiah was caught up in the Spirit, the prophet Habakkuk was an angel, the prophet Elijah ascended to Heaven in a chariot of fire. However, Christ, having risen from the dead, ascended to Heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father with His Human nature. We do not celebrate any resurrection or ascension except the Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, this is not only His, but also our own resurrection and ascension! They are directly related to each of those who believe in Christ, confirming this faith with their deeds. Christ gave Himself up to death for our sins. For our sake He rose and ascended. And now each of us, if he wants and begins to strive, can conquer all his passions. If a person wants, he can become a partaker of the Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord, as well as an heir of God. We rejoice as we experience these events, because together with Christ our human nature is exalted, and for every believer his own resurrection and ascension have already begun. The disciples returned to Jerusalem rejoicing. They were constantly in the church, directing their minds to Heaven. So, brothers, this is the real Christian life: to constantly remain in supplications and prayers, to constantly turn your mind to the Heavenly Lord. Sing to Him, bless Him with your blameless life. And at the same time, each of us must not forget that Christ defeated death and devilish malice with His humility and ignominy. The Apostle Paul speaks of Christ this way: “He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of men, and becoming in appearance like a man; He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, even death on the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:7–11). So, since Christ Himself is exalted because He humbled Himself, was dishonored and tempted, how will He save and exalt us if we do not choose for ourselves the path of humility and if we do not demonstrate this humility through the love that lives among us? There is no other way to follow His footsteps. Our salvation is full of hope. It has nothing to do with despair, since Christ has made it possible for everyone. For us, who surrender ourselves to Him in this life, there is no time for despair, since every moment of earthly life is a time of repentance and forgiveness of our sins. God does not want death for the sinner, He wants his return and life. When we sin, we do not immediately lose our lives for the reason that there is hope for our return. And where there is hope, there is no room for despair. Christ has already renewed man in His nature. Now everything depends on ourselves. Let's think a little about this: we all want to live happily ever after on earth. And yet, sooner or later, the earthly life of any person ends. So why don't we want to desire eternal, unceasing life? People devote themselves to so much work, often even ready to go to death - and for what? For the sake of the pitiful, temporary and earthly. Chasing insignificant benefits, people become slaves. So is it really difficult for us to obey the God-man and lover of mankind, the Lord? Why don't we want to free ourselves from excess? Why can't we be content with the bare necessities? After all, by doing this, we will be able to trust in heavenly and incorruptible wealth. Can't we endure hunger and thirst in order to eat Heavenly Bread? Why do we not want to cleanse the eyes of our souls from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit? Let us not prefer darkness to Light, the devil to God, and temporary pleasure leading to corruption and death to Divine joy. Let us live as Christ lived on earth, as He showed us, as He taught us, becoming a Man like us and living among people. So let us crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts, in order to be glorified with Him, in order to rise with Him and ascend to Him. Let us imitate His disciples in order to be worthy of the coming of the Holy Spirit: let meek love live among us and in us, so that we may be at peace with ourselves and with each other. Let us ascend into the Upper Room of Zion, that is, into the upper part of our nature - into the mind, and let us remain there, praying in the simplicity of our hearts. And when God pleases, let us accept the Comforter and worship in spirit and truth the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.