Sunday After Ascension (May 16th)

Glossed Epistles of St Paul, Latin, Tuscany, c.1190-1200 AD, State Library of Victoria

O Christ God, You have ascended in Glory, 

Granting joy to Your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit. 

Through the blessing they were assured 

That You are the Son of God, 

The Redeemer of the world! 

When You did fulfill the dispensation for our sake, 

And unite earth to Heaven: 

You did ascend in glory, O Christ our God, 

Not being parted from those who love You, 

But remaining with them and crying: 

I am with you and no one will be against you. 

Magnify, O my soul, Christ the Giver of Life, 

Who has ascended from earth to heaven! 

We magnify you, the Mother of God, 

Who beyond reason and understanding 

gave birth in time to the Timeless One. 

(The Byzantine Prayers for the Ascension)

By Bp. Joseph Boyd (Ancient  Church of the West) 

Introduction 

This is the Sunday after the Ascension! In traditionally Christian countries, Ascension and Pentecost, known as “Whitsuntide” in our Anglican Patrimony, is often a time of great joy, outdoor picnics, sporting competitions, and church festivals. May we rejoice in the fact that Christ has ascended to the Father, where He rules and reigns, and from whence He shall return to judge the living and the dead, establishing an earthly Kingdom for the rest of eternity! 

Christ is Ascended! Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly! 

Readings for the Day 

Today our two short readings for the day focused more upon a preparation for the Ascension, so I wanted to go back and look at the readings from the Feast of the Ascension on Thursday and highlight how we should think and feel about the experience of the Church in the Ascension of Jesus. 

The Epistle: Acts 1:1-11 

THE former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: to whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: and, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly 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? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so came in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 

The Gospel: St. Luke 24:49-53 

JESUS said, Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. And he led them out 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. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.

The Ascension, from Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, by the Limbourg Brothers, c.1411-1416AD

Left To Our Own Devices 

There is probably no sadder occurrence in the Christian story than the Ascension. Jesus left us. We can’t see him anymore. He didn’t stay to rule and reign forever. Instead, he has gone away “to prepare a place” for us. But, really, it is a hard thing to accept that Jesus accomplished our salvation and then left us to fend for ourselves and await some distant return. Or, is that what happened? 

Jesus told us that if he did not leave, we could not have the Holy Spirit. In our liturgical reading today in St. John 15:26-16:4, we see this promise, where we get the theology of the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father in the Creed, and this passage is also how we know that Jesus had our best at heart - 

“WHEN the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.” 

Christ ascended back to His Father in order to strengthen us. He went back so that all of us could share in a part of Him, and that through this, we could all be made holy and do the work of the Father as His Church. Only when we have the Holy Spirit can we be expected to endure persecution and difficulties, because only when we have God living inside of us do we have his power to resist sin, endure pain, and rejoice in the midst of all the difficulties that will inevitably come our way. 

Watch and Pray 

As Jesus was ascending, He gave His disciples clear instructions. He said, “Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49) Jesus required them to wait and pray, to be watchful, and to discern the gifts of the Spirit that would be made manifest. He had shown them their own weakness in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36), where He had instructed them to wait and pray, and they had been unable or unwilling to do it. Now He commanded them to try again. This “watchfulness” is key. In later Christian monastic practice it would become apparent that without constant “watchfulness,” “nepsis” in Greek, there would be self-delusion, deceitfulness and falling into sin. 

In many places in the Scriptures, we are told to “Discern the Spirit,” (I Cor 12:10) patiently waiting on the Lord to show Himself, lead us into truth, and to guide us in times of difficulty. We are told to be watchful, not just for sin and temptation, but to be ready to obey “in the hour in which ye have need,” because the “Holy Spirit will teach you what to say.” (Luke 12:12). But this work of discernment is not merely done in our human logic, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Cor 2:14) 

The Holy Spirit gives us the power to discern Who He is through His interaction with us, revealing truth and showing us Jesus Christ, Who is the Icon of the Father. When we see the life of the Holy Trinity revealed, we know that the Holy Spirit is present, filling all things, bestowing His gifts. 

Summary 

In the the other Epistle Reading assigned for today we hear St. Peter’s voice confirming what St. Luke has stressed in the other Scriptures from this morning, summing up what should be our response to the Holy Spirit’s interaction with our lives. Notice that he mentions watching and praying as well, and that the end expression of all things is love. 

“THE end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 St. Peter 4:7-11) 

The Collect 

O GOD, the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven; We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless; but send to us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Ascension, by Giotto di Bondone, in the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy, c.1305 AD