WEBVTT

00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:11.300
Glory to Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters,

00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:15.080
the gospel ends with incredible words which gives

00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:19.559
witness to what we're doing right now. He blessed

00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:24.600
them. He was parted from them. And he ascended

00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:32.039
up into heaven. The church liturgy is a foretaste

00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:38.210
of heaven. Yes, we get tired. We get distracted.

00:00:40.130 --> 00:00:45.270
You know, we're not all there all the time. But

00:00:45.270 --> 00:00:48.369
it's an entry into the kingdom of God as much

00:00:48.369 --> 00:00:54.450
as we can approach it with God's help. And they

00:00:54.450 --> 00:00:58.189
worshipped him. Which is what we're doing today.

00:00:58.570 --> 00:01:02.670
When we gather, we come to worship him. And it

00:01:02.670 --> 00:01:05.140
says they worshipped him. they went to Jerusalem

00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:09.620
with great joy. They were not feeling as orphans,

00:01:09.620 --> 00:01:12.859
bereft, lost, because they had seen Jesus, because

00:01:12.859 --> 00:01:16.299
they heard what he said, you will be endued with

00:01:16.299 --> 00:01:18.819
power from on high, the promise of the Father,

00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:22.439
that is the Holy Spirit. And they were continually

00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:28.200
in the temple, praising and blessing God. That's

00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:31.060
what we're doing now. The gospel just continues

00:01:31.060 --> 00:01:35.170
in us. In us, in this blessed community. And

00:01:35.170 --> 00:01:39.109
St. Luke then continues the account in the book

00:01:39.109 --> 00:01:43.209
of Acts. And he covers, as you heard in the epistle,

00:01:43.349 --> 00:01:49.450
the same blessed event. Which we confess and

00:01:49.450 --> 00:01:52.510
profess every morning when we say our prayers.

00:01:52.969 --> 00:01:56.250
Every evening when we say our prayers. Of course,

00:01:56.250 --> 00:02:00.049
the creed is part of those prayers. And he ascended

00:02:00.049 --> 00:02:02.810
into heaven. And sits at the right hand of the

00:02:02.810 --> 00:02:05.870
Father. And he shall come again with glory to

00:02:05.870 --> 00:02:08.990
judge the living and the dead. And his kingdom

00:02:08.990 --> 00:02:14.909
shall have no end. We celebrate that. Remember

00:02:14.909 --> 00:02:16.949
that when you say your prayers in the morning.

00:02:17.930 --> 00:02:23.409
That that ascension indicates a great implication

00:02:23.409 --> 00:02:28.909
in your life. That God, the word of God, descended

00:02:28.909 --> 00:02:34.270
from heaven. to meet us in our poverty, our weakness,

00:02:34.590 --> 00:02:39.870
our sin, our death. He descended even unto death,

00:02:39.930 --> 00:02:42.009
and we've been singing the last 40 days that

00:02:42.009 --> 00:02:44.949
Kentucky, though thou is descended to the grave,

00:02:44.990 --> 00:02:48.530
O immortal one. Did we hear that word? He ascended,

00:02:48.530 --> 00:02:53.969
descended, and now is ascending again. He's at

00:02:53.969 --> 00:02:57.069
the right hand of the Father. He is co -enthroned.

00:02:57.090 --> 00:03:01.699
He is ruling. He is co -reigning. I think as

00:03:01.699 --> 00:03:06.580
St. John Chrysostom said, our human nature is

00:03:06.580 --> 00:03:11.180
shining on the king's throne, glistening with

00:03:11.180 --> 00:03:17.520
glory and eternal beauty, man appearing in heaven.

00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:21.759
I believe that's why the fresco of the Ascension

00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:24.520
in churches with a barrel vault is over the altar.

00:03:25.620 --> 00:03:27.740
It's where it is. We don't have a barrel vault,

00:03:27.860 --> 00:03:33.719
so we have it where we have it. Human nature

00:03:33.719 --> 00:03:36.580
is shining on the king's throne, which is this

00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:40.780
altar table. By the way, and you know this, but

00:03:40.780 --> 00:03:45.719
I'll say it anyway, we use the word ascend, the

00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:48.780
gospel uses that word, and it uses the word cloud,

00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:52.639
just like in the Old Testament in Exodus, the

00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:55.419
cloud in which he was taken up, to describe this

00:03:55.419 --> 00:03:58.659
movement of glorification, not some kind of blast

00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:06.520
off into the atmosphere. His realm, our realm,

00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:13.060
our home is with God. Our life is hid in Christ.

00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:18.620
It takes some cleansing of the eyes. This is

00:04:18.620 --> 00:04:24.279
why, just my opinion, the commemoration of the

00:04:24.279 --> 00:04:26.519
healing of the blind man, which was last Sunday,

00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:30.319
he could see Christ, and he worshipped Christ

00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:33.120
at the end of that gospel. The other people,

00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:36.899
they cut Christ down. They couldn't accept that.

00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:40.620
But to celebrate this feast, to understand this

00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:44.839
feast, to participate in this feast, we have

00:04:44.839 --> 00:04:47.180
to have some cleansing done for our own eyes.

00:04:47.420 --> 00:04:51.899
That's continual. So that we know that Christ

00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:55.600
has not left us orphans, but he said, behold,

00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:58.600
I am with you always, even to the end of the

00:04:58.600 --> 00:05:02.269
age. All authority, he said, is given unto me

00:05:02.269 --> 00:05:08.089
in heaven and on earth. All authority, all dominion,

00:05:08.089 --> 00:05:13.769
all power in heaven and on earth. He says, go

00:05:13.769 --> 00:05:17.449
ye therefore, make disciples of all the nations.

00:05:19.350 --> 00:05:22.230
My only point today, really, brothers and sisters,

00:05:22.329 --> 00:05:26.610
is to remind ourselves that there is no lack

00:05:26.610 --> 00:05:32.339
of spiritual resources. To live as followers

00:05:32.339 --> 00:05:37.720
and disciples of Christ. There's no lack. Our

00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:41.480
approach to death is changed because of the ascension.

00:05:41.620 --> 00:05:44.579
And notice I said our approach, not death approaching

00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:49.759
us. No, we do like Christ. We come to death and

00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:55.060
we will conquer it. There's no lack of holiness

00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:59.279
as our foundational understanding for life in

00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:04.639
this world. to be transfigured. You will be endued

00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:07.240
with power from on high, the promise of the Father,

00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:12.819
said Jesus. There's no lack for us to enter into

00:06:12.819 --> 00:06:15.720
God's holiness as our foundational understanding

00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:22.720
of who we are. God's holiness. The martyrs, the

00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:27.399
apostles, the courage of those. There's no lack.

00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:31.720
to gain courage from God. There's no lack of

00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:34.120
joy that we may receive from God. They were in

00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:37.019
the temple joyfully praising God. There's no

00:06:37.019 --> 00:06:42.819
lack of love for others, which we don't have,

00:06:42.939 --> 00:06:48.060
but God has. There's no lack of humility and

00:06:48.060 --> 00:06:51.959
sacrificial giving that we can be inspired by

00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:56.350
the holy and mercenary healers. Prayer. by the

00:06:56.350 --> 00:07:00.250
holy monastic saints. Evangelism and missionary

00:07:00.250 --> 00:07:03.910
life by the holy bishops. You see over here,

00:07:04.050 --> 00:07:06.189
they're not just on the wall for us to like,

00:07:06.310 --> 00:07:14.029
thank you. To sort of, you know, I don't know,

00:07:14.029 --> 00:07:16.910
look at from afar. They're there to inspire us

00:07:16.910 --> 00:07:20.569
in our own life to become like they are in our

00:07:20.569 --> 00:07:25.410
particular situation. There's no lack of courage

00:07:25.410 --> 00:07:28.709
that the blind man had. That can be given to

00:07:28.709 --> 00:07:32.889
us. We read about last Sunday. We have resources

00:07:32.889 --> 00:07:37.629
in the face of adversity and the denial of the

00:07:37.629 --> 00:07:41.149
truth of things. We have the grace to pray and

00:07:41.149 --> 00:07:44.529
to worship. Lo, I am with you always, our Savior

00:07:44.529 --> 00:07:48.610
says. If a person takes seriously this Feast

00:07:48.610 --> 00:07:52.759
of the Ascension, then... Our vision is not limited

00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:56.240
to the ground, but it's lifted up and around

00:07:56.240 --> 00:08:00.360
us in this world is also lifted up. Not because

00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:03.500
we're so great. Not at all. It's because the

00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:07.019
grace of God is given to us. It's a glorious

00:08:07.019 --> 00:08:11.699
ascension. Listen to these words. I'll finish

00:08:11.699 --> 00:08:18.300
these random thoughts with these words from the

00:08:18.300 --> 00:08:21.529
prayers before communion. which I know you all

00:08:21.529 --> 00:08:27.790
do before receiving. O thou, who by thy glorious

00:08:27.790 --> 00:08:32.029
ascension disdeify the flesh that thou hast taken

00:08:32.029 --> 00:08:35.309
upon thyself, and dishonor it by thy session

00:08:35.309 --> 00:08:39.629
at the right hand of the Father, by my partaking

00:08:39.629 --> 00:08:43.309
of the holy mysteries, make me worthy of the

00:08:43.309 --> 00:08:46.759
portion of the saved at thy right hand. To the

00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:50.080
Lord be glory now and ever, to ages of ages.

00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:53.659
Glory to Jesus Christ.