Why Did the Lord Ascend From Us Into Heaven?

A sermon for the feast of the Ascension of the Lord

And the Lord, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God (Mk 16:19)

The holy Church now stirs up all the peoples of the earth to rejoicing and says: All you nations, clap your hands, for Christ has gone up to where He was before[1], that is, all peoples, clap your hands for joy, because Christ has ascended to the place where He was before, that is, to heaven.

So on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord all Christians ought to rejoice. But at what ought they to rejoice? It would seem, rather, that we ought to be saddened and sorrowful, because our sweetest Savior Jesus Christ has withdrawn from us His visible presence and ascended into heaven, whence He will come again—but He will come as the dread Judge of all the peoples of the earth. No: on the day of the commemoration of the Lord’s Ascension there are more grounds for joy than for sorrow. Let us only consider why the Lord ascended from us into heaven.

The Lord ascended from us into heaven not in order to grieve us with His departure, but to bring about for us what is most beneficial. His whole life, all His works, were for our benefit and for our salvation; and in the same way His ascension was for our good. Just as He, loving us, came down to us from the heavens and, having lived among men, laid down His life for them on the Cross, so too, loving us, He ascended into heaven, doing good to us. So He Himself said to His disciples: It is better for you that I go, for if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you[2]. Thus the Lord ascended into heaven in order to send in His place One equal to Himself—the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who would comfort the holy apostles and all true Christians in their sorrows, troubles, and persecutions. Here is the first cause for joy. Come, then, come, Lord Jesus, and send us the Comforter!

Further, the Lord ascended from us into heaven so that from on high He might look down upon us, as a Father upon His children, as a Shepherd upon His sheep, as an Eagle upon her young, as a Leader upon His host, so as to see everyone and to look into the needs and necessities of each of us, and to give help to each one. Just as some king, having gathered his numerous forces for war and wishing to see all his regiments, climbs for that purpose to a high place—a mountain or some building—and from the height watches over them and orders them, rejoicing over them when he sees that they are prevailing, but sending them swift aid when he notices that they are being defeated; so our Lord, the King of kings, having His Church warring on earth, that is, His faithful Christians, has ascended into heaven as it were onto a mountain, so that from the height He might see the struggle of each one and weave crowns for those who strive, while stretching out a hand of swift help to those who are growing faint, so as to raise up the fallen and make them stronger against the enemies, and to set hindrances in the way of those who persecute us. The holy Protomartyr Stephen is engaged in the struggle of martyrdom; the Jews are beating him with stones, and our Lord, having opened the heavens, is looking upon him from the height of His glory—so that the sufferer, seeing this, exclaims: I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God[3].

The Lord ascended from us into heaven also for this reason: that, like the sun, He might shine down upon us all with His grace from the height of heaven. Just as the sun, when it hides itself in the west, brings the darkness of night over all the world beneath the sky, but when it rises and climbs to its height, the darkness flees away from all the earth, and its rays bathe the universe in wondrous light; so it was with our noetic Sun, Christ. As long as He, living on earth—as it were in the west—did not manifest His radiant Divinity to men, the darkness of not knowing God lay over all the earth; but when, shining forth from His tomb, He ascended into heaven, then the lightning of His Divinity illumined the universe, and His name became glorious from the rising of the sun to its setting, over all the earth—the whole universe was enlightened with the knowledge of God.

The Lord ascended from us into heaven also in order to prepare for us a path to heaven, and to be our leader into the regions on high. Before the Lord’s ascension into heaven itself, there was no path to heaven for man: No one has ascended into heaven except the One who came down from heaven[4], says the Lord. He who came down is the same One who has gone up above all the heavens[5]. Thus before that time no one could go up to heaven, even if he was righteous and holy;—but when our Lord, having clothed Himself in human nature, went up into heaven, then a path to heaven was prepared for the whole human race, and along that path the souls of the holy Forefathers and the prophets, led out of hades, followed after Christ; by it ascended the apostles, the hierarchs, the martyrs, the confessors; by it even now ascend the worthy—righteous people who follow in Christ’s footsteps; now the path to heaven is known to all. Only do not be lazy in going up by it, Christians!

So did the Lord ascend from us into heaven—in order to open for us the doors of heaven, for an unhindered entrance there. Our Forefather Adam had shut the door of paradise against the whole human race, and a Cherub with a flaming sword took his stand at the doors of paradise; Adam—I say—shut paradise and the entrance to life, while he had left open only the entrances to death and to hades; but the Lord did the opposite: He shut the entrances to death and to hades, and He opened paradise—first of all to the thief, to whom He said: Today you will be with Me in paradise[6], and then to everyone; and finally He opened heaven itself by His own ascension.

What universally joyful causes there were for the Lord’s ascension from us into heaven!

Further—the Lord ascended from us into heaven in order to intercede for us before God the Father. So speaks the holy apostle John the Theologian: If anyone sins, we have an Advocate towardGodthe Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One: and He is the cleansing for our sins[7]. So let us not, sinful people that we are, despair of our salvation, but let us be confidently hopeful: we have a good Intercessor for us before God the Father—Christ our Savior Himself, who does intercede for us; only let us not be lazy ourselves, amid Christ’s intercession, in sending up our warm prayers to the heavenly Father;—yes, the Lord Jesus Christ intercedes for us with God the Father and appeases Him. But whom does He intercede for? For sinners. For which sinners? For the repentant ones; for them He appeases His Father, and for sinners who do not repent He does not appease Him, because they crucify the Son of God a second time within themselves by their grievous sins, by their obstinate remaining in unrepentance, and with their unrepentance they trample underfoot the blood of the Son of God. So fear, you sinner who remains in unrepentance—lest the punishment of God overtake you suddenly, and you be destroyed from the land of the living, and be condemned together with the murderers who crucified the Son of God.

At last the Lord ascended from us into heaven, so as to prepare a place for us in heaven, where we shall live forever and reign together with Him, our Lord. Thus He Himself says: I am going to prepare a place for you; and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also[8]. What a joyful cause for the Ascension! The Lord ascended from us into heaven so as to prepare a place in heaven for each of the righteous and devout, and for us sinners as well, if we turn around and repent with all our heart. Where there is a place for the apostle Peter, who denied the Lord and wept bitterly over it afterward; where there is a place for the sinful woman who wept at His feet; where there is a place for the prodigal son, for the tax collector, for the thief—there will be a place for us too. Only let us weep bitterly over our sins as Peter did, let us fall down at His feet in repentance as the sinful woman did, let us return to Him as the prodigal son did, let us humble ourselves as the tax collector did, let us be crucified with Him as the prudent thief was. Let us repent—and we shall be saved.

Let us all rejoice in the Ascension of our Lord and Savior. Amen.