05/13/2026
FEAST OF THE ASCENSION
Vespers with Divine Liturgy today (Wednesday) at 5pm.
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About the feast
According to Saint Luke, Jesus ascended to glory with his Father on the fortieth day from the Mount of Olives in Bethany. Bethany was a particular place of Jesus’ glory. It was from here that he began his journey to the hour of his glory in Jerusalem, where he would be lifted up on the Cross to fulfill his love for his people. Before this journey, he raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, saying to Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God? (John 11:40)” In Jerusalem he was received as king, but the Sanhedrin turned many against him. His crucifixion was intended by his enemies to be the ultimate humiliation, but he turned it into the greatest exaltation by his obedience to his Father’s will, so that at his name every knee would bend (Phillipians 2:10). At Bethany he raised Lazarus from the dead to reveal his glory from the Father, and then, after his own resurrection, returned to Bethany to the Mount of Olives to ascend to glory with his Father. The prophet Zechariah has foretold that the Lord will come again in glory to the Mount of Olives to defeat his enemies, and to be recognized as God by all the earth, “The Lord shall become king over the whole earth; on that day the Lord shall be the only one, and his name the only one. (Zechariah 14:9)”
The ascension of our Lord into glory is the seal on his resurrection. Jesus taught Nicodemus, “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. (John 3:13)” St. Paul further explains that the ascension is the sign of his victory over the Hades, the kingdom of death, “What does ‘he ascended’ mean except that he also descended into the lower regions of the earth? The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. (Ephesians 4:9-10)”
As God, the Lord does not change, for he reigns with his Father in glory forever. But in the ascension, Jesus in his human nature, one person as the Word of God and Son of God and incarnate man, lifts up our human nature to the right hand of the Father in the hope of life and deification. St. John tells us of this hope, “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2-3)” The liturgy of the Church teaches us the same mystery, “Ascending in glory today from the Mount of Olives, through your great love, you lifted up our fallen nature and enthroned it with the father on high. (Vespers)” This was done out of love for us, “Having so loved human nature, you granted that it may be enthroned with you. In your compassion you united it with yourself, in union with it you have suffered, and by your passion you glorified it, O God, beyond all suffering. (Vespers)”
The Ascension has a future dimension, and the angels tell the apostles, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven. (Acts 1:11)” Here in this world, we must work for the kingdom of heaven until the Lord comes again. This, too, is the mystery of the Ascension. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, the Lord tells his disciples, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations ... And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)” Jesus in his human body has been made our high priest, and “we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God .... we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin ... he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. (Hebrews 4:14-15; 5:9)” The Kontakion of the Feast proclaims that Christ will never leave us, but remain ever-present. Since he has all power on heaven and earth, he says to those he loves, “I am with you and on one else has power over you.” As our High Priest, he is “enthroned at the right hand of the Father, and sent down upon his disciples the Holy Spirit, who enlightens, strengthens, and saves our souls.”
In the Ascension, the body of Jesus returns to the place of the Son of God at the Right Hand of the Father. This is the restoration of human nature to the glory that God intended for it from the beginning of creation, and we sing, “let us praise Christ, who is gloriously raised upon the wings of the Cherubim to seat us with him at the right of the Father. (Canon of the Ascension)” The feast of Ascension is about the Body of our Lord. In Communion, we receive the risen and glorified Body of our Lord and are united with God. This is the forgiveness of sins, signified by the forgiveness of Adam, for “you,” O Christ, “have appeared in the garment of our flesh. You have united that which formerly had been separated. (Canon of the Ascension)” The kontakion tells us that this is the meaning of the Ascension, “You fulfilled the plan of salvation for us, and united all things on earth to those in heaven, O Christ our God.” The Lord’s promise made on the night that he revealed the mystery of Communion in his body and blood is now fully revealed. Our Communion in his body here on earth leads us to life everlasting, and the fulfillment of his priestly prayer for those who believe in him, “Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24)” The Ascension, the feast of the glory of Christ, closes and seals the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord. Christ is with us always in our journey through life, and the eucharist is our food. As St. Paul wrote, “it is Christ in you, the hope for glory. (Colossians 1:27)”
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