On the Ascension (Sermon 5) [Spurious] — English

John Chrysostom · PG 52 · cols 801–802 · machine translation (AI, from the page scans)

[GREEK COLUMN] 801 SPURIA. ^A ...and he answered, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elias." But now not one of the disciples was able even to speak, nor to open his mouth, but, struck with great fear, they were beside themselves. And the Scripture adds immediately, saying: "And behold, two men stood by them in white garments," who also spoke. Nor is this idle; for the men being in white garments is significant of a great feast. And what did they say? "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?" The exceeding great miracle has astonished you; have you forgotten Him who said: "I am going to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God"? Or was it not on account of this that He said to you, "I will not leave you orphans"; and again, "My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you"? Did He not promise you the fulfillment of the Paraclete, that is, the Holy Spirit? "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him going into heaven." Thus He will come with the clouds of heaven, with glory and great power; thus He will come in the time when He is about to judge the world in righteousness. For the Father has given all judgment to Him. Do you not remember that when He was with you, He said: "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth"? ^B Then the apostles, coming to themselves, returned, praising and blessing the Lord, and awaiting the divine gift, that is, the descent of the all-holy Spirit. And indeed, what was said in the Psalms was fulfilled: "God has ascended with a shout, the Lord with the voice of a trumpet." "The Lord with the voice of a trumpet"—the prophet clearly signified here the duality of natures in the economy of Christ; in the same way, Thomas also, after the resurrection of the Lord, feeling His side, cried out, saying: "My Lord and my God." "God has ascended with a shout, the Lord with the voice of a trumpet." With a shout, indeed, because they send up the thrice-holy hymn to God with an unceasing voice; ^C and how He was taken up upon the Cherubic throne, we have previously shown. With the voice of a trumpet, namely, the archangelic [voice], foreshadowing His ascent into the heavens. But also the Holy Spirit, with a commanding voice, proclaimed to the powers above: "Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory shall enter." And the powers said: "Who is this King of glory?" Then the Spirit: "The Lord is strong and mighty, the Lord is mighty in battle." For He conquered the Enemy; He armed Himself against the tyranny of the devil in the human body; He quenched his fiery darts; and, being nailed to the cross and tasting death, while yet immortal, He plundered Hades; and, having been shown to be the victor, He rose from the dead and, having turned back the straying sheep, behold, He ascends, carrying it upon [His] shoulders toward the ninety and nine that are not lost, those that are grazing in the mountains, that is, in the heavens. ^D "The Lord is strong and mighty, the Lord is mighty in battle." And again He says: "The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory." Therefore, when the powers heard, "The Lord of hosts," they unanimously cried out the customary doxology, received the Lord with joy, and escorted Him to the high and lifted-up throne. And the word spoken by David was fulfilled: "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." O heretic, [certainly] regarding the flesh taken from us, ensouled by the holy Virgin. Let those, therefore, be ashamed who confess one nature in Christ. For it is evident that the divine nature was co-eternally with the throne of majesty. But let the Catholic Church be glorified. May Christ our God render us all worthy of His eternal kingdom; to Him be glory and power with the immaculate Father, together with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

CONCERNING THE ASCENSION, Sermon IV

The day of the Lord's Assumption has come. And although many have already delivered a sermon, the Father has urged even our littleness to speak. ^C And it seemed right to us to draw silence as a veil over our brevity, and to hide the magnitude of our lack of instruction; but since you urge the multitude to speak alongside the Father and the powers above, and command us to utter what David of old shouted concerning the Lord's Ascension: "Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory shall enter"; come, let us too sing the appropriate [songs] of the day today. For today our Lord Christ ascends to the paternal throne; today He who has been made flesh sits with the Father, neither having separated from Him before, nor sitting with Him now for the first time; for He always rests in the bosom of the Father; alone containing the Father, ^D and alone contained by the Father: "For I," He says, "am in the Father, and the Father is in me; and the Word is in the Father, and the Word is on the earth." Neither, when He came down, did He empty the paternal bosom; nor, when He ascended into the heavens, did He leave the earth destitute of His presence; but even while associating with men, He sat with the Father, and while sitting with the Father, He remains inseparable from men. "For behold," He says, "I am with you all the days, even to the end of the age." Today the Lord Christ is carried up from men into the heavens, not being moved like Enoch, not ascending to heaven in a chariot of fire like Elias; but He is taken up, so that He might send to the disciples the power of the Holy Spirit. David, seeing the joy of this Ascension many generations before, proclaimed beforehand, saying: "God has ascended with a shout," He who fashioned Adam from dust, who justified Abel, and translated Enoch. "God has ascended with a shout," He who guided Noah, and chose faithful Abraham. "God has ascended with a shout," He who received Isaac as an un-slaughtered sacrifice, and filled Jacob with blessings. "God has ascended with a shout," He who guided Joseph [when he was] wandering, and received the patience of Job. "God has ascended with a shout," He who glorified Moses, and bestowed the high priesthood upon Aaron. "God has ascended with a shout," He who strengthened Joshua the son of Nun, and bestowed the prophet upon Samuel. "God has ascended with a shout," He who strengthened David, and made Solomon wise. "God has ascended with a shout," He who inspired the prophets, and bestowed on the apostles the gifts of healings. "God has ascended with a shout," He who is motherless above, and fatherless below. "God has ascended with a shout," the pre-eternal offspring of the Father, and the unsown bud of the Virgin mother. "God has ascended with a shout," the dispenser of life, and the distributor of wonders. "God has ascended with a shout," He who by death slew death, and bestowed life upon the race of men. "God has ascended with a shout, the Lord with the voice of a trumpet." To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.