In ascensionem domini nostri Jesu Christi

On the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ; it was spoken in the martyrium of Romanesia, where the bodies of martyrs, lying under the ground near the relics of heretics, were taken up and buried separately above. 1. And when we were commemorating the cross, we celebrated the feast outside the city, and now when we are celebrating the Ascension of the crucified one, this bright and radiant day, we again hold the feast outside the city. We do this not because we wish to dishonor the city, but because we are eager to honor the martyrs. For these saints might reproach us and say: we were not deemed worthy to see even one day of our Master celebrated in our own dwellings; these saints might reproach us and say: we poured out our blood for him and were deemed worthy to have our heads cut off, but we were not deemed worthy to see the day of his feast celebrated in our own abodes. For this reason, leaving the city, we have run to the feet of these saints, through the present day, and we are making our defense to them for the time that has passed.

For even if before this it was necessary to run to these noble athletes of piety, when they lay beneath the earth, much more now must this be done, when the pearls are by themselves, when the sheep have been separated from the wolves, when the living have been removed from the dead. For to them there was no harm even before this from the association in burial; for those whose spirits are in the heavens, their bodies suffered nothing from the proximity; those whose soul is in the hand of God, their relics suffered nothing from the placement. To them, then, there was no harm, not even before this; but our people suffered no ordinary loss from the places, running to the relics of the martyrs, yet making their prayers with doubt and hesitation because the tombs of the saints were unknown, and where the true treasures lay. And the same thing happened as if flocks of clean sheep, eager to enjoy pure streams, came to the pure springs, but were turned back again by some nearby stench and foul odor; so it happened with this flock. The people walked to the pure springs of the martyrs; but perceiving a heretical stench rising nearby, they were turned back again. Therefore, this wise shepherd and common teacher, who arranges everything for the edification of the Church, did not endure overlooking this loss for long, this fervent lover and zealot of the martyrs. But what does he do? Behold his wisdom.

It has buried and blocked up the murky and foul streams below, and has set the pure springs of the martyrs in a pure place. And consider how much philanthropy it has shown toward the departed, how much honor toward the martyrs, and how much care toward the people. Toward the departed it showed philanthropy, not disturbing their bones, but allowing them to remain in their place; toward the martyrs, honor, by freeing them from their evil neighborhood; toward the people, care, not allowing them to make their prayers with distress. For these reasons we have brought you here, so that the gathering might be more joyful, so that the spectacle might be more splendid, not only of men, but also of martyrs assembled; not only of martyrs, but also of angels. For angels are also present; a gathering of angels and martyrs has taken place today. And if you wish to see both martyrs and angels, open the eyes of your faith, and you will behold that spectacle; for if the air is filled with angels, much more so is the church; and if the church, much more so is this present day, when their Master is taken up. For that the whole air is filled with angels, listen to what the Apostle says, admonishing women to have a veil on their head: "Women ought to have authority on their head because of the angels." And again James says, "The angel who rescues me from my youth." And those who were in the house with the apostles said to Rhoda, "It is his angel"; and again James says, "I saw a camp of angels.

And for what reason did he see a camp of angels on the earth and an army? Just as a king orders the armies to be stationed in each city, lest a barbarian war arise and overrun the cities, so also God, since there are demons in this air, barbarous and wild, always stirring up wars and enemies of peace, has set against them the armies of the angels, so that by merely appearing to them they may quell them, so that they may always secure peace for us. And that you may learn that they are angels of peace, listen to the deacons always saying in the prayers: "Ask for the angel of peace." Do you see that both angels and martyrs are present? What then is more wretched than those who are absent today? What more blessed than we who are present and enjoy this festival? But let the discourses about the angels await other occasions; let us bring the discourse to the subject of the present feast. 2. What then is the present feast? It is solemn and great, beloved, and surpassing the mind of men, and worthy of the great gift of the God who made it. For today reconciliations have taken place between God and the human race; today the long-standing enmity has been dissolved, and the long war has been ended; today a wonderful peace has returned, never before expected. For who would have hoped that God was about to be reconciled with man? Not because the Master is inhuman, but because the servant is indolent; not because the Lord is harsh, but because the slave is ungrateful.

Do you wish to learn how we provoked this lover of humanity, this gentle Master of ours? For it is right to learn the cause of our former enmity, so that when you see us, the enemies and foes, honored, you may marvel at the philanthropy of the one who honored us, so that you may not think the change came from our own righteous deeds, so that learning the excess of his grace, you may never cease thanking him for the magnitude of the gifts. Do you wish then to learn how we provoked our Master, the lover of humanity, the gentle, the good, the one who arranges everything for our salvation? He once deliberated about the complete annihilation of our race, and he was so angry with us that he resolved to destroy us together with women and children and wild beasts and cattle and the whole earth. And if you wish, I will make you hear the very sentence: "For I will wipe out," he says, "the human being whom I made from the face of the whole earth, and the wild beasts and the cattle, because I reflected that I made the human being.

And that you may learn that it was not our nature that he hated, but that he turned away from wickedness, the one who said, "I will wipe out the human being whom I made from the face of the earth," says to the human being: "The time of every human being has come to me." For if he hated the human being, he would not have conversed with a human being. But now you see him neither wishing to do what he threatened to do, but also the Lord making a defense to the servant, and conversing as with an equal friend and stating the causes of the coming destruction, not so that the human being may learn the causes, but so that, having told the others, he may make them more prudent. But, as I was saying, our race fared so badly before that it was in danger of falling even from the earth itself. But we, who appeared unworthy of the earth, today have been led up into the heavens; we, who were not worthy even of the lower rule, have ascended to the kingdom above, have surpassed the heavens, have taken hold of the royal throne; and the nature, on account of which the Cherubim guarded paradise, this nature sits above the Cherubim today. But how has this marvelous and great thing come about? How have we, who have given offense, who appeared unworthy of the earth, and who fell from the rule below, been led up to such a height? How was the war ended, how was the anger removed? How? For this is the marvelous thing, that peace came about not because of those who were unjustly angry with God, but because he himself, who was justly indignant, entreated us. For we intercede on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating through us. What is this? He himself was insulted, and he himself entreats? Yes.

For He is God, and because of this, as a loving father, He exhorts. And see what happens: the Mediator is the Son of the one who exhorts, not a human being, not an angel, not an archangel, not any of the servants. And what does the mediator do? The work of a mediator. For just as when two parties are turning away from each other and do not wish to be reconciled, someone else comes, places himself in the middle of both, and dissolves the enmity, so also did Christ. God was angry with us; we were turning away from God, the loving Master. Christ, placing himself in the middle, reconciled each nature. And how did he place himself in the middle? He himself received the punishment owed to us from the Father, and he endured both the punishment from there and the reproaches here. Do you wish to learn how he received each? Christ, it is said, ransomed us from the curse of the law, becoming a curse on our behalf. You see how he received the punishment borne from above; see how he also endured the reproaches borne from below: "The reproaches of those who reproach you," it says, "fell upon me." Do you see how he dissolved the enmity, how he did not desist until, doing and suffering and negotiating everything, he led the enemy and foe up to God himself and made him a friend? And the basis of these good things is today's day; for just as he took the firstfruits of our nature, so he led it up to the Master. And as happens in the grain-bearing fields, when someone takes a few ears of grain, makes a small sheaf, and offers it to God, blessing the entire field through the small offering.

This also Christ did: through that one flesh and the firstfruit, He caused our race to be blessed. But why did He not offer up the whole nature? Because this is not a firstfruit, if one offers the whole, but if one offers a small portion, and through the small portion causes the whole to be blessed. And indeed, if it were a firstfruit, one might say, the first man to come into being ought to have been offered up; for a firstfruit is the first thing brought forth, the first thing to sprout. This is not a firstfruit, beloved, if we offer the first fruit that is withered and weak, but if we offer the choice fruit. Since that fruit was liable to sin, for this reason it was not offered up, even if it came first; but this one was free from sin, for this reason it was offered up, even if it came later; for this is a firstfruit. 3. And that you may learn that it is not the first fruit to sprout that is a firstfruit, but the choice and noble one that has reached its proper maturity, I will provide you with testimony from the Scriptures. "If you enter," says Moses to the people, "into the land of promise, which the Lord your God gives you, and you plant in it every tree that produces edible fruit, for three years you shall not cleanse its fruit; in the fourth year...

In the fourth year its fruit shall be holy to the Lord. And yet, if the firstfruit were the first thing brought forth, the fruit of the first year ought to have been given to the Lord. But now he says: For three years you shall not cleanse its fruit, but you shall leave it, because the tree is weak, because it is feeble, because the offspring is unripe. But the fourth, he says, shall be holy to the Lord. And observe the wisdom of the lawgiver: he neither allowed one to eat it, lest one take the fruit before God, nor did he permit it to be offered, lest it be offered unripe to the Lord. But, "Leave it," he says, "since it is first; do not offer it, since it is unworthy of the honor of the receiver." Do you see that it is not the first thing brought forth, but the approved thing, that is the firstfruit? And these things have been said to us on account of the flesh which He offered. He therefore offered up the firstfruit of our nature to the Father. And thus the Father marveled at the gift, both on account of the worthiness of the one who offered and on account of the blamelessness of what was offered, so that He received it with His own hands, placed the gift near Himself, and said, "Sit at my right hand." To which nature did God say, "Sit at my right hand"? To that nature which heard, "You are earth, and to earth you shall return." Was it not enough to surpass the heavens? Was it not enough to stand with the angels? Was not even that honor ineffable? But it surpassed angels, it passed by archangels, it surpassed the Cherubim, it ascended above the Seraphim, it ran past the principalities, and it did not stop until it laid hold of the Lord's throne. Do you not see this space between heaven and earth? Rather, let us begin from below.

Do you not see how great is the distance from Hades to the earth? And again from the earth to the sky? And from the sky to the higher heaven? And from that to the angels, to the archangels, to the powers above, to the royal throne itself? All this distance and height has raised up our nature. See where it lay below, and where it ascended: there was no lower place for man to descend than where he descended, nor any higher place for him to ascend than where he was raised again. And Paul, making this clear, said: The one who descended is the same as the one who ascended. And where did he descend? To the lowest parts of the earth, and he ascended above all the heavens. Learn who ascended, or what nature, or how it was disposed before this; for I gladly dwell on the lowliness of our race, that I may learn with exceeding clarity the honor that comes from the philanthropy of the Master. We were earth and ashes; but this is not yet a reproach, for the weakness belonged to nature. We were disposed more senselessly than irrational beasts; for man was compared to senseless cattle and likened to them. And this is to be worse than irrational beasts—to become like the irrational. For to be irrational by nature and to remain in irrationality belongs to nature; but to be honored with reason and then to fall into that senselessness is a fault of choice. So when you hear that he was likened to irrational beasts, do not think that it shows men equal to the irrational, but that, wishing to show them even worse than those, he said this.

For we have become worse and more senseless than the irrational beasts, not because as human beings we have fallen to that level, but because we have driven ourselves to even greater ingratitude. And Isaiah, making this clear, said: "The ox knows its owner, and the donkey knows the manger of its master; but Israel did not know me." But let us not be ashamed of our former state; for where sin abounded, grace superabounded. Do you see how we were inferior to the cattle? Do you wish to see us as more irrational than the birds? The turtledove and the swallow, the sparrows of the field, knew the times of their coming; but my people did not know my judgments. Behold, we are more irrational than the donkeys and the oxen, behold, more irrational than the birds, the turtledove and the swallow. Do you wish to learn of another insensibility of ours? He makes us disciples of the ants; so completely have we lost our natural wits. For he says: "Go to the ant, and emulate its ways." We have become disciples of ants, we who were made in the image of God. But the creator is not to blame; rather, we ourselves did not remain in that image. And why do I speak of ants? We have become more senseless than stones. Do you wish me to bring testimony of this as well? "Hear, O ravines and foundations of the earth, that the Lord holds judgment against his people." He judges human beings, and you call upon the foundations of the earth? Yes, he says; for human beings are more senseless than the foundations of the earth. What further height of wickedness do you still seek, when we appear more senseless than donkeys, more irrational than oxen, more ungrateful than the swallow and the turtledove, more unintelligent than ants, more insensible than stones, and equal to serpents?

For they have rage, he says, like that of the serpent; the venom of asps is under their lips. And what need is there to speak of the insensibility of irrational beasts, when we are even called children of the devil himself? For you, he says, are sons of the devil. But nevertheless we, the insensible and ungrateful, the foolish, the more insensible than stones, the lowest of all, the dishonored, the most worthless—how shall I say it? What shall I speak? How shall I utter this word? The lowly nature, the most unintelligent of all, has today become higher than all. Today angels have received what they long ago yearned for; today archangels have seen what they long ago desired: our nature shining from the royal throne, gleaming with immortal glory and beauty. For this the angels long ago yearned, for this the archangels long ago desired. For even if the honor surpassed them, yet they rejoiced in our goods; for when we were punished, they grieved; for even if the Cherubim guarded paradise, yet they grieved. And just as a servant who takes a fellow servant into custody, because of the master's command, guards the fellow servant but grieves at what happens due to sympathy for the fellow servant, so the Cherubim took up guarding paradise, but grieved nonetheless over the guard. And that you may learn that they grieved, I make this clear to you from human beings. For when you see human beings sympathizing with fellow servants, no longer doubt concerning the Cherubim; for those powers are much more affectionate than human beings.

Which of the righteous did not grieve, when men were justly punished, even after countless sins? For this is the remarkable thing: that having learned of their sins, and having seen that they had offended the Master, they grieved. Moses, after the idolatry; therefore he said: "If you forgive them their sin, forgive; but if not, then erase me also from the book which you have written." What is this? Do you see the impiety, and yet grieve for those being punished? "For this reason," he says, "I grieve, because they are punished and because they furnish the causes for a just punishment." And Ezekiel, seeing the angel cutting down the people, cried out loudly and lamented, and says: "Woe, Lord, that you are wiping out the remnant of Israel." And Jeremiah: "Discipline us, Lord," he says, "but in judgment, and not in wrath, lest you make us few." Then Moses and Ezekiel and Jeremiah grieve, but did those powers suffer nothing at our evils? And how could this be reasonable? For that they make our affairs their own, learn how much joy they displayed when they saw the Master reconciled to us. For if they did not grieve before this, neither would they have rejoiced afterward. And that they rejoiced is clear from what Christ says: "That there will be joy in heaven and on earth over one sinner who turns back." But if angels rejoice seeing one sinner turning back, then today, seeing the entire nature brought into heaven through the firstfruits, how could they not have received the greatest pleasure? Listen, then, from another source to the joy of the heavenly hosts over our reconciliation.

For when the Lord was born in the flesh, seeing that he was now reconciled to men—for he would not have descended so far had he not been reconciled—seeing this, they formed a chorus on the earth and cried out, saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men. And that you may know that they glorify God for this reason, because the earth had received its blessings, they added also the cause, saying, On earth peace, goodwill among men, to those who had been at war, to the ungrateful. Do you see how they glorify God for the good things of others, or rather for their own? For they consider our good things to be their own. Do you wish to learn that even when they were about to see him ascending, they rejoiced and leaped? Listen to Christ saying that they ascended and descended continually. This is characteristic of those who desire to see the extraordinary spectacle. And how is it clear that they ascended and descended? Listen to him saying: From now on you will see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. For such is the custom of lovers: they do not wait for the appointed time, but anticipate the deadline with pleasure. For this reason they descend, hastening to see that new and extraordinary spectacle, a man appearing in heaven. For this reason angels are everywhere, both when he was born, and when he arose, and today when he ascended. For behold, two, it says, in bright attire, indicating their pleasure by their appearance, and they said to the disciples: Men of Galilee, why do you stand?

This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same manner as you have seen him going into heaven. 5. Pay close attention to me here. Why do they say these things? Did the disciples not have eyes? Did they not see what was happening? Did the evangelist not say that he was lifted up while they were watching? For what reason, then, did the angels stand by teaching them that he had gone up into heaven? For two reasons: first, because they were always grieved at the departure of Christ. For that they were grieved, listen to what he says to them: None of you asks me, Where are you going? But because you said these things, grief has filled your heart. For if we cannot bear being separated from friends and relatives, how would the disciples, seeing the Savior, the teacher, the guardian, the lover of humanity, the gentle, the good one, being separated from them, not have grieved? How would they not have been pained? For this reason the angel stood by, consoling the grief caused by the ascent through the promise of his return. For he says, This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in this manner. You grieved, he says, because he was taken up? But grieve no longer; for he will come again. For lest they do what Elisha did when he saw his teacher being taken up and tore his cloak—for he had no one standing by saying that Elijah would come again—so that these might not do this, for this reason the angels stood by consoling their despondency. And this is one reason for the presence of the angels.

The second reason is no less important, and it is why he added, "The one who has been taken up." What then is this reason? He was being taken up into heaven. The distance was great, and the power of our sight was insufficient to see a body being taken up as far as the heavens; but just as a bird flying to a height, the higher it ascends, the more it is hidden from our sight, so too that body, the higher it ascended, the more it was concealed, since the weakness of our eyes could not follow the length of the distance. For this reason the angels stood by, teaching the ascent into heaven, so that they might not think that he ascended into heaven as Elijah did, but that he ascended into heaven; that is why he says, "The one who has been taken up from you into heaven." For he would not have added this without reason. Elijah, then, was taken up as if into heaven, for he was a servant; but Jesus was taken up into heaven, for he was the Master. The former was in a fiery chariot, the latter in a cloud. For when the servant was to be summoned, a chariot was sent; but when the Son was to be summoned, a royal throne was sent—and not merely a royal throne, but the very throne of the Father. For concerning the Father, Isaiah says, "Behold, the Lord

He sits upon a light cloud. Since the Father sits upon a cloud, for this reason he also sent the cloud to the Son. And Elijah, having ascended, left his sheepskin to Elisha; but Jesus, having ascended, left gifts to the disciples, making not one prophet, but countless Elishas—rather, far greater and more brilliant than that one. Let us therefore rise up, beloved, and look toward that return. For Paul says, The Lord himself will descend from heaven at a command, with the voice of an archangel; and we who are living, who are left behind, will be snatched up in clouds to meet the Lord in the air—but not all. For that not all will be snatched up, but some will remain and some will be snatched up, hear what Christ says: When will two be found grinding in the mill? One is taken, and one is left; and two will be on one bed: one is taken, and one is left. What does this riddle mean? What does this secret mystery mean? By the mill he indicated to us all those living in poverty and hardship; by the bed and rest he hinted at all those in wealth and honor. And wishing to show that both from the poor are saved and perish, he said that of those in the mill, one is taken and one is left; and of those on the bed, one is taken and one is left, indicating that the sinners are left here and remain for punishment, while the righteous are snatched up into the clouds.

Just as when a king enters a city, those who hold offices and magistracies and have great freedom of speech with him go out before the city to meet him, while the condemned and those under sentence are kept within, awaiting the verdict from the king, so also when the Lord arrives, those who have freedom of speech meet him in the midst of the air, while the condemned and those conscious of many sins await the judge here. Then we also shall be snatched up; I did not say "we" counting myself among those who are snatched up; I am not so senseless and ungrateful as to be ignorant of my own sins. For if I were not afraid to disturb the pleasure of the present feast, I would have wept bitterly at the recollection of that word, since I also remembered my own sins. But since I do not wish to confound the joy of the present feast, I will end my discourse here, leaving the memory of that day fresh among you, so that neither the rich may rejoice in their wealth, nor the poor lament their poverty; but each, according to what he is conscious of in himself, may do one thing or the other. For neither is the rich man blessed, nor the poor man pitiable; but whoever is deemed worthy of that snatching up in the clouds is blessed and thrice blessed, even if he is the poorest of all; just as he who falls short is pitiable and thrice wretched, even if he is the most prosperous of all. Therefore I say this, so that those of us who are in sins may lament for ourselves, and those who live in virtues may all take courage; or rather, let them not only take courage, but also secure themselves.

Let not those alone lament, but let them also change. For it is possible even for one in wickedness, having departed from evil, to return to virtue, and to be able to become equal to those who have lived well from the beginning. Let us also strive for this. And let those who are conscious of virtue in themselves remain in piety, always increasing this noble possession, and adding to their former freedom of speech. But let us who are without freedom of speech, and conscious of many sins in ourselves, change, so that having attained to their freedom of speech, all together and with one accord, with the glory that is due, we may receive the king of the angels, and enjoy that blessed joy in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is the glory and the power, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.