Celebration of parting
You have ascended in glory, Christ our God, by fulfilling your disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit, by affirming their blessing in that you are the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, these words of the church song describe the meaning of today's Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, one of the twelve most Revered Christian holidays.
The Apostle Luke narrates about the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of his Gospel (Luke 20: 50-53) and at the beginning of the book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles (Acts 1: 9-11), thereby showing the continuity of Christian history. According to his story, after His Resurrection, Christ appeared repeatedly to his disciples for forty days, strengthening them in faith and explaining the Scriptures. Having gathered His followers on Mount Olivet, He blessed them, and after that began to move away, rising upward until he was out of sight. Then the two angels appeared before the congregation and announced to them that: This Jesus, who ascended from you to heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go to heaven (Acts 1: 1). The joyful disciples returned to Jerusalem, where they were in unity and prayer, waiting for the soon descent of the Holy Spirit. What is the reason for their joy? After all, it would seem that they, on the contrary, should be saddened by the fact that their Divine Teacher leaves them. However, the work of redemption of sin and the salvation of man, committed by the Lord in the course of His earthly life, was completed. Christ returns to His Heavenly Father, raising with Him and enlightened human nature with the light of the Resurrection. On many occasions He told the disciples that He must leave them to prepare heavenly dwellings for all who believe in Him: In My Father's house there are many abodes. And if it were not so, I would say to you: I am going to prepare a place for you. And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that you too, where I am (John 14: 2-3). Christ reveals to mankind the opportunity to ascend to God, because before: No one ascended to heaven, as soon as the Son of Man who descended from heaven, who was also on the Ascension of the Lord, was necessary so that the Holy Spirit
Was sent to the apostles and their followers: It is better for you that I go; If I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; But if I go, I will send Him. The Lord does not leave every man without His help, - He says goodbye to the disciples: "I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). Therefore, the apostles do not grieve over separation from the Teacher, they gladly return to Jerusalem, where they soon receive the grace of the Holy Spirit and establish the Church of Christ, starting a new stage in the preaching of the gospel and the salvation of mankind. Thus, the Ascension of the Lord marks the transition between the earthly life of Christ the Savior and His invisible care of all believers, which manifests itself in the created by Him. It is therefore not surprising that in the early Christian liturgical
The Ascension of the Lord and the Day of Pentecost were combined into one holiday, lasting several days. The selection of the Ascension as a separately celebrated event begins with the IV century, and since then it is celebrated on Thursday for the fortieth day after Easter. Therefore, on this bright day, like the apostles and the first Christians, we should try to remain in joy and prayer, we must do the works of kindness and mercy that elevate our spirit and purify the heart, revealing the grace of the Risen Christ.
