The Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord, Sunday, May 24, 2020

Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

The following is my translation of a sermon by St. Albert the Great (1200-1280) for the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord.  I find his sermons notable for their brevity, piety, and sharply observed structure.  They possess a lively simplicity and brilliant insights into the Scriptures.  In this sermon, he teaches that there are seven reasons for why Christ ascended into heaven, but for the sake of brevity, he explains only the first six, deferring a full explanation of the seventh for another sermon.  For our purposes, I have lifted a summary paragraph from that sermon and inserted it into its fitting place in this sermon, containing it in brackets.

St. Albert the Great: Sermon 46: On the Ascension of the Lord.

Indeed, after the Lord Jesus spoke to them, he was taken up into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God.  Mark xvi. 19.

Two actions take place here and are to be examined:

I.  Why is it said that God was taken up into heaven?

                        II. Why is it related that he sits at the right hand of God?

I.

The Lord was taken up into heaven for seven reasons.  The first was so that he might spread out and to show the way into heaven.  The second was so that he might arrange on royal thrones the souls he had rescued from Limbo.  The third?  So that he might intercede for us, bringing before the Father the sign of his victory.  Fourth, in order to exalt our nature above all the orders of the angels.  Fifth, in order to prepare dwellings and places of delight for us.  Sixth, in order to excite our hearts to greater ardor for him.  Seventh, in order to reveal the seven seals [ of the Book of Life] that have been unsealed and those that are to be unsealed (cf. Revelation 5, 1, et seq.)  

The first reason for his being taken up into heaven is this: to open and to show the way for us to heaven.  Thus, Micah 2, 13: He shall go up, opening the way before them . . . and their King shall cross over before their eyes.  Note that more than five thousand years had passed in which no one had ascended to heaven, and so the way there was unknown.  Because of this, it was necessary for the Son of God first to open the way, and then to make it known to the elect souls.

He also ascended so that he might arrange on royal thrones those souls whom he had rescued from Limbo.  It is written, in Isaiah 63, 1, that when the Lord should meet with his glorious escort of the angels and the holy souls after his Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection, they would say to the Lord: Who is this who comes from Edom, with the dyed garments of Bosra, this beautiful One in his stole, walking in the greatness of his strength?  "From Edom", according to the Gloss, means, "from the world".  "With dyed garments of Bosra", means, "with his Blood", on the Cross, according to the Gloss.  "This beautiful One in his robe", means, "in the form of his humanity".  

He does this, too, in order to bring before God his Father the sign of his victory -- that is, his scars -- in order to intercede for us with him.  The Gloss on Luke xxiv. 40 says, "The Lord displays his scars so that he might ever show to his Father, in his intercession for us, what kind of death he endured for man."  Paul also says, in Hebrews 7, 24-25: Jesus, because he remains forever, has an eternal Priesthood.  Thus, he is ever able to save those who approach God through him, ever niter ceding for us.  The Gloss on this says, "Christ brings his human nature to heaven in order to intercede for us."

He ascends into heaven in order to exalt human nature over all the orders of the angels.  The Gloss, commenting on the passage of the Apostle in Hebrews 2, 16, For nowhere doth he take hold of the angels, says, "Marvel at how great, and wonderful, and full of amazement it is that our flesh is enthroned above, to be adored by the angels and archangels."  For this reason, I very often allow myself this leaving of my senses, imagining how great is the human race.  When, therefore, the Lord confers such a great honor on our "sister" -- that is, our human nature -- it is worthy and just that we not do those things which dishonors our "sister", by behaving impurely and unjustly, and that we should not pollute our bodies and souls with sin.

He does this also in order to prepare dwellings and places of delight for us.  As the Lord says, in John 14, 2-3: I go to prepare a place for you.  And, if I should go, I shall prepare a place you, so that when I come again, I may take you to myself, so that where I am, you also shall be.  The dwellings of the elect shall be beautiful, secure, and opulent. Conserving these three qualities, it is written, in Isaias xxxii. 18: My people shall be seated in the beauty of peace, the tabernacles of trust, and in opulent rest.  On the other hand, there shall be foulness and filth in the dwellings of the damned.  There shall be eternal disturbance in them, and the irrecoverable loss of every good.

He rose into heaven in order to rouse up our hearts more ardently for him.  Matthew 6, 21: Where your treasure is, there is your heart.  likewise, Matthew 24, 28: Where the body is, there the eagles gather together.  The Son of God, then, is both "body" and "treasure", that is, perfect rest for our souls.  It is right that we daily pursue him with every desire of our hearts, for without him every man is in need, and perishes.  Now, the Lord is raised up as an eagle and sets his "nest" in the heights.  So also ought we to fly with desire after him, as the children of an eagle.  Job 39, 27-28, 30: Shall the eagle be lifted up at your command, and set its nest in the heights?  She remains among the rocks, and abides on craggy mountains, and inaccessible caverns . . . Her young lap up blood.  The Son of God is signified through the eagle, who acts in this way.  "At the command" of the Father, he was "lifted up" in the Ascension, and "he set his nest in the heights" of heaven, where he "remains among the rocks" -- that is, the souls of the elect -- which mightily resisted the temptations of the demons.  He also "abides on craggy mountains" -- that is, among the holy angels -- from whose ranks the apostate angels fell, severed from them by their pride.  He  abides too "in inaccessible caverns" -- that is, in the eminence of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.  Therefore, we ourselves, who "lap up the Blood" of this Eagle should be raised up after the Eagle, Jesus.

Alas!  Today, many imitate that Raven who, enticed by a corpse, did not return to Noah, as it is written, in Genesis 8, 7.  The hearts of many are so ensnared by desires for carnal delights and longings for temporal goods that they neither fly nor are able to migrate after the Lord.

[The Book which John saw in the right hand of the One sitting upon the throne, was the predestined declaration of God concerning salvation and redemption, which he conceived from eternity.  The fact that this Book was written on the inside signifies that there are certain hidden things beyond the knowledge even of the angels and archangels.  The fact that it was seen written on the outside as well signifies that from of old he revealed many things concerning redemption and the state of the Church to certain of the highest angels.  This Book was sealed with seven seals, which could not be unsealed by any angel or man, but only by the Lamb immolated on the altar of the Cross -- the Son of God.  The first seal was opened with the raking on of our flesh.  The second in the Passion of the Son of God.  The third, in the sending forth of the Holy Spirit.  The fourth is opened in the rending of our bodies.  The fifth is opened in the peace of our souls.  The sixth will be opened in the division at the divine judgment.  The seventh will be unsealed in the blessed glorification of the elect.]

II.

It is related that the Lord sits at the right hand of God.  Three meanings for what is said here are indicated: that equality of power, parity of honor, and the sharing of every good is conferred to Christ the man by God the Father.  

Concerning power, it is written, in Matthew 28, 18: All power in heaven and earth has been given to me.  

Concerning honor, the Lord says, in John 8, 54: If, then, I glorify myself, my glory is nothing: it is my Father who glorifies me.  Likewise, in John 17, 24: Father. I wish that where I am, those whom you have given to me, may be with me, that they may see my glory, which you have given to me.  And, in Matthew 16, 27: The Son of man is about to come into the glory of his Father, with his angels.

Concerning the sharing of all good, the Lord says, in John 17, 10: Father . . . all that I have is yours, and all that you have is mine.

Indeed Christ Jesus merited to be elevated to the right hand of the Father in terms of equality of power, parity of honor, and in sharing of every good because he humbled himself even to the weakness and most abject lowliness of our flesh, and, in truth, to the deepest poverty.  Dearly beloved, if we ourselves wish to be added to our Lord's flock, it is necessary for us to punish our flesh in works of penance, and that we endure with equanimity the contempt and reproaches of men, and so we should mercifully spend our belongings in the service of the poor.

Pray, therefore, the Son of God, that we may so live in him in this life, that we may merit to reign with Christ after this life.  Amen.