As preached by Brother Christopher
Holy Wisdom Church
“By his death, Jesus was to gather into one the scattered children of God...”
It is fitting that we celebrate the Feast of the Nicean Fathers on Sunday immediately following the Ascension. Today we’re commemorating the affirmation of faith those fathers made long ago in 325: that Jesus is “homo ousios” with the Father, of one essence, consubstantial, co-eternal. Those are big words - loaded words - potentially open to misinterpretation. Without in any way diminishing his humanity, the Fathers of Nicea made it clear in the Creed that Jesus shares a divine nature as well, that he is God’s self-revelation to the world. That is as relevant to us today as it was to them when they declared it. It is a perennial truth.
After the joy of the Paschal season in which Jesus physically appears to the disciples in his risen state, Jesus has now been ‘lifted up’ to be enthroned with the Father. This demands a new level of faith from us. It challenges us to let go of his earthly, more limited identity and embrace his cosmic one. With the feast of the Ascension, we are presented with a paradox: Jesus ‘ascends’ to heaven -- leaves his physical, bodily presence on earth so that he can be present in a more spiritual, universal way to us, indeed to the whole of creation. This is why in the Gospel of John Jesus told his disciples that it was to their advantage that he go, that he physically depart because then he would send the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit to empower the entire Church.
If we reflect on this, it means that Jesus is as present to us here in this humble celebration, as he is present to believers anywhere else in the world... be it Constantinople, Moscow, Rome, or Canterbury. Jesus is universally present and we need to take this with an earnestness of faith that it deserves. The Eucharist that we celebrate today draws us into his risen body, and in so doing puts us in communion with every other member of the body of Christ. That is a mystery beyond fathoming.
Which is why, despite his physical departure from earthly life, the feast of the Ascension has a very deep element of joy to it. Jesus leaves us so that he can be more fully present to us, more universally present. This is the joy we sing of in the feast’s Kondakion: “When you had joined earth to heaven, and fulfilled your plan of redemption O Christ our God. You ascended into heaven while remaining in our midst. For you assured us who love you, that no one has any power over us, for you yourself are with us.”
