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Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.
Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.
- Luke 24:36-53
Yesterday, we read that after the women reported that an angel at the tomb had spoken to them of Jesus' Resurrection, Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened. Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?" And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see." Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went into to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence. Jesus greets the gathered apostles with "Peace to you." This is a resurrectional greeting that is frequently proclaimed in the Church by a priest or bishop in worship services. It's a reflection of the peace of understanding and reconciliation, the peace of the risen Christ. Jesus goes on to show them the marks of His crucifixion. He eats food not because He needs food in His resurrected body, says my study bible, but to prove that He's truly risen in the flesh. It says, "The spiritual significance assigned to the fish is active virtue, and the honeycomb is the sweetness of divine wisdom."
Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." My study bible tells us that the remission of sins refers to the putting away of sins in baptism, which is preached by St. Peter at Pentecost (see Acts 2:38).
"And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." "Are endued with" is literally written "have put on" (the same verb used in Ephesians 6:11), meaning the complete protection of spiritual armor. This same word can also mean "clothed." "Tarry" is translated from a word meaning to literally "sit down" -- it's an instruction not just to stay in that place, but also to rest and prepare attentively before a great and difficult task, says my study bible (compare to Mark 14:32). The Promise of My Father is the Holy Spirit which will come (see Acts 1:4).
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. The Ascension of Christ is celebrated forty days after Resurrection (Acts 1:3). My study bible says this event is a fulfillment of the "type" given when Elijah ascended in a fiery chariot (see 2 Kings 2:11), and thus did not die a human death. It marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation. My study bible tells us, "At the Incarnation, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature. In the mystery of the Ascension, Christ brings human nature to the divine Kingdom. He reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body, revealing His glorified human nature --indeed, human flesh -- to be worshiped by the whole angelic realm." In some Eastern icons of the Ascension, Christ's white robes are tinted red to indicate the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world, and the ascent of that life-giving blood into heaven (see Isaiah 63:1-3; also Psalm 24:7-10).
Christ ascends into the Kingdom of heaven, but it is not the "same" Christ that "left" the Kingdom to live as Jesus Christ; this is a Christ with full mission completed, and Ascension takes place with the human blood shed by Jesus Christ to save the rest of us, to give us our true spiritual liberation, so that we, too, may rise with Him. The paradoxes included in the story of Christ are too great to begin to touch upon, but they reveal mysteries to us beyond what we understand, and that keep "feeding" us with spiritual truth for our own lives. My study bible has noted repeatedly the facts of this story that cannot be left out, all of it necessary, part of the whole: crucifixion and Resurrection. Death and suffering and Ascension as Risen Christ. Jesus' appearances to His apostles after death confirm the reality and essential nature of both: even down to the signs in His hands and feet. The Incarnation is just as essential to the story of our Deity as His divinity is. The redemptive power of Jesus' suffering as human being, being subjected to all the things we are, is the redemptive power that makes Him the Christ, the Lord of the Universe, the One who is capable of saving and lifting us up with Him, redeeming our lives in every sense. He teaches us about the nature of valuable sacrifice: that to serve a greater power of love is the true reality of our calling, of His calling and saving mission. He turns every limited human value -- that sees sacrifice only as hardship -- into a redemptive power, a capacity for purpose, and for meaning. This is a story of love -- love for us, love for the world. It is a story that illustrates all His teachings about power: Jesus has repeatedly told His apostles that in His Church, His Kingdom, it is the great who must serve the small, that he who would be greatest among them must be the servant of all. Jesus' life, death, and Resurrection illustrate this truth to us, teach us about God's reality and God's power, and how to be "like God," as He calls us to be. He ascends into His Kingdom with mission completed, but in a sense, also only begun. Now it is up to the Church to live that reality in the world, to tell His story and bring the good news to all of us in every generation, until His return. For that, it is only the start of the time we live in now. Can we live as He teaches us? Do we understand that although we "can't see" (like the apostles in yesterday's story of the trip to Emmaus), He is present to us, sits with us, eats with us, even as we continue break bread with Him in the divine Eucharist. We partake of His sacrifice, so that He can help us to be "like Him" and redeem every single thing in our lives, turning evil to good, serving a greater purpose than we can know of ourselves. Let us remember that all of it is necessary, and apply His redemption to everything in our lives as He did. The light shines in the darkness, even if the darkness can't comprehend it or take it in -- this is how we must see our faith even in times of darkness. God's help is present, and the Promise of the gift of the Spirit -- in this story -- is on the way. It is in His truth and power that we have our peace.
