I am with you always, even to the end of the age

 

 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.

 

- Matthew 28:16–20 

 

Our recent readings have given us preparation for the Feast of the Ascension, celebrated today in Western Churches (and the Armenian Apostolic Church).  For the Eastern Orthodox, the Feast of the Ascension will take place on June 13.  Tomorrow our readings will continue from the final verses of the Sermon on the Mount.  On Tuesday, we were given Christ's explanation to the disciples of the parable of the Sower:  "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receive it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

 

  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  Here, Christ declares that the authority that was His by nature in His divinity is now also possessed by His glorified human nature, my study Bible explains.  This is essential for us to understand as this remains with Him in His Ascension.  My study Bible adds that this human nature has now trampled the final enemy, which is death (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).  

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . .."  This is known as the Great Commission.  It is Christ's final commandment given on earth.  My study Bible tells us that it is to be lived out in the Church until He returns again.  To make disciples, it says, cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  Moreover, the power of the Resurrection is not only for Jesus, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  

" . . . teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.  My study Bible notes that Christ Himself is present in each believer and in the Church always, both personally and in the Holy Spirit -- as neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age is not meant to imply we'll be separated from Christ at that time.  In effect, He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

 

 My study Bible tells us two very important things to consider and to keep in mind, both as one celebrates Christ's Ascension in Eastern or Western Churches, but also every day for the Christian believer.  First, it notes that the power of the Resurrection is not only for Jesus, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  The second important thing has two parts:  one, that the Church makes disciples not in our own power as human beings, but in the power of God; and two, that Christ is always with us; that is, present in us as human beings, both personally and in the Holy Spirit.  In this sense, we need to remember that where there is one Person of the Trinity, all are present:  Father, Son, and Spirit.  These may seem like quite heady things to ponder, and open up many questions.  But effectively, we are taught about the extraordinary love and care of Christ (and the Father and the Holy Spirit) for us as human beings.  We need to accept, first of all, that it is Christ's glorified human nature that also rises with the divinity of Christ.  In this, it is humbling to recall His statement to the disciples:  "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).  His "preparing a place" would seem to indicate not just making room for us as if we're staying in a new place to live, but that He has made it so that the very nature of human beings can dwell with Him, an ontological reality in which "making room" for us is giving us the ability to dwell with God.  This is a cosmic reality, made possible through Christ's own voluntary sacrifice on the Cross, giving His Body and Blood for us so that this becomes possible.  Moreover, we don't have to wait for the judgment of the world, the end of the age, for it to be true that Christ, in fact, dwells in us and with us at the present moment, for He is with us, as He has declared.  We call upon Him, we call upon the Helper, the Holy Spirit, so that we have His light to help guide us through our lives.  And in this sense we are on a path, a journey to that place He goes.  This is the path of discipleship, which He has offered to all of us, and is timeless and without limitation.  We have only to turn to Him and seek His way, receive Him, and practice the repentance He calls us to -- the ways in which our minds, hearts, and lives change in discipleship.  Christ has "paid it forward" for us on the Cross -- not in terms of a debt we owe before we owe it, but in terms of His cosmic love which fills a universe, makes room for us, and awaits us when we are ready to receive and turn to Him.  All of His preaching teaches us about "paying love forward" -- His commands are in the positive.  He teaches us to "ask," "seek," and "knock" in Matthew 7:7.  He teaches us that we become neighbors by being a neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.  In Matthew 11:12, He teaches, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" -- a vivid image given to us in which we can understand the energy and initiative He asks for and seeks in disciples.  In Tuesday's reading, Jesus replied to the disciples' question about why He is teaching in parables with a quotation from Isaiah indicating our own need to be responsible for our "hearing" and "seeing."  He invites us to take the initiative to receive Him and what He has for us, to "work the works of God" (John 6:27-29) - to believe in Him whom God sent, to be faithful.  It is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who, through the Son,  pay forward divine love and care.  That includes all the promise of the life and resurrection He offers both in the present and in the eternal sense -- so that all we need to do is take the initiative to receive, and to follow in discipleship, to meet His love with the love He awaits from us.  Jesus teaches, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13).  Before we were born, this gift of love and life was given to us, a promise -- so that when we decide to be a friend, His love always awaits us.