Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you

 

 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 to heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple and blessing God.  Amen.

 

- Luke 24:36–53 

 

Yesterday we read that, after the report of the women telling the apostles about the angel at the tomb and the announcement that Christ was risen, 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 say 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 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 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 in to stay with them.   Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed 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.  Christ's resurrectional greeting, "Peace to you," is proclaimed by the priest or the bishop frequently in Orthodox worship services, as well as in many other denominations. 

 

 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.   My study Bible notes that Christ eats not because He in His resurrected body needs food, but to prove to the disciples that He is truly risen in the flesh.  The spiritual significance given to the fish is active virtue, and in the honeycomb is seen 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.   My study Bible comments that it is partial faith that one believes either in a Messiah who only suffered or one who would only reign in glory.  Complete faith sees both, for this, as Jesus indicates, is what was foretold in the Law and the Prophets.

 

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."  Jesus teaches the disciples the Law and the Prophets and all that they have said about Him which was fulfilled.   Remission of sins, according to my study Bible, refers to the putting away of sins in baptism, which is preached by St. Peter at Pentecost (see Acts 2:38).  

 

"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."  My study Bible tells us that are endued with is literally "have put on," as in putting on clothing.  The same verb found in Ephesians 6:11, which indicates the complete protection of spiritual armor.  Tarry is literally "sit down" in the Greek.  It's an instruction not only to stay in place, but also to take rest and to prepare attentively before a great and difficult task (compare Mark 14:32).   The Promise of My Father, my study Bible explains, is the Holy Spirit (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 to heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple and blessing God.  Amen.  My study Bible comments that the Ascension of Christ is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  This event fulfills the type given when Elijah ascended in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11) and marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation.  At the Incarnation, my study Bible says, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature.  In the mystery of the Ascension, Christ now brings human nature to the divine Kingdom.  There He reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body.  This reveals His glorified human nature -- even human flesh -- to be worshiped by the whole angelic realm.  In the Orthodox Church it is sung at Vespers of Ascension, "The angels were amazed seeing a Man so exalted."  In some icons of the Ascension, Christ's white robes are tinted red in order to indicate the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world, and the ascent of that life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see also Psalm 24:7-10).

 

 In today's reading, we're told, "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."  Let us note that right from the beginning -- in the sense that life after Christ's Resurrection has begun here at this point in the journey of the disciples -- Jesus offers wisdom.  And the way that Jesus offers them wisdom is not like anyone else teaches us wisdom.  The Gospel tells us that He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  We have wisdom in the Scriptures, there is wisdom in Christ's teaching, what He literally says to the disciples.  And yet, He also opened their understanding, that they might comprehend.  It takes something more to have understanding, to truly comprehend, than to be told words, than to seek to grasp something intellectually.  Oftentimes, we might hear something and be unable to take it in, to comprehend.  With bad news, this is certainly often the case.  It's also true of news we can barely believe, or things that startle us out of our normal expectations, even exist in contradiction to what we've hoped or assumed.  We need that something different to truly understand and comprehend.  And here is the Promise also mentioned by Jesus, most importantly, in conjunction with His gift of understanding and comprehension:  "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."  This Promise is the Holy Spirit.  In John 14, Jesus tells the disciples at the Last Supper, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you" (John 14:15-18).  A bit farther along, Jesus explains, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:26).  This is the Promise of His companionship, His dwelling within us together with the Father and the Spirit, and the One who will "teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."  This is the One who helps us to know and to understand, to have wisdom, and to comprehend what we need to know as we prayerfully seek His guidance, and the ways in which we are to understand and to follow His commandments in our lives.  Let us consider the communion we have with God, this great, even staggering Promise of such full communion dwelling within us, this indwelling of love:  "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23).  And there is another part to this Promise, that they will be endued with power from on high.  Let us gratefully rejoice in the Promise He offers, and have the hearts to receive, and to cast all aside that conflicts with this great treasure, the Promise, His gift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?

 

 But 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 say 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 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 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 in to stay with them.   Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed 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.  

 

- Luke 24:12–35 

 

Yesterday we read that after the women returned to Christ's tomb and prepared spices and fragrant oils, they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.   Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' "  And they remembered His words.  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 

 

  But 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 say day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  The two of them are Cleopas and, according to tradition, St. Luke himself.  My study Bible notes that it was a common literary device for a writer not to give his own name (see Mark 14:51; John 21:24).  

 

 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 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 these days?"  My study Bible explains that the nature of the resurrected body is so different from its previous state that it is not immediately recognizable (John 20:14; 21:4, 12; see 1 Corinthians 15:35-44).  It's also able to take different forms -- which is what occurs here (see Mark 16:12).  My study Bible notes also that the Lord's resurrected body transcends not only physical space and time, but also appearance.  Sometimes He is recognized by His disciples, and other times He is not.   Also, here the text tells us that their eyes were restrained.  My study Bible comments that Christ intentionally prevents them from recognizing Him in order to expose their doubting thoughts and then cure them by means of the Old Testament Scriptures, as we read a little further along in today's reading.

 

 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."  My study Bible comments that the disciples' hope for redemption was still imbedded in a foolish misunderstanding of the Messiah as a political savior or deliverer.  With Christ's death, this earthly hope had been dashed. 

 

 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.  My study Bible says here that it is partial faith to believe either in a messiah who only suffered or one that would only reign in His glory.  Complete faith, it notes, sees the Messiah as encompassing both, for all of this was foretold in the Law and the Prophets.  

 

 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 in to stay with them.   Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed 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.  Christ breaks bread in the same manner as at the Last Supper, my study Bible notes (see Luke 22:19), and so images the Eucharist of the New Testament Church.  All who commune with the Lord in His risen Body in faith have their eyes opened to know Him, for the Lord is known most perfectly in the breaking of bread.   They say to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us . . .?"  My study Bible calls this the inescapable effect of hearing the Holy Scriptures taught correctly and with faith (see 2 Timothy 2:15).  This burning, it says, is the conviction that the words and promises are true. 

 

 As we see from the text, the risen Christ is capable of seemingly anything.  Where and when He appears to His disciples doesn't have to be "logical" to us.  It doesn't have to make material sense, or even sense in terms of what we think of as normal limitations of time and space.  Even Christ's risen Body seems possibly to take on different forms.  At least we know, as well, that whether or not people discern who He is may be limited by Christ Himself.  Certainly we can look around ourselves and know that there are those who discern the "things of God" and those who do not, who simply can't perceive what others perceive in faith.  There are modern stories of conversion in the Orthodox Church in which people walk into a church filled with icons and other aspects of religious worship and are immediately struck by the presence of heaven there.  For others, there may be no response whatsoever.  However perception happens to us, however it is that faith grows in us, my study Bible says the description by the two disciples of their response to Jesus' word is telling and universal.  They say, upon reflection, "Did not our hearts burn within us . . . ?"  So how does Christ reveal Himself to you?  That is, the unlimited, risen Christ who has no barriers of time or space, and can apparently appear in any form? In the Orthodox Church, we encounter Christ through worship, through icons, through prayer, through His saints, through His angels, and in any number of ways that are uncountable.  In Romans 1, St. Paul speaks of the glory and truth of Christ showing through all of creation:  "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead . . ." (see Romans 1:18-23).  For this author, the sudden insights or revelations that come through faith and worship in the Church have come gradually and over time, but it is clearly a spiritual process, evolving from Baptism to the present day, and always grace that is at work.  "Did not our hearts burn within us . . .?" describes a feeling of recognition, a stirring of the depths of what is inside us, an identity deeper than we know, in a place where Christ knows us and we will eventually come to know ourselves as well.  The apostles are those who have come first in this New Testament story, who have experienced and known the risen Christ, to whom He appears and makes Himself known.  For they are the first, whom we follow, even as they followed the prophets and other Old Testament Scripture as a guide to the Christ, the Messiah.  Although Christ is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, we observe that the manifestation of the fullness of God's truth is nonetheless something that may be missed unless we have the eyes to see and ears to hear.  Let us honor the mysterious working of grace in all the unexpected ways we've been given for God's power to manifest, most especially on this walking trip to Emmaus for two of the disciples.  Let us recognize the burning in our own hearts that kindles itself when God is present to us one way or another.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!

 

 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.   Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' "  And they remembered His words.  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 

 

- Luke 23:56b—24:11 

 

Yesterday we read that it was about the sixth hour (noon), and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.  Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.  And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, 'into Your hand I commit My spirit.'" Having said this, He breathed His last.  So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!"  And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done,  beat their breasts and returned.  But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.   Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.  He had not consented to their decision and deed.  He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.  That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.  And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.  Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  

 

  Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.   Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  The first day of the week is the day after the Sabbath; that is, Sunday.  In the Christian tradition, this is called the Lord's Day, and it is the day of worship (Acts 20:7).  

 

 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  My study Bible comments that the stone is rolled away not to let the all-powerful Lord out, but in order to let us witness Christ's Resurrection.  

 

 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  These two men . . . in shining garments are angels.

 

 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' "   My study Bible comments that, in order to dispel any doubt, the angel confirms his message by recalling Christ's own words.  In calculating the third day, the first day is Friday, the day on which Christ died before sundown.  The second is Saturday, the Sabbath on which Christ rested in the tomb.  The third day, which begins after sundown on Saturday, is the day of Resurrection, Sunday.  

 

And they remembered His words.  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.  My study Bible comments that certain patristic teachers say that Mary the mother of James was the wife of Alphaeus, and this James was one of the twelve (Luke 6:15).  But most of the Fathers hold that this is the Virgin Mary, who was in fact the stepmother of a different James, "the Lord's brother" (see Matthew 13:55; compare Mark 15:40, 47).  In some icons of the Myrrhbearing Women, and in a hymn written by St. John of Damascus, it is sung, "The angel cried to the lady full of grace, 'Rejoice, O pure Virgin:  your Son is risen from His three days in the tomb."  

 

Why are women the first to hear the word of the Resurrection?  Indeed, in this account, they are the first to preach that Christ is Risen!  In the Church, these Myrrhbearing Women are also known as Apostles to the Apostles, for they are the ones who preach the word of Resurrection -- and tell of this good news -- to the apostles who are in hiding.  And why them, then?  Why these women?  These are the ones -- including Christ's mother, the Theotokos and Virgin Mary -- who have followed Him from Galilee, and been loyal to Him and supported Him all this time.  But I have read an interesting commentary in defense of the veracity of these Gospel accounts.  That starts, ironically, from the fact that it was men (in Christ's time) who were considered worthy witnesses.  Women were not generally considered to be reliable, or believable (as we can see confirmed in the reaction of the apostles to the news).  But this tends to lend credibility to the Gospel accounts, as it follows logically that if only men were seen as trustworthy witnesses, then an invented story would have used men as their witnesses.  St. Luke's Gospel, as we have repeatedly observed, pays close attention to the women involved in Christ's ministry, for we get a humane glimpse into their essential relationships with Christ, His sympathetic nature, and the values these women contribute.   Another traditional observation is that even as  the "first sin" began with the temptation of our maternal ancestor Eve, our fallen state is overcome in Christ when women are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection.  So let us be grateful for these women, the myrrh they bear to anoint Christ's body, God's angels who announce the good news to them, and the Gospels that give us this so very worthy story to cherish and to build our lives upon.  For God uses everything available to us to glorify even the least of these, the smallest things in our lives, and out of them to create monumental values that hold through the test of time and our faith.  We also may observe the care and especially mercy that is symbolized in the anointing of oil and myrrh, for in their love and charity, these women tell us what God's grace will repay with glorious anointing in return.  They are saints we may call upon even when dire circumstances and loss come upon us, to teach us about gracious behavior and the mercy that supersedes all authority as we practice our faith as well.  God works through human beings, God's angels, and all of creation to bring us the good news of His glory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you

 

The Ascension of our Lord, by John La Farge.  Completed 1888.  The Church of the Ascension in the City of New York

 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 report of the women from the empty tomb, 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 in to stay with them.  Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed 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."  My study Bible comments that "Peace to you" is the resurrectional greeting of Christ, which is proclaimed by the priest or bishop frequently in Orthodox worship services.  

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.   Christ eats before the disciples, not because in His resurrected body He needs food, but to prove to the disciples that He is truly risen in the flesh (they supposed they had seen a spirit).  My study Bible adds that the spiritual significance assigned to these foods:  fish is active virtue, while 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.  And you are witnesses of these things."  And you are witnesses of these things.  Once again, Christ responds with a revelation of the fulfillment of the Law the Prophets in Himself.  Again, my study Bible asserts that it is partial faith to believe either in a Messiah who only suffered or one that would only reign in His glory.  Complete faith must see the Messiah, as Jesus says, as encompassing both, for all was foretold in the Law and the Prophets.  Remission of sins refers to the putting away of sins in baptism, preached by St. Peter at Pentecost (see Acts 2:38).   

"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."  My study Bible tells us that are endued with is literally "have put on." This is the same verb found in Ephesians 6:11 ("Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil"), which also means "to clothe," and so indicates the complete protection of spiritual armor.    Tarry is literally "sit down" in the Greek term.  My study Bible explains that it is an instruction not just to stay in place but to take rest and to prepare attentively before a great and difficult task (compare Mark 14:32).  The Promise of My Father is, of course, the Holy Spirit (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.   My study Bible comments that the Ascension of Christ is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  This event is a fulfillment of the type given when Elijah ascended in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11), and it marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation.  At the Incarnation, my study Bible explains, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature.  In the mystery of Christ's Ascension, He brings human nature into 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.  At Vespers of Ascension, the Orthodox sing, "The angels were amazed seeing a Man so exalted."  In some icons of the Ascension, Christ's white robes are tinted red (as can be seen in the mural above, painted by John La Farge), which indicates the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world and the ascent of that life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see also Psalms 24:7-10).  

What can it means for us that Christ's human flesh ascends with Him into heaven -- even as we view the reddish/pink tints on His white robes that remind us of His suffering, and the shedding of His blood for us.  How can we comprehend the millions of ways in which our world, and even the place of humanity in the entire universe of creation, might be affected by the carrying of that blood into heaven?  No doubt it is all on our behalf, and "for the life of the world" (John 6:51).  In John 6:33, Jesus states, "For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."   This may be seen as being somewhat ironic in light of the Ascension, as in giving life to the world, so His shed blood also ascends with Him back into heaven.  Clearly bringing His human life with Him -- and all that entailed -- also gives to us a gift of unification with God signifying something much more, even those "many mansions" and that "place" He tells the disciples He goes to heaven to prepare for them (John 14:2).  One can only wonder at the effects of our worship, for, even as we worship in our churches, the angels in heaven worship with us.  And so, how much more united are we in such worship after the Ascension of Christ, having completed His mission in the world as one of us?  How much closer do we draw together than was possible before?  If indeed our ancestors were created for life in the paradise God made on earth (Genesis 2:7-9), then how can we not see Christ's Ascension as that which opens the gates to us for a return to Paradise?  In our recent reading about Christ's Crucifixion, we read that "it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.  Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two" (Luke 23:44-45).  These words indicate an extreme disruption in the powers of creation, but at the same time, the veil torn in two indicates for us also a greater communication between the inner Holy of Holies and the faithful.  And perhaps this is the word we seek, for not only does it open up a deeper communion, but also communication, which will be exemplified in the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, and most clearly in the "tongues of fire" enabling all present to hear in their own language (Acts 2:1-12).  It is impossible to calculate all that has come from this new reality, both fulfilled and symbolized in the red-tinted robes of Christ, for even human flesh becomes exalted and worshiped in heaven.  Let us consider this gracious gift and elevation, too far above us to fully comprehend, but given to us so that we may find ourselves in Him.  For we are so much more in Him than we can imagine of ourselves.   

Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?

 

 But 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 in to stay with them.  

Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed 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.

 

- Luke 24:12–35 

 

Yesterday we read that the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"  And they remembered His words.  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.  

 

  But 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.   We recall that Peter acts even as the other apostles disbelieve the women who had conveyed the message of the angel at the tomb.   See yesterday's reading, above, in which "their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them."  Seeing the linen gravelothes lying by themselves, Peter marvels 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.   The two of them are Cleopas and, in accordance with tradition, Luke the author of our Gospel.  It was a common literary device for a writer, my study Bible explains, not to give one's own name (see Mark 14:51; John 21:24).

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?"  My study Bible comments that the nature of the resurrected body is so different from its previous state that it is not immediately recognizable (John 20:14, 21:4, 12; see 1 Corinthians 15:35-44).   The body is also able to take different forms, which is what occurs here (see Mark 16:12).  That their eyes were restrained tells us that Christ intentionally prevents them from recognizing Him.  My study Bible explains that this is in order to expose their doubting thoughts and then cure them by means of the Old Testament Scriptures (see the verses that follow in today's reading).  

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."   My study Bible explains here that the disciples' hope for redemption was still imbedded in a foolish misunderstanding of the Messiah as a political savior or deliverer.  With Christ's death, this earthly hope had been dashed. 

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 in to stay with them.   My study Bible says that it is partial faith to believe in a Messiah who only suffered or one that would only reign in His glory.  Complete faith sees the Messiah encompassing both, as all of this was foretold in the Law and the Prophets -- as Jesus reveals to them by expounding to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

 

 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.  My study Bible points out that the Lord breaks bread in the same manner as at the Last Supper (Luke 22:19).  In so doing, He images the Eucharist of the New Testament Church.  It notes that all who commune with the Lord in His risen Body in faith have their eyes opened to know Him.

 

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.   The disciples ask, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  This, my study Bible says, is the inescapable effect of hearing the Holy Scriptures taught correctly and with faith (see 2 Timothy 2:15).  This burning is the conviction that the words and promises are true.  We note once more that Christ is known most perfectly in the breaking of bread.

I love that the disciples speak of the effect of recognition as they experience it:  "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  It is an intriguing way to phrase what it feels like when something strikes us as very true -- and very commonly it happens that this recognition comes when reading Scripture.  But that burning in the heart is a response that comes not from simply hearing, but from hearing kindled with faith, and signifying recognition of a truth that hits us in the heart.  That is, in the deep place where we truly live, where our soul resides.  In this way, the Gospels have recorded for us just what this feels like, and we who have had similar experiences can affirm what we share with the disciples.  While there are many reports of people seeing a vision of Jesus, here the forms that Christ takes make it clear that we might not recognize it when He is close to us, or when we are in a place in which we can draw upon the truth of Christ's message for us with sudden recognition.  One might be sitting in class, in a cafe, in an airport, on a bus, or driving to work.  As we read from this appearance, there really is no limit to the places where we might experience Christ in some way or another.  And this should be comforting to us, because it means that there is no circumscribed limitation on how, where, why, what, and when Christ comes to us -- or when knowledge of His truth might somehow be revealed so that our hearts also "burn" within us.  This is the first noticeable effect of Resurrection, that now there are no limits on Christ.  He has conquered the limitations of the world, and opened up the ways in which we might come to truth, to know God -- and more importantly, to participate in the grace of God.  In John 16:33, Jesus declares, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."  This is one aspect of overcoming the world, that with Christ's Resurrection, there is no restriction on how God can come to us, on where God's energies can find us, on that journey toward the fuller knowledge of Him that this promises.  Here is the first effect of Resurrection, the flowering of the events of Christ's Passion, and of His ministry and mission into our world to experience life as we do.  In fact, for many people perhaps, the reports of such experience are so commonly known as to simply be dismissed and ignored, perhaps as "idle tales" produced by certain types of people.  But such dismissal isn't possible after an experience of the same.  In fact, if we look around, we just might find that Christ comes to people in many ways, including those they might not recognize.  Let us be grateful for this opening up, as seen by many in the tearing of the veil in the temple.  We might read it at once as a response of shock at the death of Christ the Son; but just as with the Passion itself, we need faith to see also that it is the universal opening of grace for all.

Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!

 

And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"  And they remembered His words.  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

 

- Luke 23:56b—24:11 

 

Yesterday we read that it was about the sixth hour [or noon], and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour [approximately 3 p.m.].  Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.  And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.'"  Having said this, He breathed His last.  So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!"  And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.  But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.  He had not consented to their decision and deed.  He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.  That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.  And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.  Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.   

 

And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  This first day of the week is the day after the Sabbath.  It is Sunday, which in the Christian tradition is called the Lord's Day (in Greek, Κυριακή/Kyriaki) -- the day of worship (Acts 20:7).  The spices which were prepared by the women (see the final verse in yesterday's reading, above) were traditionally prepared against the corruption of the bodies of the dead.  

 

But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  See Matthew 28:2.  My study Bible suggests that this stone is rolled away not to let the all-powerful Lord out, but so that we may witness Christ's Resurrection.

 

 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.   These two men in shining garments are angels.

Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"  And they remembered His words.  My study Bible comments that, in order to dispel any doubt, the angel confirms this message by recalling the words of Christ Himself.  In calculating the third day, the first day is Friday, the day on which Christ died before sundown.  The second is Saturday, the Sabbath on which Christ rested in the tomb.  The third day, which begins after sundown on Saturday, is the day of Resurrection, Sunday. 

Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.  My study Bible comments that certain patristic commentary teaches that Mary the mother of James was the wife of Alphaeus, and this James was one of the Twelve (Luke 6:15).  But most hold that this Mary is the Virgin Mary, as she is in fact the stepmother of a different James, called "the Lord's brother" (Galatians 1:19; see also  Matthew 13:55, compare to Mark 15:40, 47).  My study Bible further notes that the Virgin Mary appears in certain icons of the Myrrhbearing Women.  Moreover, in a hymn by St. John of Damascus, it is sung, "The angel cried to the lady full of grace, 'Rejoice, O pure Virgin:  your Son is risen from His three days in the tomb."

 

 Let us note how matter-of-fact these extraordinary events seem to be as they are told.  We're not given to great extremes here of astonishment, or anguish in mourning, or more superlatives about the emotions of the women, nor even stupendous appearances of these angels or even of the rolled away stone.  The most we're given in terms of unusual descriptive images is the clothing of the angels; they're wearing shining garments.  But even so, the text doesn't tell us directly that they are angels; they are "two men in shining garments."  It is only the shining, light-filled quality of their garments that speaks to us of the glory of the Lord reflected through them, and that they are angels.  The women, in response, are not so frightened that they run away.  Instead, we are told that they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth. This kind of fear is akin to awe at beholding what comes from God, and is therefore a kind of testimony to a power beyond our understanding.  It is a kind of fear that comes from the fact that it is outside of the earthly and the worldly, and inspired by the presence of the holy, which comes from God.  In these short verses, we're given no great cinematic style buildup to this event, but an almost quiet recounting of the way that the truly awesome and extraordinary intervenes in our lives, a kind of perspective that we can only understand upon reflection, and given time to understand all the tremendous meanings and effects that belong to this moment of revelation.  For that is what this truly is, it is a revelation.  As the stone is rolled away, so we might say that this is a type of apocalypse, the root meaning of which is to "uncover."   The stone is rolled away, so that a deeper reality might be revealed.  In this empty tomb, in the presence of these "two men in shining garments" we are given the true reality behind the scenes of the worldly, through their announcement to these women:  "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!"   This is also the pronouncement of the fulfillment of prophecy:  "Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"   And this is how the revelations of God happen in our own lives.  Not with the drumbeat of something approaching we can't quite grasp, not with an announcement before the whole world, but in our private places, like this empty tomb, and even in the quiet of what feels truly personal but may be extraordinary.  What we observe in a worldly sense is the response of the apostles to this earth-shattering news:  they think they are hearing idle tales, and they did not believe them.  So often, even in our own lives, we can expect that this is the way that revelation -- even those which change our lives -- comes to us.  The good news of Christ may come to us as we read the pages of one of the Gospels, as we pray alone, as we sit in Church and sense something of a change of attitude in ourselves, or maybe a sudden ease of the heart.  The powerful work of God does not come to us in the way an earthly spectacle dreamed up for a horror film, for instance, would give us garish images.  But God works in ways that move us deeply, that give us conviction and awareness even though none around may sense the same.  In this quiet place of an empty, unused tomb the angel gives the awesome, amazing, and yet gentle good news that they must no doubt struggle to comprehend.   First, with a question:  "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" and then, "He is not here, but is risen!"  It reminds us of Jesus' own words, teaching the Sadducees about the real nature of the resurrection they can't imagine nor understand, and do not expect -- that "He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him"  (Luke 20:38).  In this light of the true reality behind all the appearances of the world, this becomes perfect sense, that where God is, there is life.  There are those who may appear to us as living, but they are spiritually dead ("Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God," Jesus says to one who wants to follow but first go to bury his father, in Luke 9:60).  Jesus doesn't just promise water to those who thirst, but "rivers of living water" (John 7:38).  We observe earthly life even where there isn't faith, but Christ is the living bread which gives life to the world (John 6:33, 51).  He is the light of the world, which is the light of life (John 8:12).  We might see what we see, and live as we live day to day, but there is a deeper layer of what is real, and it speaks to us of what is truly alive, and what gives life -- even life "more abundantly" (John 10:10).   But one needs faith to take in what is being revealed.  The women come to the tomb, doing their duty, keeping their heads in ways that the frightened men in hiding are not.  But they do not find the dead, they find the angels announcing life and Resurrection, who remind them first of this truth by asking, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" and affirming the truth, "He is not here, but He is risen!"   Let us, also, not seek the living among the dead, because we won't find the life we seek there.  Let us remember these words, that He is risen!

 

 

 

 

And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God

 

 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 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 the 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 hearing the women speak about Christ's empty tomb, and their encounter with angels,  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 in to stay with them.  Now it came to pass, as he sat at the table with the, that He took bread, blessed 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."   My study Bible says that Peace to you is  Christ's resurrectional greeting which is proclaimed by the priest or the bishop frequently in worship services.  If we look at the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, it is remarkable how often peace is invoked in greetings, prayers, and petitions.

 

 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 broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence.  My study Bible tells us that Christ eats not because He in His resurrected body needs food, but to prove to the disciples that He is truly risen in the flesh.  The spiritual significance which is 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.  And you are witnesses of these things."  Christ once again affirms that in Him all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning the Messiah:  that is that He both would suffer and also rise from the dead the third day in glory (see also verses 26-27).  Our faith is complete when we hold both His suffering and His glory in our understanding.  Remission of sins, my study Bible says, refers to the putting away of sins in baptism, which is preached by St. Peter at Pentecost (see Acts 2:38). 

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."   My study Bible explains that are endued with is literally "have put on" (it is the same verb used in Ephesians 6:11), which indicates the complete protection of spiritual armor.  The word translated as a command to tarry means literally to "sit down."  My study Bible says it is an instruction not only to stay in place, but also to take rest and prepare attentively before a great and difficult task (compare to Mark 14:32).  The Promise of My Father is the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:4).  

And He led the 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.  My study Bible reminds us that the Ascension of Christ is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  This event fulfills the type given when Elijah ascended in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11), and it marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation.  My study Bible explains that at the Incarnation, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature; and in the mystery of the Ascension, He brings human nature to the divine Kingdom.  He reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body, which reveals His glorified human nature -- even human flesh -- to be worshiped by the whole angelic realm.  At the Vespers of Ascension in the Orthodox Church, a hymn proclaims, "The angels were amazed seeing a Man so exalted."  In some icons and other depictions of the Ascension, Christ's white robes are tinted red, in order to indicate the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world and the ascent of that life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see also Psalms 24:7-10).  

Interestingly, just as my study Bible proclaims that our faith isn't complete until we embrace both the suffering and the glory of Christ, so it seems a parallel to the understanding that Christ is both divine and human -- and that in His Ascension and glorification, His human flesh is fully included.  The story of Christ and of our faith is not complete if we leave any part of it out; all of it is necessary, all is important.  That His human nature also ascends into the divine Kingdom, even glorified human flesh, as Christ ascends to reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, so it is powerfully clear that glorified human nature is destined for something far beyond what we understand in the day-to-day experience of earthly life.  It has indeed frequently been proffered that this truth resulted in the envy of the angels who rebelled against God for this destiny of humankind which is imaged in the Ascension of Christ.  But the story of Christ's Ascension, including His human nature, is every bit as essential to the fullness of our faith as any other part of Christ's life and Incarnation, and the fullness of His identity as the Son.  Because without this salvific "end" (which is really a new cosmic beginning), we would not have the understanding of the glorification of human nature, even human flesh, of One who has suffered the greatest indignities and injustice of this world.  It resoundingly tells us that there is nothing that can separate us from God, not even the most degrading circumstances, because our Lord also suffered under such circumstances.  As we no longer live under the conditions of our ancient ancestors, it might be hard for us to appreciate just how astonishingly revolutionary such a sentiment would be in that world in which greatness and the ruthless use of power went hand in hand, and humility was not at all considered to be a virtue.  It is, indeed, still astonishing to consider that it is Christ's very suffering and degradation that teach us that every human life is only fit to be judged by Christ, is infinitely redeemable in the light of the Ascension, and is unquestionably good as created by God and glorified in the ascended body of Christ.  This transfiguring grace, at which we can only begin to grasp when we consider these events, is most powerfully present in the Ascension.  But its promises for the eventual cosmic future of human beings open an infinite door of potentials.  What it says about the present, the here and now, is that no matter how deep the problems of our world appear, no matter the crisis, or the depth of our own moments of despair, there is nothing that God cannot touch, transform, and redeem.  It is not surprising, therefore, that Jesus' final words to the disciples teach "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations."  We simply have to have the capacity for faith to encounter, and to learn, and to put into action what we find when our minds are open to God's work in us and for us.  It is astonishingly true, and unpredictably will continue to be so, that with God all things are possible, and nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37, 18:27).  Let us note that there is more to this story, and more to come:  Jesus says, "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."  At Pentecost, an even greater and deeper grace comes into the world, once more assuring us that "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).  Let us share in the "great joy" of the apostles, and do as they did.