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 

 

The lectionary has been taking us through St. Matthew's Gospel, and recently into the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  But this week, it has been preparing us for the Feast of the Ascension, which is today in the Western Churches (and the Armenian Apostolic Church), while the Eastern Orthodox will celebrate a week from today.  Yesterday we read that, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?  If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.  In tomorrow's lectionary reading, we will resume readings in chapter 7, the final verses of the Sermon on the Mount.  

 

  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 comments.  It says that this human nature has now trampled the final enemy -- 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 comments that it is to be lived out in the Church until Christ returns again.  To make disciples is not possible in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  

 

 ". . . 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, for neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age doesn't imply that we'll be separated from Christ at the end of the world.  He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

 

What does it mean that He will be with us to the end of the age?   The first thing we must remember is that we are in the age that Christ's Incarnation has initiation.   And this age -- the entire Christian era on these terms -- is the age of the "end times."  This is not a short period before time and the world as we know it ends, except perhaps in consideration of an eternal universe, but not on earthly terms.  The end times are the entire age that Christ has brought into the world, and will last until His return.  Thus He speaks of the end of the age which has a particular meaning in the context of the Church.  It is most important that He is with us, for without Him, what can we do?  What are we capable of without Him?  It is Christ who has initiated this age, He who is our Shepherd (our good shepherd; see John 10:1-16, especially verse 11).   Again, without Him, what can we do?  He makes it possible to be His disciples, He sends us His Holy Spirit, He prays to (or asks) the Father on our behalf, requesting such good help to be given to us (John 14:15-18).  He preaches also that where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is also in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).  So He shepherds us through this time in which we, as His people and His sheep, await His return, which will be the end of the age.  Therefore this Great Commission is what we do, and how we are to keep ourselves occupied and living His commandments until His return.  We note that a significant part of this commission is the responsibility of "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you."  But how does one teach anything except by living it ourselves?  So this commission is not simply about finding disciples, but about we ourselves being the very objects others may observe and turn to by living His love and His commandments for us ourselves, as He teaches in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5:13-16, especially verse 16).  As we've observed in recent readings and commentary, Jesus warns us most scathingly against hypocrisy in the example He makes of the Pharisees (Matthew 23), so we know that teaching His commandments means living them, doing them, truly living our faith.  For this, too, He is with us always, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  For we are not alone in Christ.

 

 

 

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

 

 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.  

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 28:11-20 

 

Yesterday we read that after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb where Christ had been buried.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

 

  Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.   My study Bible comments that this lie about the disciples stealing Christ away is absurd.  The disciples were afraid and had all gone into hiding.  Moreover, most of them went on to suffer terrible persecution and martyrdom.  It's simply unthinkable that they would have willingly endured such sufferings over a known fallacy.

 

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 possessed by His glorified human nature.  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 statement by Christ is called the Great Commission.  It is our Lord's final commandment given on earth.  My study Bible says that it is to be lived out in the Church until Christ returns again.  To make disciples cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  The power of the Resurrection is not simply for Jesus Himself, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  

" . . . 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.  My study Bible comments that Christ Himself is present in each believer and in the Church always, both personally and in the Holy Spirit, because neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age, my study Bible says, does not by any means imply that we will be separated from Christ at the end of the world.  He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

It is truly remarkable to consider that, from Christ's words here, so many countless generations and people have been inspired to follow His last command.  But even more important is the understanding that He is with us always.  My study Bible comments that the power of the Resurrection is not simply for Jesus Himself, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  So the power of God's creation, of life and renewal, is with us also.  In Revelation 21:5 we read that the One who sat on the throne, who is Christ in His risen authority, says, "Behold, I make all things new."  In the verbal tense of the Greek, this is literally translated, "I am always making all things new."  And this is truly the power of Resurrection present with Christ at all times in our lives.  It is the power to remit sins, to repent ("change of mind"), to be transfigured and transformed in the light of Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit.  And we should not forget, either, that where One Person of the Trinity is, all are present.  Since Christ's death and Resurrection, the world has changed immeasurably due to the life given to us by Christ.  We cannot count the ways in which His life, death, and Resurrection has given us the foundation of life as we know it, and the things that we value and perhaps take for granted.  As we go forth in faith, we should have confidence that Christ is still at work, within us and among us, and that so long as the world exists, it will be so.  While we may witness things and events in the world that terrify or scandalize, we must keep in mind that Christ Himself has also prophesied for us that such things will continue to the end of the age.  What is important is keeping our faith, continuing to worship, and practicing our faith by living faithfully, by doing the things that He has taught.  So long as life continues, so will this mission of the Church -- and of each one who makes up the Body of Christ -- in each facet of life, from the great to the small.  We don't need to live "grand" lives for this to be so, for Christ's power works through the small and the weak (see 2 Corinthians 12:8-10).  Effectively, throughout the centuries of Christian life, it is simplicity that enables us to most clearly see our way through the grace of God we may perceive, and such has been the pursuit of those monastics who have dedicated their lives to Christ, and through constant prayer.  In applying these teachings to our present time, let us consider the proliferation of images to imitate and consume with which we are constantly bombarded, especially through the internet.  We don't always know the influences present to us and to our children, we don't always understand clearly whatever manipulative messages and techniques may be used.  But we can be assured, through our own emphasis on prayer and worship -- and on the power of simplicity and humility and truth -- that we will find our way properly for the gospel to be preached and to be lived.  Our lives are still intertwined with the power to be always making all things new, the life, death, and Resurrection of Christ -- and His glorified human nature, so that we may follow, unburdened of sin and death and to enter into and participate in His glorious life.  Let us not live by appearances, but by an understanding that it is through this power that our lives in this world are transfigured, transformed, and that grace is always present to us in our lives.  Ultimately, all authority is invested in Christ.   Let us rely upon our faith.  

 

 

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"

 

 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  

 

But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

 

- Matthew 28:1-10 

 

Yesterday we read that, at the time of Christ's death on the Cross, many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.  When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.  And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.  On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.'  Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.'  So the last deception will be worse than the first."  Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how."  So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

 

  Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.   My study Bible comments that this earthquake is a sign of Christ's great victory over death, and that it foreshadows the general resurrection of all humanity.  It asks us to note that the angel does not roll back the stone to let the Lord out, for in His glory, Christ could pass through solid rock (see John 20:19).  It rather allows the witnesses to see that He has already risen.  

But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  My study Bible tells us that these women are the first witnesses of the supreme event in all history:  the Resurrection of Christ and the destruction of death.  It notes that the angel refers to Christ as the One who was crucified, teaching us that we should not shy away from Christ's death, but to glory in the Cross (1 Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 6:14), the weapon which Christ used to destroy death and the trophy of His victory.  In the liturgical services of Pascha/Easter in the Orthodox Church, this hymn is sung hundreds of times:  "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life."  St. Paul declares, "If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile" (1 Corinthians 15:17).  

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."  This greeting, literally translated as "Rejoice!" is the same one given to the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation by the Angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26-28).  It remains a common formal greeting in the Greek language.

 

 Here is an interesting thing, that as Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to see the tomb, behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  Well, just upon Christ's death on the Cross, we witness some similar-sounding things.  In Wednesday's reading, immediately upon being told that Christ yielded up His spirit, then, behold, the text says, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  In today's reading, we get a similar kind of of event in which the elements of the earth respond, there is a great earthquake.  This corresponds to the angel of the Lord descending from heaven, rolling back the stone, and sitting upon it.  There are other startling earthly elements in this description of the angel, his countenance is like lightning, his clothing as white as snow.  These elements of flashing light (like lightning) and bright white clothing have been given to us also at the Transfiguration, in which we were given a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven as we're told that Jesus was transfigured before the disciples, that His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light (Matthew 17:1-2).  Here is the annunciation of the great news of Christ's victory over death, but -- if we can even imagine it, it is so much more than that.  For this victory over death is a victory given to us.  This ushering in of the manifestation of the Kingdom, is one in which we're invited to share in this glory, giving us a glimpse of what now becomes possible for humankind in terms of that victory over death.  The news is shared that Christ is risen.  These two women run out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy; and they ran to bring His disciples word.  Here is another startling anomaly; the women are given to both fear and great joy side by side.   We might pause to wonder how both of these things can exist in people at the same time, but with Christ -- and in this realm of the Kingdom -- all bets are off; the normal limitations of earthly life don't apply anymore, and paradox may abound, for it is in paradox where we find the divine, where we can approach works of the Lord which inspire both fear and great joy.  As they run to tell the disciples this great news, Christ Himself greets them:  "Rejoice!"  But here, Jesus casts out their fear.  He echoes the angel's message, and as He has said repeatedly to the disciples, tells them, "Do not be afraid" (Matthew 14:27; 17:7).  These women, now participating in the reality of the Kingdom, are elevated with a new mission:  "Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."  Because of this mission of being sent to the "brethren" with the good news of Christ's Resurrection and His appearance to them, Mary Magdalene is known as the "apostle to the apostles" in the Church, and is also known by the title "equal to the apostles."  Simply being a witness, and touching the Christ, has elevated her to this position, and so we may also see it as a portent of what is to come when all those who join the Resurrection may come to embrace the Christ the Bridegroom.  In a homily on this passage, St. John Chrysostom speaks eloquently to us all:  "Some among you may desire to be like these faithful women. You too may wish to take hold of the feet of Jesus. You can, even now. You can embrace not only his feet but also his hands and even his sacred head. You too can today receive these awesome mysteries with a pure conscience. You can embrace him not only in this life but also even more fully on that day when you shall see him coming with unspeakable glory, with a multitude of the angels. If you are so disposed, along with him, to be compassionate, you shall hear not only these words, 'All hail!' [Rejoice!] but also those others: 'Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world'." 

 

 

 

 

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. 

 

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth

 

 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.  

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 28:11-20 

 

Yesterday we read that after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

 

 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.  My study Bible calls this lie simply absurd, in that Christ's disciples were afraid and had gone into hiding.  Moreover, most of the disciples went on to suffer terrible persecution and martyrdom.  It is unthinkable, my study Bible says, that they would willingly endure such sufferings over a known fallacy.  

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."  My study Bible notes that Christ declares that the authority that was His by nature in His divinity is now possessed by His glorified human nature.  This human nature has now trampled the final enemy -- 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, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you . . . "  This is the Great Commission, and it is the Lord's final commandment given on earth.  It is to be lived out in the Church until He returns again.  To make disciples cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  The power of the Resurrection is not only for Jesus Himself, but we should understand it as given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  

 

 " . . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.  My study Bible says 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, ti says, does not by any means imply that we will be separated from Him at the end of the world.  As the Church's prayers so often indicate and remind us, Christ is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.  

Jesus tells the disciples, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  My study Bible notes something extraordinary and unexpected, but understood in the Church since ancient times:  that this authority that was always His by virtue of His divine identity as Son has now come to be shared even with the human Jesus, who has ascended in His full identity as Son of Man and Son of God, so that even His humanity is transfigured.  The implications for we human beings were never lost on the early Church, as it came to grips with the understanding of the implications of this ascent into heaven of both humanity and divinity in Christ.  My study Bible elaborates that this glorified human nature now means that Christ's power can work in us, in our lives, and in what we do:  in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit disciples can be made in the world.  The power of God is at work in and among human beings in its transforming and powerful capacities for healing and setting aright:  we can come to faith through grace, the power of Resurrection is at work for all of us, in all of us.  In a modern frame of mind, we tend to perceive these things only individualistically.  But the implication isn't just for believers as individuals, but for the body of the Church as a corporate entity.  The many saints and stories of God's glory at work in us and among us testify to a "great cloud of witnesses," a whole body of traditions that feed us, an ongoing expression of Resurrection through the myriad saints and saintly acts of grace and experiences of God's uplifting power in so many dimensions, ongoing into the future, and at work around the world.  Sometimes it seems that this "corporate" or "community" sense of who we are is lost in debates and dissension, and a very individualistic sense of faith that results.  But we should not forget that what each one does becomes a part of the whole and touches on the whole.  We are not saved alone, but our faith works through both love of God and love of neighbor, and grace does not just touch one, but ripples out in ways that we just don't know -- perhaps only in the love that touches our hearts so that we in turn may touch others through our own changes.  There really is no such thing as one person praying alone without those prayers somehow effectively serving the world, even if unknown to the one who prays.  In our dissension and disagreements with one another, in the midst of a world engulfed by strife and seemingly ever-growing conflict, let us believers consider that our faith does not make us alone, but a part of something, and that as we practice that faith it is also up to us to be concerned with how we create community as well.  A modern world seems to lose sight of Christ's great emphasis on humility and serving one another, and that the core of what we know of God is love.  St. Paul writes what is perhaps the greatest statement on love in his Epistle to the Corinthians (found at 1 Corinthians 13:1-13).  Among other things, he writes, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."  He reminds us that "love never fails" but that everything else we value will pass away, and that now we know in part, but in the fullness of the Resurrection, we will know just as we are also known.  So therefore, what abides is "faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."  In John's Gospel, Jesus gives a new command, that we love one another as He has loved us.  He taught, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (see John 13:34-35).  Let the transfiguring power of Resurrection be made clear in our understanding of love and community, and the great truth of Jesus Christ, God and human, who came to offer us all salvation.   Let us remember that He is with us always, and call upon Him to teach us His love.

 

 

 

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word

 

 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

 

- Matthew 28:1-10 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were told that many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar at the Crucifixion, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.  Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.  When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.  And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.  On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.'   Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.'  So the last deception will be worse than the first."  Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how."  So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard. 

 

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  My study Bible comments that the earthquake is a sign of our Lord's great victory over death, which foreshadows the general resurrection of all humanity.  It asks us to note that the angel does not roll back the stone to let the Lord out, for in Christ's glory, He could pass through solid rock and so does not need the stone to be rolled away (see John 20:19).  Rather, this allows the witnesses in to see that Christ has already risen.  Note also how the brilliance of the angel is evocative of the language describing Christ's appearance as the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:3, Luke 9:29).

 

And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  My study Bible comments that these women are the first witnesses of the supreme event in all history:  the Resurrection of Christ and the destruction of death.  The angel refers to Christ as the One who was crucified, teaching us not to shy away from Christ's death, but rather to glory in the Cross (1 Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 6:14), which is the weapon Christ used to destroy death and the trophy of Christ's victory.  In the liturgical services of the Orthodox Church celebrating the Resurrection, it is sung hundreds of times:  "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life."  St. Paul writes, "If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile" (1 Corinthians 15:17).  

 

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."  Rejoice! is the same greeting given to Mary by Gabriel at the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-28); it is the same word given by Christ to His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount in the plural (as here), when He says, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12).  

 

 Look at this juxtaposition of words in response to the Resurrection, as the women run from the tomb to tell the disciples what has happened, and that He will meet them in Galilee:  they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy.   Such a mixture of emotions is rare for us to discern in a modern age:  simultaneously both fear and great joy!  We must discern that this combination tells us about the level of "awe" in this event which, if we had not heard the story so frequently already, would be an unimaginable outcome.    St. Paul said of the Crucifixion, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God," and, "For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:18, 22-25).  This reaction, after witnessing the Crucifixion, and now receiving the message at the tomb, of fear mixed with great joy, is the power of the Cross at work in them -- the dawning of this great power and wisdom of God found in both the "foolishness of God" and the "weakness of God."  One experiences fear in the face of the unknown, but great joy is found in the loving gestures of God, in which God comes to be known to us, and thus is produced by the truth of Christ and the great good news of the gospel.  For, as St. Paul has said, without the fullness of this great revelation, we just don't have the full story of our faith.  In the fullness of the truth is found both fear and great joy.

 

 

 

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 

 

 Yesterday we read that while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:  'The LORD said to my Lord,  "Sit at My right hand,  till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.  

 

  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."   In the West, today is Ascension Day, which comes forty days after Easter (or Pascha), after the Resurrection, and today's reading describes the occasion for the Feast of our Lord's Ascension.  (For the East, this Feast will be celebrated one week from today.)  This reading is found at the end of the Gospel of Matthew.  Let us note that by this time there have been many Resurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples on various occasions and in various places.  We also note that the text tells us that when they saw Him, they worshiped Him.  When they knew Him in the flesh as Jesus, they did not worship, but now they understand His divinity and authority.  But even so, there were still some who doubted.  My study Bible comments that when Jesus says, "All authority has been given to Me," He is declaring that the authority that was His by nature in His divinity is now also possessed by His glorified human nature.  That is, His Ascension and Resurrection also included His humanity.  This human nature has now trampled the final enemy -- death (1 Corinthians 15:2-28). 

 

"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 the Great Commission, and it is our Lord's final commandment given on earth.  My study Bible comments that this commandment, the Great Commission, is to be lived out in the Church until Christ returns again.  To make disciples cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  It says that the power of the Resurrection is not only for Jesus Himself, 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, for neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age does not imply that we will be separated from Christ at the end of the world.  Christ is with us -- now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.

As Easter/Pascha is the greatest occasion of the Church year, it is tempting to think that the story of Jesus Christ ends with Resurrection.  But that is not really the end of the story.  There is more:  Christ makes many post-Resurrection appearances to His disciples before His Ascension.  (See Mark 16:9-11; John 20:11-18; Matthew 28:9-10; Luke 24:34; Luke 24:13-32; Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25; John 20:26-29; John 21:1-25; Mark 16:15-18; 1 Corinthians 15:6; 1 Corinthians 15:7; Acts 1:3-8; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:9-12; Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53.)  He also apparently appeared to St. Paul (1 Corinthians 15:8; Acts 9:1-6, 18:9-10, 23:11).  But perhaps the most awe-inspiring meaning we find in Jesus' Ascension is the sense in which it is not only Christ's divinity that ascends into heaven, but also the humanity of Jesus does as well.  What this implies for us, as human beings, is the capability that we have to participate in the life of Christ.  We don't know, really, the limits of what it means to be a human being, nor the limitations on our own participation in Christ's life and energies and grace.  Are you going through a rough circumstance?  Let us remember Christ's Resurrection and Ascension, that even His human nature is capable of ascension into heavenly places -- and so, knowing that, let us consider how the power and grace of God might come to work in our own lives for our own "resurrection" from bad circumstances, our own "ascension" above the things that trouble our lives.  What Christ's Ascension really implies is the potentials we have for transformation, for rising above our limitations, for being changed by the grace of God, for triumphing over the things that plague us, including our own tendencies toward feelings of depression or desperation or defeatism, for example.  Christ Himself ascends, is "lifted up," is reborn from death, and takes us with Him to the Father.  Soon, we will also celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit for each of us.  We have so much for which to be grateful, so much is contained in the mission of Jesus Christ.  Let us not waste the opportunities and graces we're given; let us always turn to Him in prayer, in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  For He is with us always.  In His mission to us, He has given us mission, a good mission which may sustain us throughout our lives.

Rejoice!

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guard shook for for fear of him, and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.   He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

- Matthew 28:1-10

Yesterday we read that at Christ's Crucifixion, many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.  Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.  When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.  And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.  On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.'  Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.'  So the last deception will be worse than the first."  Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how."  So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guard shook for for fear of him, and became like dead men.  My study bible tells us that the earthquake is a sign of Christ's great victory over death, and that it foreshadows the general resurrection of all humanity.   It asks us to note that the angel doesn't roll back the stone to let the Lord out.  Christ, in His glory, can pass through solid rock (see John 20:19).   That the stone is rolled back instead allows the witnesses in -- so that they may see that Christ has already risen.

But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.   He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  My study bible comments that these women are the first witnesses of the supreme event in all of history; that is, witnesses to the Resurrection of Christ and to the destruction of death.  The angel speaks of Christ as the One who was crucified.   This teaches us that we shouldn't shy away from His death, but rather to glory in the Cross (1 Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 6:14), as the Cross is the weapon which Christ used to destroy death, and it is the trophy of His victory.  In the Paschal liturgical services of the Eastern Orthodox, one hymn is repeatedly sung:  "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life."  St. Paul teaches, "If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile" (1 Corinthians 15:17). 

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."  The first word of the risen Christ is "Rejoice!"  Let us note that this is a command.  And the second word is also a command:  "Do not be afraid." 

Jesus' first word to the women, as they run to tell His disciples what the angel in the tomb had said to them, is "Rejoice!"  This word is identical to the greeting of Gabriel, the angel of the Annunciation, to Mary (Luke 1:28).  In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as "Hail" (as in the words beginning the prayer, Hail Mary).   This word remains today a common formal greeting in Greek.   But literally it is the command, "Rejoice."  The command given by Christ to the women in today's reading is the same, excepting that it is in the plural.  And again, we see a repetition, in that Christ's words that follow to the women is another command, "Do not be afraid."  Shortly after he greets Mary, Gabriel also gives the same command to her (Luke 1:30),  and again the words are identical in the Greek texts, except that, when addressed to the women here it is in the plural.  (For Luke's account of the Annunciation, see Luke 1:26-38).  Why are these ties important?   For one thing, they give us another hint of the important role of women in the full story of the Incarnation and our salvation, and especially here in the Resurrection.  St. Jerome comments here that the greeting to these women affirms that, just as the Bible begins with the sin of a woman (Eve), the Gospel story teaches that that "first sin" is undone by women.   Peter Chrysologus (4th century Archbishop of Ravenna) comments that in this first greeting to His followers, in the persons of these women, Christ does not frighten them with the power of His authority, but rather comes before them with the ardor of His love.  He greets them with the covenant of the Bridegroom (not the right of ruler), and with the love of a brother, which surpasses everything else in Him.  Chrysologus adds, "This greeting itself evidently shows that the full figure of the church abides in these women. They are contrasted with those disciples whom Christ scolds who were wavering over the resurrection."  Thus, we might conclude that the fullness of the Church abiding in these women extols their faith, just as we understand Mary's extraordinary faith through the Annunciation.  And this is one more evidence of the power of the Gospels, that we should understand how these women, the Apostles to the Apostles (who bring the news of Resurrection to the apostles), become the first great examples of faith, just as did Mary.  If we want to look to human beings whose virtue is most highly praised in Scripture, then, we must look to the women.  We must look to Mary, the "blessed among women" and to these women who are the first to hear and spread the news of Resurrection, and the first to be greeted by the risen Christ.  Such a greeting and honor could not be possible except through their tremendous faith -- and thus we look to these women as those most highly praised and honored among all human beings in the Scriptures and in the Church.  We might ask ourselves why this understanding is so often overlooked.  I don't believe it was overlooked by our most ancient ancestors in the Church.  On the contrary, the place of the Mother of God was established from the beginning as chief among the saints.  I would suggest, rather than the conventional answer of misogyny which might easily be given, that the reason they are overlooked is because their power is so fully in serving, waiting, and attending.  They are ministers to the ministers, and they are apostles to the apostles.  Their role is no less for being so, but in a time in which astonishing and vivid action rates all praise and attention, we hardly have time for those whose service is less conspicuous, or less powerful and authoritative in purely worldly or materialist terms.   In overlooking these women, we overlook the truth of our Christian faith, and especially the witness of the Gospels and of Christ the risen Lord.  Let us nurture the things in ourselves these women most fully represent, for to ignore them is to lose the true fullness of the Church and the human beings who must be its living stones.

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

Icon of Christ's Ascension, 16th century.  Michurin, Bulgaria (Burgas Art Gallery).  Photo in public domain

 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

Yesterday we read that during Holy Week, as He was being questioned in the temple, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool" '?  If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

 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."   Today we commemorate the Ascension of Christ.  It is most significant that we understand the role of the Incarnation in this Ascension.  Jesus neither appears to His disciples as a ghost or disembodied spirit; in His post-Resurrection appearances to them, He invites them to touch Him, even to see the marks of the nails of the Crucifixion and also eats with them (see John 20:27, and especially Luke 24:39-43).  These appearances were in a glorified human state.  My study bible comments on Jesus' statement, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth," that Christ declares here that the authority that was His by nature in His divinity is now also possessed by His glorified human nature.  This human nature, it says, has now trampled the final enemy -- 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, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you . . . "  This is known as the Great Commission.  It is the Lord's final commandment give on earth.  My study bible says it is to be lived out in the Church until Christ returns again.  Making disciples, it says, cannot be done in the strength of man, but only in the power of God.  The power of the Resurrection, it adds, is not only for Jesus Himself, but rather is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.

" . . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen."  A note here tells us that Christ Himself is present in each believer and in the Church always.  That is, both personally and in the Holy Spirit -- as neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age, my study bible says, does not by any means imply that we will be separated from Christ at the end of the world.  He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

Jesus' final words at His Ascension are, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  These words form a promise, and something that we can count on.  Whatever it is, no matter how isolated or sad or lonely we might feel under certain circumstances, Jesus promises that He is with us always.  How can we take this promise?  First of all Jesus is making this promise at a gathering of His disciples.  The "you" is plural, for He is addressing more than one person.  And by extension, He addresses us all -- for clearly, those standing before Him would not need reassurances that extend to the end of the age.  What we can understand, then, is that this promise is made to each person who would be a disciple of Christ.  It is clearly made in a corporeal sense to the Church, the body of believers, but it is also something that can be understood to apply to each of us.  My study bible's note on this passage states that He is present in each believer and in the Church always,  and that this applies equally to Christ and to the Holy Spirit -- as they cannot be separated.  In John's Gospel, moreover, Jesus promises, "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).  What that means is that the inseparability of Father, Son, and Spirit guarantee -- they promise -- that each is with us through faith and through faithful adherence to Christ's teachings, through keeping His word.  In effect, Christ teaches that through faith, we are embraced in a loving embrace of Father, Son, and Spirit, even to the end of the age.  We are a part of something.   Not only are we children by adoption, but we are never alone, even as Christ stated He was not alone ("Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me" - John 16:32).  And here we come to what is possibly the most important -- and even incredible -- fact of the Ascension.  That is, that the Incarnation of Christ is not merely about His human life in the flesh as Jesus, but that the Incarnation -- even of Christ in His glorified human body -- extends to this poignant moment which is full of meaning and promise for us.  This is because He ascends also as part of the Incarnation.  He ascends in glory not as a ghost or spirit, but in the glorified form of His humanity, and therefore can draw us with Him where He is.  If this is too awe-filled a concept to consider, then we should think about His promise that He is with us, even to the end of the age.  For without the Incarnation -- and without His ascent which includes His glorified humanity -- none of this would be possible.  It is His life as a human being, including His death on the Cross, and the resurrection appearances in His glorified body, that make it possible that He, the Father, and the Spirit are always with us according to His promise.  This is such as astonishing concept, and such a great mystery, that it is something we cannot afford to take lightly.  We may think about the generations of monastics in the desert and wilderness and elsewhere.  We may think about the saints who have served God even against terrible odds and suffering.  We might think of modern day figures who continue in faith through wars, persecutions, oppression, and all manner of battles against them, and yet come to understand that without this promise such effort and struggle would have died off long ago.  For the fact is that even through its persecutions, the Church thrives and returns.  I read recently an article about a woman named Etty Hillesum.  She was born in Holland, a Jew who was deported by the Nazis to a concentration camp.  And yet in the camp she found the Lord.  She learned to pray.   She learned to speak to God.  A very touching article has appeared recently documenting her idea that even in such horrible circumstances, and surrounded by so much terror and suffering, her choice was to remain a shelter for God.  (The article is titled Giving Shelter to God from Suffering, by Fr. Michael Plekon.)    Imprisoned in an internment camp, she writes about those who seek safety and shelter for things they own, for their fears and their bitterness.  "But," she says, "they forget that no one is in their clutches who is in Your arms."  We live today under the cloud of an epidemic, in which many perhaps might feel alone.  They don't know what their lives will look like or be like after it's over, what job they might return to, what things might be gone.  Many feel isolated.  Our suffering is not comparable to Etty's, but we might nevertheless take comfort from her wisdom and enlightenment.  She learned and rested in Christ's promise, knew it for herself, even among the worst of circumstances.  Let us, also, take heart in her words that kept Christ present -- indeed, Father, Son, and Spirit -- in the place of horrors, even as we know that Christ also descended into hell for us before His Resurrection.  Let us keep in mind all of these promises, and pray for Etty and others whose faith enabled them to ascend with Christ, and do the same for ourselves.  Let us understand the extraordinary living power of this promise these thousands of years later, and cherish it in our own lives for all it may help us to go through and to overcome -- for we are not alone.  In the icon above, we may also notice Christ's mother in the center among the disciples.  She was shelter for Him from start to finish, and remained faithful to her Son throughout her life.  She is representative of all those in the great cloud of witnesses, the saints, who also assure us we are never alone, never without their presence, even as we ask them to join us in our prayers.

And lo, 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

Yesterday we read that Jesus said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?  And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek the  kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you."

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.  Today's reading commemorates Ascension Day, which is celebrated today in the West.  For the Eastern Orthodox, Ascension is next week, on June 6th.  The eleven disciples are the twelve, minus the one who has betrayed Christ, Judas Iscariot.  Let us note that when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  The Gospels make clear to us that there are those who doubt.  (In Matthew's Gospel, from which today's reading is taken, Christ has made a Resurrection appearance only to the women at the tomb; see 28:1-10.  In John's chapter 20, we are given the appearance to the women, the Great Commission in today's reading, and also the story of doubt as expressed by the apostle Thomas).

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  My study bible says that this is a declaration by Christ that the authority that was His by nature in His divinity is now also possessed by His glorified human nature.  The completion of His mission as Incarnate human being has meant 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, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you . . .."  This is the Great Commission, the Lord's final commandment which is given on earth.  My study bible comments that it is to be lived out in the Church until His Return.  To make disciples cannot be done through human power alone, but only in the power of God.  Therefore, the power of the Resurrection isn't just for Jesus only, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission, which connects us to the promise He makes next.

. . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.  My study bible tells us 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, my study bible says, does not imply we will be separated from Christ at the end of the world.  As we often hear in worship and prayer, He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

How do we teach others to be disciples?  In other words, how do we fulfill Christ's command given in this Great Commission?  Does it apply only to religious, those ordained in the Church to baptize and to teach?  As laypeople, so we also have, in the tradition of the Church, a commission to baptize where baptism is impossible otherwise, such as at the sudden death of an infant.  We teach others discipleship through our own example of discipleship.  In this sense, this commission is for all of us, for each of us, for in our own discipleship we will find natural ways to teach and to give example.  Without a doubt, just as He promises that He is with us always, even to the end of the age, He remains with each one of us, both in Himself and in the Holy Trinity which dwells within us also, and in that Trinity, so dwells the communion of saints in heaven and on earth.  This promise leaves us connected and in communion in ways we don't know and can't easily see of ourselves, but it is a promise nonetheless, that works in ways which are mysterious (meaning "hidden") to us.  Our lives, in our faith, are never separated from a vast connection both visible and invisible.  Christ, as divine Lord who has also transfigured human nature through the Incarnation, remains with us and within us, as He has promised.  He connects us more thoroughly to the divine and righteous.  The angels rejoice, we are told, at His Ascension, to see human nature glorified and entering into heaven -- for this is a revelation even for them as well.  All of creation, then, and not simply we human believers, rejoices in this Ascension and given commission.  If our own human nature is so transfigured in the Incarnation, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord, then the Church has been left for 2,000 years to wonder what that means for us who dwell in the world as believers.  We are given the myriad saints as examples of what that means, their own unique natures and character each transfigured in the light of Christ, magnifying compassion and love, a communion exemplified, the depth of adoration revealed that is possible to us.  In the saints we find a divine longing for the love of God, a thirst that is only possibly fulfilled in God's love, and all the expressions of such love shared with us as is possible, in unique ways for the circumstances, times, and characters of such saints -- and also of those myriad saints whose names we don't know.  We are connected through a web of prayer and of love, a love we don't know except through God who surpasses human expectations.  Our Lord transfigures our passions into love, and shows us the way into that love through discipleship.  By implication, the way is unlimited; but our own natures go with Him so that we, too, may rest in that discipleship and that future for we are created for this divine purpose.  As He states, it all begins with baptism, where we are invited to die to the old and live a new life -- a baptism that continues throughout our discipleship.  Do we accept the Commission, and that future for ourselves and our world?

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

 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

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 28:11-20

Yesterday we read that, after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.  My study bible calls this an absurd lie.  Christ's disciples were afraid and had gone into hiding.  Moreover, most of them would go on to suffer terrible persecution and martyrdom.  That they would willingly endure such sufferings over a known fallacy is simply not worth consideration. 

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."  This declaration means that the authority that was Christ's by nature in His divinity is now possessed by His glorified human nature.  My study bible says that this human nature has now trampled the final enemy -- 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, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; . . .."  This command is called the Great Commission; it is the Lord's final commandment given on earth.  It is to be lived out in the Church until His Return.  My study bible tells that to make disciples cannot be done in the strength of man, but rather only in the power of God.  The power of the Resurrection therefore isn't for Jesus Himself alone, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission. 

" . . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.   This is a solemn promise that Christ Himself is present in each believer and in the Church always.  This is true both personally and in the Holy Spirit.  Neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age doesn't indicate that we will be separated from Christ at the end of the world.  As is often heard in the refrain of prayers, He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

My study bible tells us that where Christ is, so is the Holy Spirit.  John's Gospel reports that Jesus tells the disciples at the Last Supper, "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).  Therefore what we are to understand is the depth of faith:  to love Christ, to keep His word, is to invite the indwelling of Father, Son, and Spirit.  This is not our job, but is the work of grace and the promise of Christ.  It is something we can count on, in which we therefore trust -- as faith is akin to trust.  The Greek word for faith is indeed the word that means "trust."  We trust in His promises, we count on the things he says He gives us for our support and sustenance.  In this we walk and take our certainty, our confidence in our own mission in the world, given by Him.  There may be many ways in which church outreach seeks to make disciples, but all of them must start with this as the first thing:  the reliance on the promise of Christ that "lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."   Without this reliance, we fail in our mission, because we fail truly to understand the real nature of our faith, a reliance and dependence upon God.  We also fail to understand God's true nature, that, as Spirit, God dwells within and lives with us, and we are able to grow in spiritual virtue as we, too, possess a spirit given by God.  This is a basic understanding of growth in spiritual virtue and in a life of prayer, without which we do not have the relationship that we need and rely on with God.  Furthermore, Jesus gives us one more clue in this ongoing, synergistic life with God.  He commands the disciples that are to "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 . . .."   That baptism is an integral part of discipleship furthermore cements this need we have for reliance on God, for it is the gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to truly do this work, to know and understand His commands, to allow into the depths of the heart the indwelling of Father, Son, and Spirit so that we may live as He asks us to live.  So many are tempted to simply say that our faith is replicated through a series of conscious "good works" or principles which we can intellectually extrapolate from His teachings.  But our faith isn't merely an intellectual exercise.  It is in the fullness of who we are and how we live, and moreover, indwells in the depths of the heart,  engaging body, soul, and spirit in each of us.  Without this mystical completeness, we don't truly live our faith.  We can't experience the promise of what it is to worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  We don't really know the fullness of discipleship.  Our faith engages us as full, whole persons, created in God's image.  Without this spiritual understanding and engagement, we don't "get it."  We aren't fully there with Him.  Let us remember and rely on His promise and His indwelling, with us "always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.