NOTES for Act 1:1-26

Today's reading tells us about the event that preceded Pentecost: the Ascension (vv. 4-12). At first glance it seems more sad than joyful, since it is about the disciples' parting from the Teacher, which of course did not inspire them at all. It would seem that everything Jesus had promised had taken place: He had risen from the dead, as He had foretold, and the apostles had barely begun to get used to communion with Him in this new condition of His. After all, forty days of constant meetings with the Risen One is no small length of time, especially given the spiritual intensity of those forty days (vv. 1-3). And now He suddenly leaves again - where? why?

The apostles' first thought was, of course, of the Kingdom: had the day finally come when the Kingdom would become an unmistakable reality for everyone, powerfully invading the world and obvious to each person? For now, as it appeared to them, there really was nothing left to wait for; everything that had to happen had happened, especially since the Teacher Himself had spoken only of His resurrection, connecting the triumph of the Kingdom precisely with it. It is no surprise that the apostles ask Jesus about the Kingdom: perhaps now, at last, the time has come (v. 6)? Perhaps the Teacher is leaving so that He may soon return as the triumphant King of the messianic Kingdom? And does He command them to return to Jerusalem (v. 7) so that they may prepare a solemn welcome for Him there?

It is no surprise that, even after Jesus disappeared in the shining cloud of God's glory (v. 9), the apostles still kept standing in the same place, perhaps expecting that the Teacher would soon appear again. Only the words of God's messengers, who confirmed Jesus' own instruction about the need to go to Jerusalem, made them move from the spot (vv. 10-12). The triumph of the Kingdom, which had seemed so near, certain, and comprehensible only recently, again became strange, incomprehensible, and, it already seemed, not even so near. All that remained was to return to Jerusalem, as the Teacher had commanded, and wait for what had been promised.

How often does it happen that we, like the "men of Galilee," simply stand and look? We are under an impression: perhaps from a meeting with God, or perhaps with some person, or from something else... Something has struck us to the depth of the soul, and we want to preserve this feeling in ourselves a little longer. As one well-known literary character said, "Stay, moment, you are beautiful!" It appears to us that here, where this meeting happened, here is where we ought to be - because precisely here I can meet God!

But God does not want us to stand in one place, keeping watch for His next appearance. To the disciples "stuck" at the place of His Ascension, the Lord sends angels to explain: He sees them and is waiting in an entirely different place. They need to go farther, they need to fulfill His commission, they need to share what He gives in this encounter, without trying to keep everything for themselves.

In our relationship with God the principle is very true: "When you think you are standing still, you are falling." He wants movement from us - movement toward where He Himself calls us, toward where His Spirit leads us, without regret for the place of encounter left behind, but "with great joy" (see Luke 24:52).

How different the behavior of Christ's disciples is before His death and after it! When Jesus told them about His coming death and that He was going to the Father, they were grieved (see John 14:28). Now, witnessing His Ascension, they rejoice instead, even though the Teacher is visibly leaving them: "And while He blessed them, He began to depart from them and be carried up into heaven. They worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy." Even though Pentecost had not yet come, the apostles had already lived through an event that turned their whole life upside down. The death and Resurrection of their Teacher changed the heart of each one of them.

In addition, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, something else happened during the Ascension (see Acts 1:10-11). Two men in white garments appeared to the apostles and announced the Second Coming of the Lord. How amazing that, without waiting, as it were, for the descent of the Spirit who "will teach you all things and remind you of everything" (John 14:26), the Lord Himself after the Resurrection appeared to the disciples "for forty days" and spoke about the Kingdom of God, and now these two men remind them of Jesus' return. Maybe this is the most important thing in the feast of the Ascension: that we are witnesses to the promise of His Second Coming, rejoicing that He goes to the Father.

The Savior's earthly ministry ends with His ascension. To an outside observer it may appear that He is simply leaving, disappearing into the shining cloud of God's presence. Leaving for some distant place where He can no longer be seen. Yet He is going where the King of that Kingdom must be, the Kingdom destined very soon to enter the world and begin its victorious procession.

On the day of His ascension, Jesus does precisely what His apostles ask Him about: He begins to build the Kingdom. To create it. True, His disciples still understand nothing as before: they still hope that the Kingdom will be earthly, that now at last it will become visible to everyone, and that their Teacher will finally be recognized as the Messiah, the King of this Kingdom. They are still waiting for miracles from this world.

Jesus, however, explains nothing to them. He only says to them: do not hurry. The times and seasons connected with the establishment of the Kingdom are not your concern. This is not a human matter at all; all times are in the Father's authority. But you, Jesus says to the disciples, wait for your hour. Wait for the Holy Spirit. Wait until God's breath breaks into your life and transforms it. Then you will understand everything. The meaning of Jesus' words is clear: until you become part of the spiritual process that began with the Savior's appearance in the world, you will not see the Kingdom. And even Him, the King of this Kingdom, you will not truly see without sharing in God's breath.

In essence, He is not going away at all. He is simply setting out for the place where a king must be when decisive events begin in his kingdom: to the throne, to the throne room, just as at a decisive moment a captain goes to the bridge or an army commander to his command post.

Before, while communicating with the apostles, He remained all the time at the very border of the Kingdom, the border that separates it from the world not yet transformed. Now He is moving from the border of the Kingdom into its depths. This, of course, does not mean that His apostles will no longer see Him. They only need to share themselves in the fullness of the Kingdom's life on the day of Pentecost. But that still lies ahead of them. For now they sit and look at the sky, until at last God's messengers who appeared from there remind them that their place is not here, but in Jerusalem, where they were commanded to be.

It is hardly accidental that Luke notes that the distance the apostles walked from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem was a Sabbath day's journey. From this we can conclude that for the apostles the waiting for Pentecost was a ten-day Sabbath, a time of rest and prayer needed in order to prepare properly to receive what Christ had promised them. The Lord can reveal Himself and His powers at any time, catching us off guard, but it is better if we are ready to meet Him.

Meanwhile, the apostles gather together with the whole community, already numbering about one hundred twenty people, and in their presence, not privately, they decide who will fill the breach left in their ranks by Judas' betrayal. Why is this necessary? Is it only because the number 12 symbolizes fullness and because the apostles are to sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel? Yes, for those reasons too, but in addition, everyone whom the Lord called to apostleship was especially dear to Him. Judas fell, and now Matthias is to continue those ministries of Judas that the Lord had wanted to entrust to him before his betrayal. A good work being done by an apostate must not stop; it must be continued by another, by one who continues to keep faith.